You don't have to be in India or even your parents' home to celebrate Diwali—November 12 this year—the traditional way. Style your own Diwali essentials by making a few trips to the craft store and unleashing your creativity.

2. Soak cotton fibers in ghee.

4. Holding the cotton between your thumb and forefinger, roll the fiber on one end into a tight wick while gently holding the opposite end, maintaining its shape. The resulting wick should be in a teardrop shape, with the point as the part you light.

5. Light these wicks in metal holders. Store them in a cool, dry place in an airtight container to retain their moisture.

It's easy to make your own homemade candles, and it's a fun update to an ancient tradition. Today's craft stores offer starter kits with bars of paraffin, wicks and even dye packs for coloring. You can also recycle burned-down candles into new ones. To reuse, separate burned-down candles into warm and cool colors before melting them down to avoid a messy clash of colors.

Candle molds can be any semi-rigid container from ice cube trays (to make tiny little votives) to milk cartons (cut away the tops to fill, rip off carton and discard to release the candle) to old yogurt containers. For our candles, we use muffin tins so you can whip up more than one candle at a time.

2. Allow the wax to melt. With an old wooden spoon, stir the wax, blending the colors. Use the spoon to lift out and discard the wicks that will come free of their candles as they melt. Keep heating until the wax is completely melted and a thin skin begins to form around the edges of the coffee can.

3. Liberally spray the muffin tin with cooking spray. The coating will act as a release agent and will prevent the candle from sticking to the sides of the mold. Drop the metal tabbed wicks to the bottoms of the pan, centering in each mold.

4. Carefully and gently pour the melted wax into the muffin tray in each mold. Take care to fill each mold to the same height for candles of uniform size. Pour slowly so that no air bubbles form in the middle of your candle.

5. Set muffin tin aside as the wax hardens. Wait at least 2 hours for the wax to cool and cure.

6. Place the tin in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pop out candles like you would ice out of an ice tray with a gentle tug at opposite corners of the tray.

7. Trim wicks to a 1/4" length before burning.

To create festive candles, try these variations:

- Mix flower petals with the wax, taking care to drop the petals on the perimeter of the mold so they don't interfere with the wick.
- Add glitter to the molds after the candle has started to set for a half hour.
- Use old scented candles to create new scented candles.

2. Trim the stems off the flowers, taking care to leave one inch of each stem. This portion will be buried in the oasis.

3. Using a pencil, make holes in the oasis where a flower is to be placed. We began our arrangement in the center and worked outward, creating a symmetrical design.

4. Punch holes and poke flowers into the oasis so that the flower heads meet the oasis, the petals meet between flowers and no oasis is visible. Alternate colors and types of flowers with each pass.

5. Continue until the entire surface is filled with your pattern.

6. Finish off the arrangement by gluing the ribbon around the sides of the box, covering the edges of the oasis that is visible through the clear plastic.

For other occasions, try these variations:
- Use one kind of flower in a single color to make an arrangement that is heavy on the lush texture of the petals (i.e. red roses, white chrysanthemums).
- Use gerbera daisies in a pretty pastel hue and display the arrangement as a centerpiece for a baby shower.