Celebrate Diwali With Cruelty-Free Gifts

Diwali will be here soon, and you know what that means: good food, festive gatherings with family and friends and presents for all your loved ones! PETA's animal-friendly gift ideas will delight everyone on your list:

• A scentsational gift: Bring a smile to a special someone's face with Omved's handcrafted vegan soaps (blended with pure essential oils), soy wax candles, aromatic massage oils and other indulgent spa-worthy treats.
• For inner joy: Give the gift of peace with The Nature's Co.'s Meditation Kit, featuring a rosemary-basil candle, peach incense stick, incense holder, orange-lemon essential oil and oil burner. Or create your own one-of-a-kind gift with one of the cruelty-free company's decorative oil burners and your favourite essential oils.
• A sweet treat: No Diwali celebration would be complete without yummy vegan sweets! We love C4 Chocolates' chocolate biscotti, Swiss truffles, almond rocks and other handmade dark chocolate confections. (Be sure to stick to the vegan-friendly, dark chocolate options.)
• Diva-worthy diyas: A handspun, hand-painted diya will light up anyone's life. Look for diyas in a variety of shapes and vivid colours at your local market or online.
• For the happy hostess: If you've been invited to a Diwali celebration, show your appreciation with a nice bottle of wine, such as one of the award-winning Four Seasons selections from the UB Group.

If you're hosting your own celebration, be sure to include animal-friendly Rich's Whip Topping. This luscious, dairy-free whipped topping will make your homemade sweets that much more delicious.

Naturo's 100 per cent natural vegan fruit bars – in mango, strawberry, orange and apple flavours – are made with sweet, sun-ripened fruit and contain no added sugar, making them the perfect choice for little ones.

End the evening with Amore vegan sorbetto,in fresh flavours, such as fig, guava, papaya and chocolate (our favourite).

Personalize your Diwali wishes with a handmade card, or send PETA's super-cute animal-friendly e-card. We also have recipes for delicious vegan Diwali sweets  on our website. And since we're all about sharing, here's a bonus recipe to get you started. Happy Diwali, everyone!

Badam (Almond) Halwa
3 cups almonds, soaked in water for 2 hours and drained
2–3 cups soya milk (try Staeta brand)
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
3 cups sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp canola oil
2–3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2–3 Tbsp golden raisins

•    Place the almonds in a blender. Add enough soya milk to cover the almonds by at least 1/2 inch. Blend until you have a pancake-like batter (slightly grainy, but without any large pieces).
•    Melt the margarine in a non-stick skillet or cast-iron pan. Stir in the almond paste and sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the almond paste has lost most of its moisture. Turn  off the heat and stir in the cardamom powder. Pour onto a plate or serving dish and set aside.
•    Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan. Add the pumpkin seeds and raisins and stir until the pumpkin seeds start to change colour. Pour over the almond paste.
•    For a festive presentation, scoop into small cupcake liners before serving.

Makes 4 servings