It is that time of the year again. The time when there is a nip in the air, lights in the neighbourhood, a sparkle in everybody's eyes and the summer has finally given way to the Festival of Lights. The silky sunshine and its warmth only add up to the festive spirit. Ladoos. Lights. Family. Crackers: Diwali means a lot of different things to different people, but one thing that everybody can relate to when we talk about the festival is memories. We all have very special memories tucked away in a corner of our hearts which make us smile ear to ear every time we think of them. Here are 18 Diwali memories we had as kids which we still cherish:

1. When moms ask us to get cleaning, it means Diwali is around the corner.

Diwali cleaning was serious business and the mothers would rely on us to keep our rooms spick and span. Decorating it with colourful lanterns and diyas would soon follow.

2. The crackers drill would start weeks before Diwali.

For us kids, bursting crackers was the best part about Diwali. We would pitch in money and buy crackers to burst with our neighbourhood friends. While some of us went on to burst cracker after cracker, some were happy with the phuljhadis and chakri.