How to get your kids into the Ramadan spirit.
With Ramadan only a few weeks away, I realised I had not shared any content on this topic.
My journey into the design world was truly inspired by this month. I wanted to create and design products that had sentimental and aesthetic value to young Muslim children growing up in the West, something that my generation lacked.
Over the winter months, my three-year-old could not stop obsessing over all the twinkling fairy lights and Christmas trees dotted around our road, more eager than the year before to celebrate Christmas; because she truly believes that Santa is real and expected him to place presents for her around the Christmas tree, something she has also requested.
And of course, this triggers a number of anxiety driven “parent guilt” factors for me.
Ultimately will she be this excited to celebrate Ramadan and Eids?
So here I am, blogging for all of you (that are interested) ways in which we can make this month so much more than just fried samosas, watermelon and cheese (yes those last two go together, don’t @ me).
Here are some simple things we can do to get our kids in the Ramadan mood.
Decorate.
Creating a festive atmosphere around the house is a great way to get the kids excited for the month.
There are so many amazing products now on the market; from the Ramadan crescent tree, to peelable lantern window stickers, it’s now a lot easier to create a festive home for the kids to enjoy.
A few years ago, I discovered the cutest Instagram account that creates Muslim inspired products; my1stmasjid, a family-run Islamic-inspired crafts business.
We bought the slot & build mini-masjid village set, and loved creating a little Ramadan town for her to play and explore with.
I had also put a few sentimental items around the village and explained to Laila (above mentioned three-year-old) why each item was important; dates, Quran, a charity box.
Of course you can also spend that time creating decorations with your children. There are so many resources and free printables online that make the crafting journey easy but it’s also a great activity to do with your kids
A reading nook.
Last year I set up a little Ramadan station in a corner of the house which included a little reading nook too.
I had bought a selection of Ramadan and Eid children’s books that I would read to her everyday to help her understand what this month is about, surprisingly I learnt a few things myself!
Here are a few of our favourites:
- Ramadan (Celebrate the World) by Hannah Eliot
- Night of the Moon by Hena Khan
- Under the Ramadan Moon by Sylvia Whitman
- Rashad's Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr by Lisa Bullard
Activity books.
I don’t know about you, but I love a good activity book, so when I came across a few Ramadan kids activity books I knew I could not resist.
Apart from the learning aspect it’s a great way to sit with the kids and kill those long fasting hours!
Lila and Tiny have a lovely selection of activity books (along with a number of other funslamic goods)
Advent Calendar
For the past 5+ years the Ramadan advent calendar industry has been booming and there are so many amazing designs out there.
Ramadan Cards.
During the lead up to Ramadan we decided to make little iftar gifts for our family, friends and teachers. We had a selection of dates and Ramadan cards for each household.
It was a great way to get creative, create a shopping list and personalise gifts for everyone.
