Living in the West, it can be difficult to get children all excited about Ramadan. I remember as a child I didn’t take much notice of Ramadan except knowing that the family were not eating and sneakily trying to stay awake so I could eat with my dad when he came home from work in the summer months.
But the truth is we need to make Ramadan and Eid special for our children. You can’t miss the festivities around Christmas; the decorations, the fairs and the general excitement, and we do not have that on Eid. I remember as a child just pretty much seeing it as a day to get dressed up and simply eat. However, nowadays there are so many resources and activities that can help make Ramadan fun for children.
Read Ramadan Books
The first thing that can easily be done is to read books relating to Ramadan. There are a number to choose from and I am sure more will be released. We are currently impatiently waiting for Curious George which we pre ordered. But others we have and will be reviewing in the run up to Ramadan are:
Ramadan Moon and Under the Ramadan Moon.
Do Ramadan Crafts
Most children love crafts and crafts can be started before Ramadan to entice excitement, or done during Ramadan.
We have done a number of crafts which we can use for Ramadan, with more planned.
Here’s our Sadaqah Jar and a Thankful for box
I’ll be sharing bloggers Ramadan crafts in a post soon.
Make a Ramadan Countdown Calender
I try to make a countdown calendar each year but one that is educational rather than simply treating the children. And again I try to involve the children in making them rather than simply buying. The first year we did this, I got Munchkin to decorate some cups. In each cup I put a small treat, such a sweet, a marble, a small toy with a fact about Ramadan. So rather than it just being about treats, it was educating her about Ramadan.
Another year I purchased some small boxes and in each box I placed a small treat again but this time a ‘good deed’ was put in the box too which Munchkin had to perform either that day or as soon as possible.
This year I haven’t decided yet what we are going to do. I may just cheat and buy one……
Decorate the house
I started decorating the house for Eid but the last few years we have also started to decorate at Ramadan. We keep it simple at Ramadan and then go all out the night of Eid and decorate fully. Rather than just buy decorations. we make our own as it will involve the children more if you make the decorations. One year we made an Eid Banner and each Eid we make paper chains and stars. The decorations don’t have to be Pinterest worthy, but should be about making Ramadan fun for the kids.
If children aren’t fasting still allow them to stay up
So long as it doesn’t mean they are going to be exceptionally tired for school/nursery then it can be made special for the younger ones who may not be fasting to share in Iftari with you. However with Iftari being so late in the UK I highly doubt Bee will still be awake at that time.
Have a family and friends get together for Iftaar
In all honesty our Iftari is kept very simple. We don’t do much preparation in advance of Ramadan and basically just cook and eat what we do every day. So to make it special it is nice to do a family get together or maybe even go out to eat after prayer as a treat one day.
Send gifts to school for Eid
It is nice to get school friends involved by sending gifts. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, even just simple sweets (they always go down well). That can also lead to questions and a discussion about what Ramadan and Eid is.
Have an Eid Party
This is something I am considering for Munchkin. We don’t have birthday parties so I feel this would be a nice treat for her and something else for her to look forward to during Ramadan. It will also show her friends the importance of Eid and allow them to get involved.
What do you do to make Ramadan fun for the children? Do share in the comments and look out for a few guest posts on this topic over the coming weeks.
You may also be interested to read:
Ramadan Traditions with your Children
All ideas are super good but i particularly loved the idea of doing good deed each day ..i will try to follow this one with my 4 year old daughter..
I love the idea of reading Ramadan books for kids….Thanks to forum for giving me a chance to peek into your blogs and knowing such awesome things….
I love these suggestions! We usually do lots of arts and crafts and fun thiings as a family DURING Ramadaan, but havent done an advent to Ramdaan. I especially like the ideas of the decorated cups with a treat inside each one. I guess we could still do something like this, perhaps with a 2 week countdown countdown to Ramadaan. I also agree that its extremely important for us to celebrate and make it as festive a time as we can for our children.
Totally agree with “Living in the West, it can be difficult to get children all excited about Ramadan.” Ramadan is coming Insha Allah in less than a month’s time and I am happy but sad because I miss spending Ramadan in my own country. Here, the fast breaks after 10:00 pm leaving no time for anything else, even hosting Iftaar parties or going to an Iftaar party or even dining at any restaurant. 🙁
Fatima | http://www.blogsbyfa.com
To be honest I am quite sad about Ramadan this year as hubby will be working late and it will be just me and BabyR alone. Here the fast breaks at 5:30 in the evening and thats the time when people are all stuck in office.
Eid party is definitely a good idea but the rest hopefully will be able to implement when my baby grows up inshallah 🙂
Hina – http://www.hinasworld.com/
Curious George has a Ramadan version now! Wow! super thanks and may Allah bless you for sharing this awesome deal. I am trying to get a hold of this. It says it takes between 1 to 3 months to reach here via Amazon! Your Sadaqah Jar is beautiful, love the Thankful For box, and the Pinterest inspired decor is so adorable. The glitter stars are my fav. I have glitter paper and I am doing crescent moons to decorate Ramadan inshaAllah
Ramadan is a month in which I try not to entertain kids! I encourage them to entertain themselves. I would love to have more time with Quran. Never the less, children need constant attention. Your post strikes the right balance. Now Ramadan can be time for little ones spiritual growth as well.
I agree, we need to make Idd standout for children. At tender age it is easy to be fascinated with myths like santa class. Instead of building myths let us show real beauty of patience and inner strength to them. Insha Allah I’ll make a Ramadan countdown calendar for my son. I hope a sadqa box would lease the joy of giving in my son’s heart. 🙂 Jazak Allaposting khair for posting this wonderful article.
Haya recently posted…I am a star
Jazak Allahul khair
I definitely like this Foz. I think it’s important to involve kids and find ways to show them what it’s all about.
You gave me ideas for my little one. I’d like to teach him the basics of Islam, as it’s his dad religion – as for me to be true I can’t wait to fast again!
Looking forward reading others views on this subject.
Take care. xx
The countdown calendars are genius! I can appreciate crafts like that, the the ids can do themselves. I love the idea of putting a fact in each cup/box to teach them something, as well as sweet/date. I may have to steal this idea!!! Do you remember where you found the Ramadan facts? or were they things you already knew?
Omw there’s this idea I always wanted to do with my kids one-day, if you want to see what I’m going with checkout the bodyshop’s Ramadan special box. It’s this box with these small doors, and behind every door there is a special present. The kids don’t know what’s behind the door, it could be mini surprises for them for behaving or fasting. lol it looks like fun 🙂
Fozia, your ideas for making Ramadan special for children are both creative and thoughtful. Engaging them in crafts, reading, and involving them in the countdown calendar adds an educational and enjoyable dimension to the month. Your dedication to sharing traditions and values is commendable.