Modern Muslima | Fun Ideas for Ramadan

Ramadan Fun Time

activities and crafts for friends and family, children and adults

by Saraji Umm Zaid

Every year at Ramadan time, Muslims, especially Muslim moms, ask one another what activities and crafts they can do to make Ramadan special and fun. Some people out there frown on having fun in Ramadan, and say that we shouldn't have to make up for the bombardment of Christmas. They are right, we shouldn't have to.

However, even home schooled or Islamic school going kids see the fuss that surrounds Christmas and become aware of all of the things that kids and families do together at this time. It is not wrong for a Muslim mother to try and find a way to make Ramadan special, so that her kids know and remember that it is just as important to us as Christmas is to Christians.

Over the years, I've been told or come up with a number of Ramadan fun ideas. Some of these are appropriate for all ages, some are for kids, some can be done with friends, and some are okay for a husband and wife without kids.

Small Children's Activities

If your child is over the age of 6, you should start her or him on half-day fasting. Make it special for the child. For example, they can eat a special snack when it's time for them to make "iftar." You and your child can buy a piece of posterboard at a craft store, and make a child's "fasting calendar." Everyday when the child completes her or his "half fast" (or, if the child is a little older, a full day of fasting), you can mark it on your fasting calendar with stickers or colored markers. You can set a goal for the child and then give her or him a special prize once they accomplish this goal. For example, a 6 yr old child half-fasts 15 days, and her prize is a new book. Another way to make this accomplishment extra-special is to donate a dollar for everyday she's half-fasted to charity, and to give her the privilege of putting the money in the donation box.

Another way to include smaller children in what is essentially an adult month is to put her or him in charge of a small but significant aspect of the month. My suggestion is to let the child fill a small dish with dates each evening and be responsible for distributing dates to each fasting member of the household at iftar time.

You can also make a "Ramadan Book" with smaller children. Use blank paper, punch three holes in the side and tie them together with ribbon (try green!). You and the child can then write a story about what makes Ramadan special, and she can draw decorations to go along with it. This item can be saved for future Ramadans, or as a keepsake.

Older Children's Activities

Once your child reaches the age of 8 or so, she or he should be able to fast whole days for at least a part of the month. Again, you can make a "fasting calendar," and set a prize-goal for the child, as well as a charity goal. If your child can read the Qur'an, you might want to set a Qur'an reading goal as well.

If your child is at the age where he can clearly write, let him start keeping a "Ramadan Journal." In it, he can write about his feelings and thoughts on fasting, reading Qur'an, going to the masjid for tarawih, being with family, and so on.

If you have more than one older child, or can gather a group of children, why not have them write and star in a Ramadan play? They can base it on the themes of the Qur'an, fasting, charity, togetherness, and so on. This could also be a fine activity for an Islamic school or masjid.

Family & Friend Activities

As a family, you should set aside a portion of the day to reading the Qur'an together. I recommend the period of time between iftar and isha' prayers. After everyone has eaten, and before the mad rush to the masjid for tarawih, sit together and take turns reading the Qur'an (in English, Arabic, Urdu, or whatever you read). When you're done, talk about what it means, how your fasting day went and so on. You might want to keep Ramadan Journals, and read your entries aloud (or not).

If you have children that are old enough, why not sign up and volunteer at least one weekend day to working in a soup kitchen? You should call six weeks in advance, as some kitchens can not accommodate last-minute volunteers. If you can't do a soup kitchen, there are probably many other opportunities in your community. An alternate idea is to organize a clothing / used goods drive among your friends, family, and community, or have a tag sale and donate all proceeds to charity.

One of my favorite idea is the Word Jar. This can be done with kids as young as 8, or between friends, or with a couple. The idea is that each family member has his or her own jar. You can decorate the jar (or other container). Each member of the family writes out a list of five common but not too common words. For example, "iftar," and "work" are common words, but "the" and "and" are too common. Then you give the words an amount, say twenty-five cents or a dollar. Every time another member of the family uses a word that's on your list, they have to put that amount in your jar. At the end of the month, the money in the jars goes to charity.

The Word Jar can also be done among roommates, co-workers, and a couple without children. Between two individuals, you can agree that the money in the jar goes towards buying a gift for each other, or you can have two jars and two sets of words.

With adults, families, or friends, you can arrange a nature study group. One individual is assigned to find ayat in the Qur'an that pertain to various aspects of the natural world. Another individual looks up information about those aspects (flowers, rain, wind, thunder) in a science book. On a Saturday morning, the group can gather at a park or preserve, read the ayat and scientific information to one another and then take a light hike / walk through the area.

If you have a group of friends or a family, and wish to exchange gifts, but don't have enough money to buy one for everyone, you can make a Secret Friend arrangement. Write each other's names on a slip of paper, stick them in a hat or bowl, and each person draws a name. Agree to set a limit, such as $20, on the value of the gift. Wait until 'Eid to reveal to the recipient who his or her secret friend is.

Decorations & Crafts

There are some Islamic websites and companies who sell plans on how to make a star and crescent shape using pegboard, and then fill it in with decorative lights. You can also make your own using medium-duty wire or styrofoam (go to your local craft store; get wild).

Green lights are always fun, but so are multi-coloreds. Some Muslims prefer to decorate the inside of the house with lights, so as not to mislead neighbors into thinking they are celebrating Christmas or Channukah or any other holiday.

Many home decorating stores have runners, placemats, and other decorations in the shapes of stars and crescents, in the colors gold and green or white and gold. You can liven up your iftar dinner with such items.

Another idea is to make an arabesque star stencil from a pattern on the internet or in a coloring book. Blow up the shape to whatever size you like, trace it on heavy duty cardboard, and cut out the inside. You've now got a stencil. You can use this stencil to paint shapes on boxes, paper, signs, or to make a decoration with. To make a decoration, trace the pattern of your star stencil on light tagboard (the kind used in manila folders). You can then cover the tagboard with glitter, paint, wrapping paper, or anything else you like. Punch a hole in the top of each tagboard star with a paper hole puncher, and hang them from the ceiling or in the widows with green ribbon. You can string them together to make a banner.

Party supply stores will often make customized banners in multi colored foil covered cardboard letters. You can have them make one that says 'Ramadan Kareem' or 'Blessed Eid,' in all green, green and gold, or multi-colors.

Craft magazines and books fill the shelves of book and craft stores, and there are plenty of age-appropriate projects to be found for adults and kids alike. For example, if you have older children, you can buy blank t-shirts and decorate them with fabric paint and glitter with things like "Ramadan 2004 / 1425." You can buy blank greeting cards and decorate them for friends and family. You can decoupage craft boxes and use them to give gifts to one another.

Parties & Iftars

Personally, I would hold off on parties until 'Eid or just after 'Eid. However, an iftar with a touch of celebration can be held anytime. If you're a married couple, why not get together with another couple and plan a men only / women only iftar? You can hold it on the same day or on alternating Saturday nights. One couple will host the men's, and one couple the women's. You can do all the cooking between you, or make it a potluck.

If you have a close circle of friends, you can plan to have alternating iftars throughout the month. You can make the iftars a "theme." For example, one iftar is American food, one is Italian food, and so on. Or you can make it pot luck, and alternate among you which family will bring one dish (example: one family brings salad, two bring a side dish, one a main dish, and one family a dessert; the next week, you switch around).

If your family is non-Muslim, you may want to invite them over for an iftar dinner. Make it a weekend night. You can make all-American classics, like roasted meat and potatoes, or something "exotic," such as Indian or Arabic food. Let them participate in eating dates and drinking water with you at maghrib time, and explain the significance of it if they don't know. After dinner, try to spend an hour or two with them before heading off to tarawih (if you go).

For a sisters' 'Eid party, you can't go wrong with a mehndi (henna party). You can hire an artist or get a few of your friends to volunteer. Make a pot luck or finger foods only: popcorn, nuggets, chips, salad, fruit, cake, and other light foods.

The point of all this is not to imitate what the Christians do at Christmas. The point is to make Ramadan and 'Eid special for those of us living in non-Muslim countries. Like it our not, we have to "compete" in a sense with Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Channukah, and New Year's Eve. Our children are bombarded by images of material goods and where the message is that "giving is the best part," but only if you're giving a high definition television or brand new Lexus to your spouse. Our job as parents is to show them that Ramadan and 'Eid are holidays given to us by God, and that we're allowed to have fun without going overboard. Even with decorations and cookie baking, we should always be remembering those who don't have what we have. We need to teach our children that giving, real giving, is fun and that it is a part of our holiday and our religion -- all year round, but even more so during the Month of the Qur'an.

Ramadan Mubarak to you and yours.

Ramadan for Women: Making it Special, Making it Spiritual