Eid
Party Games
All
of us would agree that Eid should be a time of celebration for the children, and
yet how many times have you been to an Eid gathering and found that the children
are left to run loose while the sisters sit down and socialize? Last year,
having given up on the organized events, a friend and I decided to do our own
party at home. The children had the best time ever because we planned lots of
games for them as well as special food and balloons, etc. This year I plan to
get the children more involved beforehand, making invitations, place mats for
the party food, decorations and so on. Here are a few ideas for games that might
help you to organize your own Eid party.
Runaround
Game (to
burn off some energy, preferably before the meal!)
Draw
four pictures of Islamic objects on large sheets of paper e.g. Mosque, prayer
mat, Ka’aba, hijab. Get four parents to hold up a picture in each corner of
the room (or if the place is small, in different rooms – make sure hallways
are clear if you do this). Stand in the centre and call out one of the names-
children then run as fast as they can to that corner. Alternatively use Arabic
names, or draw places of Islamic importance e.g. the sacred mosques. Keep the
game short and fast.
Puzzles
Try
to get hold of some Islamic postcards of different scenes. If not, back pictures
onto card, or draw your own. Cut into 4 pieces and number 1-4 on the back of
each piece. You’ll need at least three pictures per child to make the game
successful. Put all the 2’s face up in one room, 3’s in another, 4’s in
another and the give each child a number 1 piece. They have to go from room to
room trying to find their puzzle pieces until they can come back to you and make
the puzzle. Then they get given another number 1 piece, until all are finished.
You could cut more or less pieces depending on the children’s age.
Storytime
Beforehand,
prepare a simple story using 4 main characters or objects. E.g. a boy’s name,
a prayer hat, the mosque, the Qur’an. Build a story around them. Draw or write
each one on pieces of card– the more children you have for this game, the
better, so that there are 3 or 5 “mosques”, 3 or 4 “prayer hats” etc.
Get the children to sit on chairs in a circle with spaces between each chair.
Begin to tell the story – as the children hear their card name mentioned, they
have to get up, run around the circle and sit back down again. Of course if 3 or
4 children are doing this it becomes lots of fun, especially if they decide to
run in different directions! Make sure the last line of the story includes all
four card names to end up with them all running around.
Quiz
Time
This
is a good way to end the party, to calm the children down and to remind them
that we are celebrating because we are Muslims, Alhamdulillah.
Prepare
a quiz based around the ages of the children which will ensure that even the
youngest can give an answer and receive a small prize – either for each
question answered or at the end of the quiz. Try to include questions on Ramadan
and Eid, as well as general questions and perhaps recitation of short Surahs.
-Umm Hafsa
Put
The Black Stone on the Ka’aba
Cut
out a large square from firm card e.g. 40 cm². Cover with black plastic from a
bin liner and sellotape to the card. With shiny gold paper or wrapping paper cut
out decorative stripes and glue on. Cut
out a strong piece of black card in the shape of a stone and attach a piece of
bluetak to the back. Children then take it in turns to put the back stone on the
Ka’aba, blind folded. Mark each child’s guess with a small sticker with
their name on. The winner is the one who puts the stone closest to where the
bluetak is on the back. The winner is announced but everyone gets a little prize
e.g. a party popper or balloon. Follow the game with a discussion about the
black stone and its history.
Spinner
Game
Cut
out an octagon from firm card. Draw a line from each corner to the opposite
corner to make 8 sections. In each segment write an Islamic task for the
children to perform. E.g. shake hands and salaam the person on your right,
recite Surah Al’Fatihah, give two other names of Prophet Muhammed (saw), say
the names of the 5 prayers, call the Adhan, etc. You can vary the tasks
according to the age of the children. Make a hole in the center of the spinner
and insert a sharp pencil/stick. Now each child can take turns to spin the
spinner and perform a task. Older children could make their own spinners and
play in small groups.
- Sister Aliya PREVIOUS PAGE HOME
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