After fasting the whole month of Ramazan, an amazing day has been allocated as reward for our efforts for restricting ourselves to what Allah has commanded and for learning to be patient on an empty stomach, just like the underprivileged ones. This is the Eid day — a gift and blessing for Muslims.

It’s a day when we get dressed up in our favourite clothes and footwear, complete with bangles and jewellery for girls. All the family members and friends gather to make this day more distinctive and special from the rest of the days. Some of us leave to meet our relatives and at other times, they come to join us for a feast. It’s an exchange of these cheerful sentiments that add more brightness to our Eid day.

cheerful sentiments that add more brightness to our Eid day.

There are some things that we can do to make this Eid more exciting by combining our traditional rituals with flamboyant ideas. Some rituals like greetings and eating those savouring dishes, we do on every Eid. Let’s do something different and vibrant this Eid!

But we must take care that while we enjoying Eid we should stay withing limits set by our parents and religion, and care of our morals and the surroundings. There are so many ways that can definitely turn this Eid into a more spectacular and memorable event.

Decorate your home

Fasting can be a bit draining and whatever energy is left is spent in shopping, so often the house becomes a mess, with heaps of things lying all over the place and the cupboards all jumbled up.

First of all, you will have to clean the house to give it a neat look and for that, start at least a couple of days before Eid so that nothing is left undone. Start with your own room and things, then see how you can help with the tidying up of the other parts of the house. Suggest to your mum and dad to change the setting of the furniture a bit to give a refreshing look to the house and help them with it.

Apart from that, if you have leftover balloons or decoration stuff with you, now is the perfect time to use it, or you can buy new ones if your mum allows you. You can stick the multi-coloured balloons on the walls or doors.

A few flowers decorations around the house will add a pleasant touch and natural fragrance. Write ‘Eid Mubarak’ on a chart paper, throw vibrant glitters on it, cut it out and paste it on the wall of your main sitting lounge. Add coloured ribbons in a hanging manner over the main door or walls. Yes! You can come up with many similar ideas of decorating your house for this festive occasion.

Cards

Did you think cards went out of fashion? No matter how much the virtual word of social media takes over our life, these little tokens of love will never go out of style. And it is up to us to let this tradition live forever and not let it go into oblivion in this technologically advanced era.

So express your love and wishes in a personalised manner this Eid by making beautiful handmade cards. And you don’t need to be an expert to do that. Simple cards with some good wishes make an ideal option.

Let me help you here. For instance, you can make a really easy one yourself, just take colourful charts and glitters. Cut the chart paper in beautiful shapes and give a glittery margin. Be smart while using the colours — a red glitter stands out on a yellow chart, pink and purple combination, and red and black make a great combination too.

You can make some Eid cards for your friends, family members, neighbours, servants or just about anyone you who is special to you. Write some beautiful wishes along with ‘Eid Mubarak’. You can Google to check out some nice wishes and poems that you can write on the cards.

On the Eid morning, give the cards to your loved ones and you will literally brighten up their days from the beginning.

Gifts

Eid gifts or ‘eidi’ is a tradition probably as old as Eid itself. And while eidi in the monetary form and is always given by elders to those who are younger, eid gifts can be given by anyone to anyone. The gifts aren’t supposed to be big or expensive. It’s the little things that go a long way.

For girls, you can buy bangles, mehndi, hair pins, bands or small jewellery item and it’s all done. I still remember when on a single Eid day, I received so many colourful bangles from my friends.

And for boys, no worries, you can buy stationery items, caps and glasses. It’s not necessary to go for the branded items. DIY gifts are also excellent and so special too.

Of course you should only do this if your parents allow you because even small gifts do cost money and there are so many extra expenses they have to take care of on Eid, so don’t insist if they decline this idea.

If you do get gifts, pack them in a sparkling wrapping paper. These gifts can be for your parents, cousins, uncles and aunts, friends, or anyone you want to give them to.

Chocolates and candies

Chocolates are loved by all. If you can’t think of any gift due to the shortage of time or availability, just buy a few chocolates or packs of candies, that will be a cheaper option. You can give them separately or wrap along with your handmade cards. This is one of the best and most convenient gift ideas and it is always liked by the receiver too. Gift it to your parents and siblings too.

Don’t forget to say ‘Eid Mubarak’ while you are handing these over. It will add some sweetness to the occasion.

Complement each other

We all love to hear compliments, don’t we? Everybody on Eid is dressed in their best things. And there is often a lot of effort involved in what we buy to look superb on Eid day. So don’t forget to complement others, for everyone has put in extra effort that day and likes being appreciated for it. Tell people how good they are looking.

Words don’t cost anything and they are more pleasing than the most expensive gifts. Spread smiles and politeness.

Sharing sweetness

The sawaiyan and mithiae are traditional dishes on our Eid menu and they taste good too. Why not try some more exciting ideas this Eid? Make doughnuts, cupcakes, pastries and brownies then write ‘Eid’ on them or ‘Eid’ on one and ‘Mubarak’ on the other. Have something that you don’t have on the snack trolley the rest of the year!

Chand raat to-do list

Remember, Eid is a special day which brings us closer to each other, so in order to enjoy it to the fullest, everything for the celebration should be ready when the day starts. So on chand raat help your mum in doing the preparations for the next day.

While she handles the main kitchen tasks, you and your siblings can take the responsibility of cleaning and setting the house, getting ready all the clothes and accessories that you will be wearing the next day. This way, your mum will be relaxed that at least she won’t have to prepare for the kids.

If you have prepared cards, sweets or bought gifts for your loved ones, place them neatly somewhere they can’t get damaged and can be reached easily.

These are some simple ways to make this Eid exciting, fun and unifying. You can come up with your own ideas, as long as it spreads happiness and love. Eid Mubarak!

Published in Dawn, Young World June 24th, 2017