A New Ramadan Tradition - The Ramadan Basket

Since Ramadan is less than a week away, I wanted to share with you a fun idea to help your child (or children!) ring in this Ramadan.  Our children are often mesmerized by lights at Christmas, the beautiful Easter baskets in the spring, and the abundance of candy at Halloween.  But what about our blessed month, Ramadan? How do we welcome this month in a joyful yet authentic manner that encourages our children to love the month?

I’ve seen it all over Instagram - after Easter, mamas stocked up on Easter baskets.  I was not one of those moms, so my basket is a basic storage basket that I stocked up with goodies for my daughter to welcome Ramadan with.  She’ll be close to 2 ½ when Ramadan begins, so I think it’s a great time to begin instilling the excitement of the month with her.

I want to create beautiful traditions with my family (we’re expanding to add a fourth, insha’allah, over the next few weeks!) that they can look forward to each year.  I also want to be cautious not to make Ramadan too materialistic, so my basket is void of toys (no judgement if yours is filled with them! It’s just my preference) and instead we filled it with books, clothing, and decorate items.  The basket from Home Goods can be reused for storage in her room.

Here is what our humble Ramadan basket contains.  I’m so excited to give this to my daughter the first evening of Ramadan, insha’allah, and hope she enjoys opening the basket and exploring all it’s contents.

Here you go:

1. “Ramadan (Celebrate the World)” book- We purchased the most beautiful book “Ramadan (Celebrate the World).”   It explains the blessings of Ramadan in an easy to understand manner and can easily explain Ramadan to young children.  Bonus - it’s a board book, so she can’t ruin it! We plan to make this our nightly bedtime storybook during Ramadan. At $7, you have to include it in your Ramadan basket - you can purchase ithere.
2. “Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes” book- We absolutely love all things by Hena Khan, and her new book does not disappoint.  My daughter was obsessed withGolden Domes and Silver Lanterns, A Muslim Book of Colors, and I know she’ll just LOVE reading “Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes.”  We love that this book has beautiful illustrations and a diverse cast of characters - and, the little girl from the first book makes a reappearance!  You can buy this book on Amazon for $15here.  
3. Eid Pajamas - Next, we wanted to introduce a new family Eid tradition and purchased for her Eid Pajamas!  This cute set from my shop, Jasmine + Marigold, says “I’ll be Dreaming of Eid” on them and we plan to have her wear them most nights during Ramadan.  They are printed using screen printing techniques, which means the print should hold up through washes! They’re long-sleeved but lightweight, so great for our cool California summer evenings.  They can be purchasedhere. 
4. Alif Baa Taa board book - We also included the gorgeous new Alif Baa Taa board book as a way to introduce Arabic letters in our home.  I remember it being so challenging to learn the alphabet, and this book aims to teach the alphabet in an easy to follow along way.  The illustrations are modern and beautiful - we can’t wait to teach her Arabic letters! You can preorder your copyhere.
5. Happy Llamadan tshirt - We wanted a cheeky, daily wear t-shirt and so we created a Happy Llamadan t-shirt that she can wear during the day in Ramadan or in the evenings.  The shirt is colorful yet fun, and we’re sure she’ll be proud to wear it out. You can purchase thishere.
6. Ramadan Countdown Calendar - Last year, we purchased this Countdown to Ramadan Calendar from Handmade Beginnings.  It’s so well made that we can use it again this year - hooray! We plan to put little reminders in each pocket rather than candy, since our daughter has crazy allergies and we don’t offer treats as gifts.  This same style isn’t available this year, but, the store does have other options. You can orderhere.
7. Wooden Decor - We topped off the decor of our setup with a gorgeous wooden Fez on a String banner fromThe Rustik Home andBint Khuwaylid.  At only $12, it’s a great product that we can use year after year.
8. Ramadan Kareem printable - to pull the basket together, we downloaded a free printable fromWaafiaLA that says “Ramadan Kareem” on it.
9. Modern Eid Happy Ramadan banner.  This is recycled from 2017 -- such a great and sturdy purchase, and, they sell it again!
10. Happy Ramadanstickers from Honey Lemon Events.  Let's just say that I'm low key obsessed with this brand.
11. Ramadan Activity book from Miss Sana Teaches - so beautifully illustrated!
12. Modern Eid Happy Ramadan gold banner for my wreath - this is a new purchase for 2018, and let's just say, I'm in LOVE

If you're looking for the "Days until Eid" and the Suhoor/Iftaar tracking printable , those can be found on my Etsy shop here.  We are donating 100% of the purchase price iA this year to charity for all orders placed during Ramadan.

Are you creating a Ramadan basket to welcome the month?  If so, what will you place in your family’s Ramadan basket this year?  I look forward to hearing what your baskets will include!

 XOXO,

Sidra