Chances are, when you think about Eid, you think about sweets. After all, after a month of fasting for Ramadan, the candies and breads and sticky gooey things of Eid are extremely satisfying. Across the Muslim world, there are hundreds of traditional sweet goods that remind you of breaking the fast.
That’s not all there is to Eid, of course. Eid is about getting together with family and friends to celebrate each other and your faith. Ramadan is a time of reflection when you can think about what’s important. That’s one reason why a lot of people play games on Eid. Games are a way to laugh, to explore, and to think about your faith and your culture. There are a lot of different kinds of games to play on Eid. There are traditional games, new games, and new games that help you learn about traditions. There are games just for kids and games for kids and adults, like Secret Santa for Eid. Whatever you choose, games to play on Eid bring even more laughter and love to this joyful day.
The Top 5 Games to Play on Eid
The kind of Eid games you play depends on the ages of the attendees of course, but we’re assuming a good mix of ages. Here are a few of our favorites.
Arts and Crafts Games
Paper. Markers. String. Scissors. That’s pretty much all you need to keep kids of all ages engaged and entertained. A crafts table that allows them to create and explore is an enormous gift, awakening the artist in every child (and many adults).
There are a lot of different crafts you can do. One is to cut out traditional Eid decorations—crescent moons, stars, cupolas, and minarets. With the help of the little artists, you can easily have a house that looks how Eid feels.
It’s also fun to teach the kids how to write an Eid message in a bunch of different languages and scripts. They don’t have to be calligraphers to enjoy this. A message of peace or joy—Eid Mubarak, Assalamu alaikum—can be rendered in Arabic, Urdu, English, Pashto, Turkic, or any other language. At the end, it’s art with a message of unity.
Guess the Flag
This one is good for kids who are a little older—and adults! You take flashcards of flags from countries where Eid is celebrated, and everyone has to guess them.
You can play with whatever flags you’d like. There are 50 majority-Muslim countries in the world, and you can play with those flags. Or, you can surprise your children by also using flags from, say, the United States or Canada. After all, there are Muslims celebrating there—maybe that’s even you. It’s a great reminder that Islam is a vital part of every culture.
Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of items or ideas that are hidden, give clues, and send people off to track them down! The items can be things as challenging as a specific Hadith or as easy as a particular flavor of halva. Pairing up people in teams fosters community along with fun competition.
Musical Chairs
You know how to play musical chairs, even if you haven’t played since grade school. Kids love it, and the kid in every adult loves it, too. It’s goofy exercise, sure to send people into paroxysms of laughter (and a great way to burn off some of that sugar high!).
But that’s not the only point. One thing you can do with musical chairs is to play it with traditional music that the kids might not know. This can be contemporary music from around the Muslim world, classic songs, or anything else. I’ve always liked singer Umm Khultum, myself, but it’s entirely up to you. I know people who play it with the Nasheed chanting, which has its own beauty.
It’s a way to hear music you may have forgotten or never known. It connects you with your culture.
Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Gift-giving is an important part of Eid—indeed, there are gifts for children that are specifically called Eidi. That’s why it’s no surprise that in many areas, Secret Santa for Eid has become more and more a tradition.
On Eid, Secret Santa is played more or less the same way it is for any other occasion. It starts with a free online Eid Gift Exchange website, which lets people get names anonymously. From there, the Secret Santa gets a gift for their giftee.
This gift is chosen from a wishlist put together by the giftee. With the right generator, they can build their shopping list online. What’s even cooler is that their Secret Santa can buy directly from their list. They don’t even have to change websites or apps to order the Eidi.
Now, of course, there are many ways to make your Secret Santa successful. But you can also make it themed specifically for Eid. Eid-themed gift exchanges can include books, decorations, cards, and so much more. By setting that theme in advance, you can make sure you have the best Eid al-Fitr gifts for traditional gift-giving.
Eid Mubarak to All
Joy. Family. Love. Faith. Charity. Hope. Kindness. Laughter. Love. Sweetness. Light. Eid is about recognizing that the time we have together is a gift. The sweets we eat together are gifts. This world is a gift. Our loved ones are gifts.
So, no matter what games you play on Eid, enjoy them. They aren’t about winning or losing. They aren’t about receiving. They’re about being together and breaking fast. They’re about the gifts we share.
If you’re doing a Secret Santa for Eid, you want a Secret Santa generator that makes everything go smoothly. Elfster makes it easy to pair people up, shop for gifts, and start a Wishlist. Plus, you can access it all from an iPhone app or Android app.
