4 min read
Bright lights, sweet treats and family fun, what’s not to love? Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas are two joyful celebrations, perfect for family fun and activities.
Diwali, (the ‘Festival of Lights’) is a celebration of good over evil, and is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. Diwali coincides with the Sikh celebration Bandi Chhor Divas (‘Day of Liberation’) - to celebrate freedom, compassion and standing up against social injustice.
Getting kids involved in these festive celebrations is a great way to help them feel connected, create family traditions and learn values such as kindness and compassion along the way. But let’s be real, if it isn’t fun there’s absolutely no chance kids will be interested! So, here’s a wonderfully bright and engaging list of activities and crafts to do with kids this Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas.
How to Make Rangoli
Rangoli is a colourful pattern created on the floor, commonly from coloured powder, rice, sand or petals. In other words - beautiful and great sensory play for kids!
- Use chalk to draw a pattern on your patio or driveway. Or, cut out a pattern on paper so it can be used as a stencil - place it on the patio or driveway
- Choose your material - coloured powder / rice / sand / petals
- Fill in the chalk outline or stencil with your material of choice
- If using a stencil, lift it to reveal the pattern
To create Rangoli indoors, do it on a canvas so it can be easily moved and you can have a mess free floor. And keeping it really simple, kids can also create beautiful designs with pen and paper instead.
Make a Play Dough Mandala
Use different coloured play dough to create this traditional geometric design. Another great sensory experience for kids, where they get to be creative and enhance their fine motor skills - and squashing play dough is ever so satisfying!
Make Homemade Divas from Clay
We often hear about Christmas baubles being in families for years, why not use the same concept for Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali divas! You can make a new one every year. Eventually, you’ll have a collection of the most meaningful ornaments with stories behind them that can used for generations to come.
- Buy clay
- Have an image of a diva to see the rough shape it should be to hold a tea light
- Mold the clay into the shape of a diva
- Use the end of a pencil or paintbrush to etch patterns, initials, dates or whatever you fancy into the clay
- Wait for the clay to set and harden
- Then paint your diva!
Make Your Own Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas Decorations
This can also be a great eco friendly option, as the decorations can be used again and again. Here are some decorative ideas for inspiration:
- Diwali bunting made from fabric. Use any old or unusable clothes to create the triangle bunting shape. You’ll need scissors and needle and thread to complete this task, so ensure this is age appropriate. Use fabric pen to write the letters on each triangle to spell out ‘Happy Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas’
- Paper cup garland
- Paper lanterns
- Glass gar lanterns
- Floating arrangements
- Clay elephant ornament
Colouring Pages
You can create your own colouring pages, alternatively, there are so many Diwali colouring pages online which are ready for you to print.
We love the website ‘SikhColouring.com’ (this is not an ad, we just love it!). They generously have many free Sikh themed colouring pages. They also have a fab PDF summary of Bandi Chhor Divas for kids.
Create Your Own Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali Games
Not as hard as it seems! This is a great way of teaching kids about Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali in a fun way. Firstly create a list of Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali words, themes, people etc as these will form the basis for most games. Here are some ideas:
- Wordsearch
- ‘Articulate’ inspired game. On a piece of paper write down one of your Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali words. Someone will have to explain what the word is whilst the rest of the family guess!
- Pictionary
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Category words. The categories will of course be Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali. Then write down the letters A-Z in left margin. Kids will have to come up with words for each letter associated with each category. Of course it may n
ot be possible to come up with an idea for each, but they’ll get imaginative trying to think!
Kids Can Have a Fundraiser
In the spirit of light overcoming dark, having a fundraiser and donating to charity is a great way to practice the spirit of Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali. Lemonade stands, bake sales and toy drives are just a few ideas. All the profits can go to a charity of your choice. The kids will get to enjoy the fun of baking, drumming in sales, counting their money and then passing into on to those in need. For the toy drive, kids can gather their pre loved books and toys to sell for a charity of their choosing.
Bandi Chhor Divas is a lesser known celebration compared to others. By having a charity fundraiser in the name of Bandi Chhor Divas will help spread the word to others what this celebration is all about. Equality, serving humanity with empathy and a brave commitment to stand up against social injustice for all are guiding principles for Sikhs – all of which are exemplified in the celebration of Bandi Chhor Divas. This can be all be celebrated in a fundraiser.
Image Source: JalsaRoots©
Serve Langar at the Gurdwara
Kids love getting involved and doing ‘grown up things’. Making roti and serving food will not only instil the value of seva (selfless service) it’ll help them build their independence and confidence.
So many Gurdwara’s also have a range of kids activities where they can also get creative, learn and make new friends!
Ask Reflective Questions
Such a wonderfully simple tradition to begin, but one that will have a huge lasting impact. What’s more, asking kids reflective questions is a great way to encourage communication as a family. Every Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali you can ask your kids reflective questions, such as:
· What have I done to make myself feel good
· What have I done to make others feel good
· What has made me happy this Bandi Chhor Divas/Diwali
· What is the best thing that happened this Bandi Chhor Divas/Diwali
· Did you do anything kind for someone
· Did anyone do anything kind for me
· What is the most difficult thing you did today
· Did you learn anything new this Bandi Chhor Divas/Diwali
You can create boxes on page with the above questions for kids to write and draw to illustrate their answers. Don’t forget to date the answers, so you can look back of them later!
Conclusion
Activities are a great way to teach kids about Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas through play, and they'll create lasting family traditions. We'll continue to add to this list so be sure to save this post for later!
