Like many South Asian parents’ preservation of culture is imperative for me and family too. It is of utmost importance we pass on our cultural values to our children. And so, just like every year we are very excited to celebrate The Festival of Colors- Holi with our almost 5-year-old son.

Holi teaches our kids about unity as a family. I believe it is the perfect outward expressions of infusing hope and optimism into our homes. As Vir is growing older he is understanding and remembering the significance of each of our festivals even more. My mom has been a special influence on Vir for past few months as she has been visiting us from India. He is so lucky to celebrate Diwali in November 2020 and now Holi in March 2021 with his Nani.

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Last year I shared a blog post How to Celebrate Holi in Your Child’s Classroom. Similarly, this year too Vir will be presenting to his class all about Holi. We will be doing the same this year as well. I always prepare Vir for a short presentation that he gives to his class. He did one on Diwali too.

To kickstart the arrival of spring we plan to decorate our home for a fresh feel. Some simple changes I am doing:

Decorating Vir’s study with this Free printable Holi banner

Giving the living room a bright new makeover, with bright and colorful cushions.

Adding fresh flowers to the center, side, and dining table to welcome spring and light some scented candles.

Changing from whites to colorful bed sheets with vibrant pillows and cushions in tandem with the colorfulness of the whole ambiance.

Using Vir’s art to decorate the space especially his Art wall in the room.

On the day of Holi I plan to decorate the dining table and kitchen island with Holi colors in small pots and colorful décor pieces from All Things Artistic (they have some really beautiful pieces of decor items and more), also fresh flowers and of course some homemade delicacies like thandai, shakar parre and gujiyas, savory items and more!

7 DIY activities we are working on to celebrate Holi

1.Last year we made this Easy DIY Holi T shirt. It was a hit and we love how you can make this a family activity every year and wear to school.

2.Making a card for any occasion is an essential part of celebrating any festival. This year Vir made this Paint Splatter card. You need water colors a paint brush and to splatter just use a comb and rub the painted brush .

3.Planting seeds for spring flowers – Not only is its super fun to plant your own seeds and watch them grow, but it provides all kinds of learning opportunities. Besides learning about plants, children also gain knowledge in using various scientific skills like making observations and predictions. Planting seeds also teaches children about responsibility as they learn to care for their plants daily.

4.I recently came across a design and illustration shop called Intrikate Ink https://www.intrikateink.com/. that creates original and customized coloring books, tattoos and even merchandize for adults and kids. This gorgeous Mickey Mouse Mandala coloring page caught my eye and I reached out to the creator Surabhi on her Instagram page to help me share her beautiful work with my son and my readers. This was such successful activity for me and Vir as we both participate and collaboratively completed it. I am framing this one.

Download the Free Mickey Mandala Page here by Intrikate Ink

5. Get the kids in the kitchen and make some desserts. I recently made these delicious and healthy version of Gujiyas with my mom. They were perfect and I can indulge without worrying about too many calories. To see the video and healthy recipe you can check my Instagram post.

6. Rangoli Floor Puzzle from Kulture Khazana has been a such a fantastic way to engage Vir and teach him the importance of it for our festivals. I love through these fun activities our kids can learn the importance of these elements in our culture.

7. Reading Lets’ Celebrate Holi by Ajanta Chakraborty is a great way to learn all about this famous Indian festival of colors including the story behind Holi, the colorful Holi markets, the incredible fun of playing Holi, the delicious Holi food and drinks and even about some unique ways of celebrating throughout the country. We will also be reading this book in Vir’s class. There is also a fun activity book that

Stocking on items to play Holi with family and our friends in pandemic pod.

We started to use the Holi powder to play with our 4 year old since last year only. When he was a toddler, we used flower petals and used these edible homemade paints made with just 2 ingredients to make celebrate the festival with our baby.

I ordered this Holi powder that is anti-allergic, skin friendly, washable, and non-toxic. You can get Holi Powder from Amazon or local Indian Grocery Stores just in time for the festival.

Also I recently got these 100 water ballons packet to prepare for water fight.

And this water blaster . As Holi is incomplete without that splash of water!

You can also use colored bath drops in the mini pool and bath tub to create the colored water effect.

We are very excited to celebrate Holi this year and it’s even more special as my mom is visiting us. Vir is so lucky to have his grandparent, his Nani on this joyous occasion.

I wish you and your family a fresh start and a bright and cheerful 2021. Happy Holi.

Thanks