Numidya: Eid gifts

Time really flies....

Ramadan this year went by so quickly, May God accept our repentance, good and deeds and may He forgive our mistakes and guide us to what's best for us.

Good bye Ramadan!

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Good morning Eid!

Here comes Eid, a day we celebrate, Alhamdoulillah, It is also a day for us to remember our dear brothers and sisters who are less fortunate... those who are sick and bed ridden in hospitals, some are oppressed and stuck in unstable countries, some are widows/widowers, some are orphans.. and the list goes on. Celebrating Eid shouldn't prevent us from remember them with a kind prayer and a thought...

a simple thought.

A simple thought as little as an Eid gift can make anybody happy! kids, teenagers, adults, elderly, no matter how old the person is, she/he is always happy to receive a nice gift. Others feel happier to offer these nice gifts.

Have you made a small list of Eid gifts?

If yes, well done!

If no, what are you waiting for!! It's EID !!! the prophet said: give gifts and you may increase love between each other"

what's a better occasion, to give out gifts, than Eid? aren't we meant to increase love and compassion?

here are:

10 good reasons why you ought to offer some Eid gifts

1- By offering some toys or nice treats (whatever you can afford) to children (your own, relatives, neighbours, friend's..etc) you'll be increasing the children's happiness and their appreciation of Eid day.

2- By offering little gifts to adults and youngsters, you'll be bonding the ties between you and them for God's sake as He loves relationships that are built on love and compassion.

3- Do you love receiving gifts and nice surprises? does it make you feel happy to know you're in some peoples thought and that they bent over backward to please you? now put yourself in other people's shoes.

4- You may actually contribute in making a soul happy, for all we know that soul might not have received anything for years.

5- Some people can barely afford to buy some food to live on, and feel embarrassed receiving charity and help from others, offering something nice and useful for them as a eid gift could ease the awkwardness.

6- Doesn't it make you happy to make others happy? that itself is a remote reward.

7- working upon the verse that says:

Bismillah arrahman arraheem: "وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ"

Transation: "And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend."

verse 34 chapter 41. The Holy Quran.

Gifts can reduce grudges and hard feeling between people. A simple and a small thought can melt someone's heart and can turn an enemy into a dear friend

8- putting some effort into offering gifts is a good investment in the sense that the reward is given in life and the hereafter.

9- reviving the Sunnah and traditions of gifts giving.

10- as the common saying goes: give you may receive. money comes and goes, opportunities and happy occasions come and go too (they pass too quickly sometimes) if we don't have the financial ability to offer something, we could go pay a visit to the sick, bed ridden, at the local hospital, or we could DYI something, hand made decorative ornaments and charms and offer them to someone.

preparing Eid cards

What kind of gifts can we possibly offer?

Obviously it does depend on the financial level/ability and the budget, but not always! really.

For kids:

Numidya savagely unwrapping gifts offered by
Cammy wammy

Gifts from auntie Kriyou <3 bless her

If we take out a little amount of money from our savings and purchase low priced little toys, such as, a little jigsaw game, a frisbee, marbles, bubbles, balloons, party whistles, water guns, a few things for the girl's dolls, a box of beads and laces for the girls to make bracelets and necklaces...etc

if we plan ahead, then, we are very likely to find good deals of these little joys.

One may say, "Oh kids now aren't the same as we used to be at their age, they are hard to please, they like the expensive gadgets ..etc" Fair enough.. However, I'd day, kids also value what you make them value. in the past adults used to play with us a little with the toys they gave us. Kids copy adults and other kids of their age or slightly older. Therefore, if we we offer them something we ought to remember 2 things (okay.. maybe 3):

1- If it's a group, they all need to have the same kind of toys. (if you are offering a tiny jigsaw game and you have about 4 or 5 kids, then you get 4 or 5 jigsaw games. You get the little people to sit down, help them with the first couple of pieces and make thing exciting, praise them and encourage the ones who show little interest to take part by offering a little prize (keep it a surprise - can be sweets, gum or a little chocolate bar to those who complete the game fully and properly.)

2- You need to make it fun for them, by taking part from time to time using the toy with adults so that they can relate to you and see it's a fun game, even adults enjoy it. Most of the reasons why kids have developed a greater interest in the new tech-gadgets (i.e. iphones, tablets, pads) is becaue of their constant observations of adults interest and regular use of these devices. When kids see grown ups constantly hooked to the screens, their little brains tell them it must be fun! remember, kids imitate.

3- The toys need to be interactive and long lasting.

Kids love lego, (a new set for Eid) for everyone to share will bring them all together unlike video games and computer(tablet/pad) games. . They'll have the chance to develop their social skills and interact with each other, play dough, colouring, painting, crafty activities work brilliantly in this respect.

As for adults:

sorting out gifts to pack and offer

A gift I received from my sister Camy wammy

A little disposable plate of sweets and cakes will be much appreciated.

key rings, handmade DYI-ed charms to decorate the room/house with.

a little purse, a bangles, a pendant, a piggybank, accessories..a card, a phone call, a smile, a nice word.

Gift parcels ready to be sent, inshallah they arrive
to their addressees.

Memories:

Eid brings back some good memories from childhood. As kids, my cousins and I used to go visit our relatives and grandparents. Some aunties and uncles used to surprise us with little toys as Eid gifts to make our day special and inject our little hearts with happiness. We used to get easily impressed by and.amazed at how cool Eid was and how cool our family adults were.

some of the toys we got were: spinning tops, small balls, ballons, headbands or hair clips, little pouches containing a few nuts, socks, plastic rings or bangles, a piggybank, bubbles

We felt special when our grandmothers used to bring out their big bottles of eau de toilet or light perfumes and give us a puff one by one! something they never did, so on Eid we felt special and grown up.

Adults used to invite us to sit with them and share a cup of tea. Kids drinking tea is neither a common thing in the city I am from, nor is drinking from the same classy cups that are supposed to be for adults only. So, being allowed to do that on Eid day felt magical; we felt mature and happy. We appreciated Eid.

Drahem El-Eid (Eid money) was something we were so impatient to get.

Memories of the last couple of years' Eids

two years ago, I didn't spend Eid with my family, I barely got the chance to speak to them on the first day, but I am thankful to God for internet, I managed to Skype with them on the second day. My Family relatives got together at my gramps, as usual, to greet each other and have lunch there, My Auntie Sliyou took care of the food making. The kids were thrilled with their new clothes and lots of pictures were taken.

I stayed with my dh, my BIL and my FIL. As the only lady in the group ( with 3 men who acted very seriously), I tried to have a little activity to break the boredom that was starting to invade the atmosphere. So, the night before I had made some fruit shopping, and made some mini-tarts crust at home. I also made some Jeljlania.

FIL enjoying some tea.

The idea was to get the blokes engaged in decorating mini-tarts, then consuming them of course with a little prize - the Jeljlania.

It worked pretty well! although my FIL prefer to just chillax in front of TV while having some tea, the boys and I spent some times decorating the sweets before hoovering them down our throats.

baked crust waiting to be decorated with cream and fruit

My deco

dh's deco

BIL deco

I spent last year's Eid away from my family, too. Thankfully there was internet, so again, I managed to share some Eid moments with virtually, Alhamdoulillah.

Last year's Eid brought me together with my dh and parents-in-law. I was gutted by the lack of time for me to do much for Eid, but I was glad that, unlike the Eid before, I wasn't the only lady in the group. My mother in law, bless her, took care of the food and sweet making, the house cleaning, and making Eid a special occasion. The atmosphere was cozier and we appreciated the day much more.

I made an effort to fix myself up a bit, so I had had a little haircut, and got myself into a dress.