I got a call from one of my school friends last week. She was appreciating my blog but then she pointed out one thing. Almost all the kids’ birthday were centered around western themes. This got me thinking and I crafted a birthday with Indian Mythology as the theme.
So, the invite might look something like this.
courtesy artsycraftsymom.com
The decor must be full of greenery and waterfall (to depict a forest) or a throne and drawing cutouts of palace.
Now comes the fun part. Since all the kids don’t know the story behind Ramayan or Mahabharat, to make them familiar, create a mini story version. This can be enacted out by the grown ups or older kids. Or maybe you want to show an animated movie about the same. But keep the time constraint in mind.
Then, there can be series of games for this.
1. Art and Craft – make your own crown with old newspapers and bright shiny papers, ornaments etc.
2. All kids may be given one plastic gada (mace) or talwar (sword) and they have to hold it upright in one hand while playing musical chairs (Gaddi sambhaal) game.
courtesy artsycraftsymom.com
3. Photo booth. Different props like moustache, crowns, golden dupatta, swords, bow and arrows can be kept for clicking memorable pictures.
courtesy artsycraftsymom.com
4. Arjun aur machli ki aankh. If you are following Mahabharat theme, you may put up a cutout of a fish with big eye. Now kids will aim for the eye using plastic bow and arrow.
5. Vaanar sena ki jai. Or else, if following Ramayan theme, make a big sea (using a bedsheet) with small stones as bridge. Kids have to walk on this bridge only and try not to fall in the sea. Give them props to hold for added difficulty.
6. Create a photo puzzle online. They are very inexpensive and the kids can be told to solve them in pairs.
Food
Now this can be made interesting. Instead of chinese or pizza etc, make the menu Indian. Ber and some berries can be arranged in a basket and labelled ‘Shabri ke ber’. A thali with chole bhature or pao bhaji, curd, rasmalai and icecream can take the place of Maharaj ka bhog. Keep it simple. Let the kids use imagination and savour the food.
Return Gift
Hard bound books of Ramayan or Hanuman or Mahabharat will be a good option. Amar chitra kathayein also will be a budget friendly gift.
So yes I would love to try this theme for one of my kids’ birthday and will let you know how it went.
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