Bismillah!
Here is the idea I was talking about yesterday. They are apparently all the craze at the moment, being used at baby showers, weddings and whatnot. As mentioned yesterday, they come in all shapes and sizes, and you can choose whether you want one with inbuilt LED lights or not. The price is not too costly at all – and of course, you can really keep costs down if you go for a simple one like the one with the yellow hearts in the pic – all you need is a set of twigs and a vase!
Now, if you are familiar with Montessori, you will know that they all have an ‘interest’ table, where they lay out stuff that is of interest at the moment, be it leaves and nature stuff during autumn, or certain artefacts from a country that they are studying. Similarly, many homes will have a place where they have some Alams or an Islamic focus. This tree can be your home’s spirituality table! Throughout the year, there are things you can do with the tree to keep your children’s interest piqued, remind them about the different important days that are coming up, etc. If not throughout the year, by all means, put it away and dust it off for the month of Ramadhan 🙂
So here are (JUST) a few ideas for this tree (to prove to you that it is well worth the investment!)…
1) Our primary aim of course was to DECORATE it for Eid and use it as a place to put presents round. For smaller trees, simply place on a table and do so; for larger trees, just around the base. In terms of decoration ideas – have no fear, another post will soon be here 😉
2) We usually decorate after Laylatul Qadr, so when thinking about a possible use prior to that, I came across the idea on Pinterest of using it as a Prayer Tree. Hang up people’s names that you want to pray for, or even your own family’s personal duas.
3) After Eid, how about making it a Thankful Tree? Again, thank you Pinterest! You and your family can think of things you are thankful for that Eid, or perhaps even once a week for the rest of the year, and add that on.
*As a side, note – speaking of thankful/gratitude/Alhamdulillah trees, check out this alternate idea:Â http://www.ruqayasbookshelf.com/planting-seeds-of-gratitude-in-little-hearts-the-gratitude-tree/
4) Or how about a good deed tree? Someone sent this awesome idea in!
5) Someone else sent in this idea – how about making it a tree of knowledge and using it to share ahadith and ayahs of interest?
  
4) Another idea for the rest of the year was to use it to display family pics – a visual prayer tree of sorts! Looks pretty awesome too 🙂
5) Going back to the idea of the interest table mentioned earlier, why not change the objects on and around the tree depending on what Islamic month it is? Perhaps books or objects relating to the holy personalities that are commemorated in the month, or even any Islamic arts and crafts they have done?
6) Lastly (although am hoping you will come up with many more uses), I have a product that is being developed which will Inshallah help us mark the birthdays of the holy personalities with the kids in an interactive manner. Starting from the 17th of Rabbiul Awwal and for every birthday after, they can hang a little wooden piece with their name on it (which can also be decorated by little hands) as they sing Happy Birthday! In a year’s time, the tree will be full and it can start all over again… Inshallah will keep you posted on this 🙂
So get on your phones/iPads/computers and start shopping, people! Ebay, Amazon, etc have loads. And FYI for those of you in the UK, Hobbycraft have some too! We (ie. that creative friend and I!) are hoping to get one soon and perhaps try out all these ideas, take photos and share with you all – so stay tuned!
Would love to hear your thoughts?