Family Indoor Entertainment Ideas

Assalamu Alaikum!

We hope you are all well, insha'Allah. We've been in isolation for a couple of weeks now, studying and working from home, and things are going smoothly despite the few challenges, alhamdulillah. However, we have noticed that many people on social media are finding it hard to keep themselves and their families entertained at home. So we have come up with a list of indoor activities that you can do for entertainment with the whole family. Let's get straight into them!

1. Have a Family Pizza Night

Yes, we have heard the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth", but we also have a strategy to prevent that from happening, insha'Allah! Don't be afraid to get everyone involved, just make sure to assign each person a task. Whether it's chopping up the toppings, rolling out the dough or grating the cheese, if everyone has a specific job to do you should be fine, insha'Allah!

2. Have a Spa Day

Dim the lights, burn some incense and scented candles, and pamper yourselves at home with a DIY facial. This will definitely appeal more to girls and mums, but guys can enjoy winding down and relaxing now and again too. Maybe get the little kids on board by letting them give mum and dad a massage...then again, maybe not!

3. Watch a Documentary

This is a fun, educational way to spend an afternoon. There are many wildlife documentaries you can watch - our personal favourites are any of David Attenborough's ones. We like documentaries on History, Health, the Environment and we have also enjoyed watching How It's Made. It's a TV program that shows you how objects we use on a day to day basis are made, taking you through the entire manufacturing process.

4. Build a Fort

It's no secret that kids love building forts and hideouts, but the thing is most people do, no matter how old they are! Next time you want to build a fort, ask your parents to help you. Insha'Allah, they will show you how to construct something impressive and will also enjoy themselves too!

5. Decorate Cupcakes

It might not be practical to bake together as a family, but you could always sit around the dining table and decorate some cupcakes. Set out all the decorations, frostings and cakes, then get creative with your designs! You could try using crushed nuts, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut for decorating as a healthier alternative.

6. Play Treasure Hunt

Make a treasure map, set out little clue cards around the house and hide some goodies as treasure! This is a game we thoroughly enjoyed playing and especially when our parents set it up for us. You could also include riddles, puzzles, maybe even dress up and act the part to get fully in the pirate spirit!

7. Write a Family Newsletter

We have done this before and we really enjoyed it so we recommend you give it a go! All the kids can have fun being writers, each choosing something to report on for the newsletter. Perhaps someone could do the illustrations or take photographs. It would be fun to include poems, stories and even recipes. Once everything is written up and edited, you can send it out to family. Although, at present we would recommend you send it to them virtually just to be on the safe side!

Well, that's all for today! We hope you liked this post and we will see you next Friday, insha'Allah.

Take care and Wassalam,



Update: Coronavirus, Isolation and Passing Time Indoors

Assalamu Alaikum everyone!

 

We hope you are all in good health and Imaan, insha'Allah. In today's post we wanted to discuss how we are coping with the lifestyle changes we have had to make recently due to the Coronavirus outbreak. We are staying at home all the time and only our dad is going out to shop when necessary. Alhamdulillah we are feeling fine at the moment and we hope that you are all coping well too. It is more important than ever to take care of your health, mentally, physically and spiritually, during this time. That's why we've put together a list of some of the things we are doing/going to do to try to stay healthy, insha'Allah.

 

1. Eat Healthily

This is something we should all be doing anyway but especially now. We rarely order out in general, but we are choosing not to until this outbreak has passed, insha'Allah. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day. A great way to get your five-a-day is to juice them or put them all in a smoothie. Here are a couple of recipes you might want to try out: Mango Smoothie and Green Smoothie.

2. Stretch & Exercise

Since many of us won't be going out and being as active as usual, it is important for us to stay fit at home. Even if you don't want to do a workout, try to stretch daily or several times a week. This will help strengthen your body and immune system, keeping you healthy, insha'Allah. There are many exercises you can do that do not require any equipment. Find a routine that best suits you and get started!

3. Do a Spring Clean

One thing we want to do is clean and de-clutter our whole house, and we encourage you to do the same. We know that this can sound a bit daunting, but our tip is to start with the room that needs the least amount of work. Once you get that room done, you should insha'Allah feel motivated to carry on.

4. Read Quran

Whether you're aiming to learn a new Surah or simply to revise what you already know, reading Quran is one of the best ways to relax and de-stress. Even just having it played in the background as you cook or clean is very calming and soothing.

5. Listen to Islamic Lectures

In Qatar all the mosques have been closed, and we've heard that this is happening in many places around the world. Obviously, this means that people were not able to attend Friday Khutbahs and prayers today. As sad as this is, we can still strengthen and boost our Imaan by listening to Islamic Lectures online. This is one of the many ways in which technology can come in useful!

6. Make Dua'a

It's at times like this when we may start to feel helpless, worried and stressed. Our daily routines have been disrupted and we are uncertain of what the future holds, but we must not despair. Wherever we are and whatever trial we are facing, we can always turn to Allah for guidance and comfort. He is the All Hearing, All Seeing, Most Merciful and Most Kind.

7. Read a Book

We all most likely have extra time on our hands and it is best if we use it wisely. While it is fine to spend some time watching TV, playing video games and scrolling through your phone, try to balance it with healthier, more productive pastimes such as reading. As any bookworm would know, there is nothing better than losing yourself in a good book.

8. Bake From Scratch

Whenever we bake we always do it from scratch, masha'Allah. It is healthier, tastes better and is a very rewarding and fun thing to do! We know that some people find baking from scratch difficult or time consuming, but we think everyone should give it a try some time. To help you get started, here are some simple recipes on our blog that we recommend you begin with: Chocolate Cupcakes, Shortbread Biscuits, Easy Peasy Orange Cake, Rock Buns and if you are not yet ready to use an oven then why not give our bake-free Date Energy Balls recipe a go.

9. Get Artistic

Alhamdulillah, this is something we have always done so it is quite natural for us. There are numerous ways in which you can get artistically creative. You could draw, paint, do a simple DIY craft, crochet or practice photography.

10. Write a Story or Journal

Recently, this has been our favourite pastime activity. We really enjoy writing stories from simple short ones to ones that require a lot of research and detailed planning. If story writing is not your cup of tea, perhaps you might prefer journaling or keeping a diary. Try putting pen to paper and seeing what you come up with!

 

We hope you have found these points helpful and that you give them a go, insha'Allah. We will leave on a positive note with two comforting ahadith:

Usamah ibn Sharik reported: A bedouin said, “O Messenger of Allah, shall we not seek treatment?”

The Prophet said, “Yes, O servants of Allah, seek treatment. Verily, Allah did not place a disease but that he also placed its treatment or cure, except for one ailment.”

They said, “O Messenger of Allah, what is it?”

The Prophet said, “Old age.”

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2038

Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Tirmidhi

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Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

“This blackseed is healing for all diseases but poison.”

She said, “What is poison?”

The Prophet said, “Death.”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5363
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Bukhari

Take care and stay safe.

Wassalam,



Collage Spread Craft

Assalamu Alaikum everybody!

Todays craft is one that we had completely forgotten about. So lets begin!

The aim of the craft is to start with a plain piece of A4 sized paper/card and get creative with paints, colours, patterned paper/material, ribbons, etc.

For this post we will show you Maryam's and Zainab's spreads and save Hanifah's and Sumayyah's for another Friday, insha'Allah.

Maryam's Spread

It's Maryam! I didn't really have anything planned other than I wanted to include nature in my spread. So I decided to go for a safe light colour for the background, and settled on different shades of pink.

I then stuck on a heart shaped paper doily and some torn patterned paper for some texture.

Then I painted over it again. I didn't know were I was going with it all so I stuck a tree in there to help me, and then, masha'Allah it all started to come together!

I added clouds that ended up becoming mountains in the sky/distance.

I'm happy with the end result alhamdulillah and this craft has definitely made me want to paint more often.

Zainab's Spread

It's Zainab here! I knew I wanted to use a lot of materials and that they would overlap. I chose my patterned papers and decided on a colour for the background that suited them best; which was a mixture of red and brown.

I stuck papers down like so, making them resemble mountains and hills. I used a little patterned tap too.

I felt the middle was a bit bare, so I wrote a quote with a brown pen.

Alhamdulillah, I am happy with the result.

Well that is all for today. We hope you liked our collage spreads and that you give it a go and get creative! Until next Friday, insha'Allah.

Love and wasalaam,