How to Celebrate Holi with your Child at Home!

Holi is one of our favorite holidays here at Casa! New teachers and students might prepare by wearing white clothing and waterproof shoes, but you truly don’t know what you’re getting yourself into until the first tiny fist, full of colored powder, starts to wind up and everyone follows. Quick flashes of color rush by, impacting anyone within its vicinity, and the powder begins to trickle down, gently touching anyone running by.

At Casa, we celebrate festivals such as Holi as part of our Core Value of Pioneering Interculturality. Interacting with and understanding different cultures is part of being a world citizen, allowing us to celebrate diversity and bring our community together. 

We invite you to celebrate Holi at home! Celebrating Holi can look different depending on your child’s age. So, below are some ideas and tips for celebrating with your infant, toddler, or preschooler!

How to Throw a Holi Celebration at Home

If you have an infant…

Running outside and throwing colored powder may not be the best activity for your little one, so the celebration has been modified for this age group. 

You will need different color flower petals and a blanket or yogurt and food coloring to make DIY Edible paint. To begin your celebration, read a book to learn more about Holi. We recommend “Festival of Colors!” As you read along, point out items around you that are the same color as the page. This will help your infant build associations with what is around them and will engage them more in the book. If you know the corresponding baby sign language, use that too!

After you have read your book, enjoy a colorful snack. If available, buy the multicolor version of their favorite treat or bring out different snacks. Talk about the colors you see on the plate and how they relate to the book. 

Once your bellies are full, it is time to celebrate! You can either go outside and sit on a picnic blanket as your child plays with flower petals or sit your child on their high chair and allow them to play/color with the edible paint. 

If you have a toddler…

Depending on their age and coordination skills, you might want to consider a different activity other than throwing colored powder. 

For a toddler, you will need shaving cream/soap/whipped cream and food coloring, or colorful balls and a small wading pool/bathtub. Once again, read “Festival of Colors” with your little one and build associations with items around you. We always recommend learning about the holiday you are celebrating to understand the culture and history of the festivity!

Toddlers love sensory activities. They are a fun and engaging way to learn about the world through touch, foster curiosity, and work on hand coordination. Have different buckets of shaving cream/soap/whipped cream and mix in the food coloring. Point out what happens or how the color changes when you only put one drop versus ten drops of food coloring. Sugar-free whipped cream is a good option that will allow your child to engage safely with the activity. 

Another option we recommend is placing colorful balls in a small wading pool/bathtub. This is a great sensory and water play activity! Place colored buckets around the pool and try to put the same color balls in the bucket. 

If you have a preschooler…

Celebrate using colored powder in your backyard!

Invite your child’s friends over for a small party. To throw your own Holi celebration, you will need cake ingredients, vanilla frosting, food coloring, different colored powder available online, or a piñata filled with confetti. 

Once again, start by learning about Holi by reading “Holi Hai!” or “Festival of Colors” and watch videos such as this one to see children celebrating Holi! The children might have many questions, so we recommend reading this blog post to prepare. If there is a special presentation in your community, go and learn from experts. 

Then, make a cake with your child and their friends. Engage them in tasks such as dumping ingredients and mixing, but anything to do with the oven, please handle yourself. Once the cake is cool, give each child a bowl filled with vanilla frosting and their favorite color. Let them thoroughly combine both ingredients, and then begin decorating the cake! Doing this will allow them to work on their teamwork and artistic skills. Once they finished, set the cake aside to enjoy after playtime. 

Now it is time to throw colored powder around the backyard! Set out plastic bowls filled with the powder and allow them to run a round! If you are doing this, please tell the parents beforehand so they may plan an appropriate outfit. For a mess-free activity, fill a piñata with confetti, making sure children are at a safe distance from the swinging. 

How will you celebrate Holi at home?