We've been trialing some new things around here this Ayyam-i-Ha season and I thought I would just mention a few of the ideas that are working well for us and that I am seriously loving right now. Though I have to admit when it comes to Ayyam-i-Ha the kids are pretty easy to please and are generally willing to give new ideas, even my more unusual ones, a go. So what have we done?
Well, we are still doing the whole one gift each day of Ayyam-i-Ha. That has really become standard over the years. I used gift bags this year instead of the fabric wraps as it was faster and less fiddly. We already had them and you can reuse them again and again...so there. The main change I made this time was to include an Ayyam-i-Ha tree. You'll need to think outside the square for this one. The kids have always wanted to have a Christmas tree so I planned to go to Bunnings (local garden centre) and grab a fruit tree. (Not exactly Christmasy, but then some of the Christmas cards here depict Santa in a bathing suit, riding a surf board with his team of reindeer fanned out behind him. How Christmasy is that? But I digress...) Stone fruit are in season now so the tree would do double duty. First as a centerpiece for the presents in a-similar-to Christmas-if-you-search-for-the-connection-kind of way and secondly the fruits from the tree (when we planted it) would be donated to the Food Bank, which is where we decided to do our service component of Ayyam-i-Ha. But more on that in a minute. That plan didn't quite come to fruition (pardon the pun). When I saw the price tag that would accompany the fruit tree we were forced to down grade. In the end we found a charming pepino bush that fit the budget and also bore fruit. Nine to be exact. So we brought it home, placed some festival figures and presents around it and as it was not the most robust looking plant I placed some wrapped chocolates around the base to brighten it up a bit as it did not quite make it as far as my expectations were concerned. 
Can you see it poking out behind the presents? Not exactly the tree from Times Square, but what can you do? Thank God the children are easy to please. They were just thrilled to show up for breakfast and to find that there were surprises for them on the buffet hutch. Ah, such simple things. And me I love the fact that I get to place 4 bags out this year. Not that Maryam paid them much attention, but it evened out the decorative scheme and was ever so much fun.
Can you see it poking out behind the presents? Not exactly the tree from Times Square, but what can you do? Thank God the children are easy to please. They were just thrilled to show up for breakfast and to find that there were surprises for them on the buffet hutch. Ah, such simple things. And me I love the fact that I get to place 4 bags out this year. Not that Maryam paid them much attention, but it evened out the decorative scheme and was ever so much fun.Another tradition that we have begun, and I am heartily ashamed that we have not done this sooner as it was super fun, easy and educational, is that we donated food to the local food bank. We did this years ago for one of Anisa's parties and it worked out splendidly then as well. We have been seriously slack on the service component of Ayyam-i-ha but perhaps we can do better from now on. At least there is a plan. I began with a treasure hunt. I hid 20 gold coins (Australian dollars are gold coins) around the house and sent the children off to find them. If I had had more time I would have composed a rhyming riddle giving clues to each location. I intend to do this next time. It is fun for the kids and it helps you remember where you placed them all in case you are, ahem... slightly forgetful. In the end we found them all. I even got to help look myself after developing a spontaneous case of amnesia.
But there it was under the fish bowl, just where I left it moments before... not a good sign. Anyway with the funds collected we talked about what we could do with the money to help other people who were not as fortunate as we are. We talked about how 'Abdu'l-Baha always fed the poor and we unanimously agreed to buy groceries for the food bank. We talked about what we might buy, things that will last as opposed to things that would perish, we talked about what people might like to eat and how we could get the most for our money. We grabbed our calculators and hit the store. 
There was much debate and thought put into some of the items and others were purchased because they were on special. In the end, for 20 dollars I think that the kids did really good. Here is what they collected before we dropped it off at the Food bank. 
We will definitely be doing this again.
We had a special Ayyam-i-Ha dinner with my grandmothers china, final presents and yes Mom that's pizza. Don't judge. Next year I plan to do this on the first night of Ayyam-i-Ha and something wonderfully simple on the last. We'll see.
But there it was under the fish bowl, just where I left it moments before... not a good sign. Anyway with the funds collected we talked about what we could do with the money to help other people who were not as fortunate as we are. We talked about how 'Abdu'l-Baha always fed the poor and we unanimously agreed to buy groceries for the food bank. We talked about what we might buy, things that will last as opposed to things that would perish, we talked about what people might like to eat and how we could get the most for our money. We grabbed our calculators and hit the store. There was much debate and thought put into some of the items and others were purchased because they were on special. In the end, for 20 dollars I think that the kids did really good. Here is what they collected before we dropped it off at the Food bank. We will definitely be doing this again.We had a special Ayyam-i-Ha dinner with my grandmothers china, final presents and yes Mom that's pizza. Don't judge. Next year I plan to do this on the first night of Ayyam-i-Ha and something wonderfully simple on the last. We'll see.
We made 9 pointed star flowers and wrapped presents to give to friends and overall had a perfectly spiffing festive season.
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