Everything in 2020 has been different including Eid! This year we hosted an Eid garden party with social distancing in mind. COVID-19 is still a reality in the world and it’s important to follow all public health guidelines for your region.
In Alberta we are allowed gatherings of a certain number preferably in the outdoors. Food sharing is an important aspect to maintain social distancing and I tried to ensure individual servings for everyone.
Read all the details below:
Eid Garden Party in the Days of Social Distancing
Invites
Zeynab and I were hosting the party for girls, which included my friends, her friends and any grandmothers who were visiting. Hussein was also allowed two of his friends. So, technically it was a girls party + three boys, as the children liked to call it.
Menu
Since we were hosting the party in hot summer days, I kept the menu light. I also like to have dishes that can be cooked the day before and served without heating. Since I was hosting the Eid garden party in the outdoors, it was especially useful to have dishes that could be served right out of the fridge.
Here are some of the items on the menu:
- Chickpeas + corns salad
- Cold basil salad
- Fruit chaat
- Fruit jelly cups
- Samosas (Bought frozen store bought ones that I baked on the day of the event)
- Dahi wale baingan
- Eid cookies
We made a bigger batch of cookies and packaged as party favours also.
I made everything a day before and kept in individual containers I got from amazon.
Zeynab made these jelly cups herself and was so proud to serve to her friends. They were quite a hit with the kids!
Decorations
For decorations I like to reuse things I have in the house. I went for a desi bohemian theme and pulled out everything from the basement that would be a good fit for an Eid garden party.
We used store-bought pink lemonade because I was short on time. but you can get an authentic pink lemonade recipe here.
I made a tamarind drink also that I learnt from Summaya Usmani’s book, “Summers under the Tamarind Tree”, by blending tamarind paste, black salt, sugar and mint along with chilled water.
Remember to keep a marker and sign close by to remind folks to write their name on the plastic glass they use.
Seating Arrangements
Yes, our garden swing is always part of our arrangements. Here is how we have set it up.
I also kept lots of seats and mats for folks to sit on, preferably at a distance!
Activities
We set up a crafts table for the children with an Eid-ul-Adha theme sheep craft. There were also henna tattoos for the girls to put on.
For the adults we did a fun dance competition by pairing participants and asking to choose a song to dance on. Make sure you assign DJ duties to someone and also have fair judges! These are usually folks who don’t want to dance themselves and help readily.
Serving Food
Before the guests arrived, I set up the table with cutlery and plates. I used sturdy bamboo plates that could hold the weight of the individual containers.
Put labels of where the food dishes will be placed on the table. This helps avoid last minute scrambles and also helps those who volunteer to set the table with you.
This picture was taken when all the food was out of the fridge ready to be served. Because it was extremely hot, it was OK for the samosas to be at room temperature.
One handy tip: never add raw onions in anything you serve and spare all guests some bad breath encounters.
Hope you had a lovely Eid. We definitely had an amazing time dressing up and enjoying the Eid garden party.
Hope you enjoyed these tips on how to host one. Let me know if you have any questions!