Sharing Ramadan boxes full of gifts, food and drinks is a lovely tradition in Muslim families. When I was younger and lived in Pakistan, we used to receive Ramzan trays, laid with bowls of delicious cooking and covered by a cloth. They were returned, filled with food and drinks on the next day, in exchange. This was a great gesture to build community but also quite sustainable, as the containers were reused.
Life in North America is different than the one in Pakistan and our ways have changed accordingly. Since the houses of Muslim friends and family are far away, we have all adapted to Ramadan boxes for easier transportation.
I truly appreciate how all our friends become family away from home, and make Ramadan exciting for our children by sharing Ramadan boxes.
I’m sharing some easy ideas to make these Ramadan boxes more sustainable.
Reuse Amazon boxes
All of us have these Amazon boxes at home, and they can be re-purposed as Ramadan boxes, through these simple ideas:
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- Cover the Amazon boxes with white paper and decorate with washi tape. Washi tape can be recycled and it is also biodegradable, making it much better than other forms of tape.
- Cover the cardboard box with white paper and decorate with festive Ramadan stamps. We love the ones by Dstampss.
- Cover the boxes with wrapping paper.
- You can also directly add the stamps to the cardboard box (my kids love doing that).
Here is how a box looked after we decorated it with stamps and washi tape.
and here is another box decorated with wrapping paper.
Use reusable containers
When sending food and goodies in Ramadan boxes, try and use container that can be reused. You can also repurpose containers from the market such as the ones that have fruit, jam bottles and yogurt containers (yes, a desi family favourite).
Repurpose Plastic
We are far from the day without plastic, so the next best thing we can do is not to throw it away but repurpose it. Set aside a bin in the house to put all the plastic bags and wrappers you receive and then reuse them.
Paper/Reusable Bags
You can also use paper and reusable bags to transport Ramadan goodies. The receiver can then reuse them! Make sure you buy good quality sturdy bags, so that they can be used many times and not the cheap kind that will break after one use.
Involve Children
Make sure you involve children as you make these Ramadan boxes. They will learn the community spirit of Ramadan and will take ownership of the project. The Ramadan boxes don’t have to be Pinterest perfect, but the ones you made with children, who will hopefully continue the tradition as they grow older!
Sustainable materials
Get creative and look around your house for decorative items. Here are some great ideas: twine, leaves, old newspapers, magazines etc.
Hope you liked these ideas to make Ramadan boxes that are creative and sustainable. Do share more ideas!