Fun Holi Ideas & Activities for Kids

Come and celebrate Holi with us today! Holi, also known as the Festival of Colour is a wonderful spring celebration, celebrating new life and the triumph of good over evil. Holi is a two day celebration in March. Let’s take a look at some wonderful Holi ideas and holi activities for kids and families.

What is Holi?

Holi is a Hindu festival that lasts two days. It is a spring time festival originally celebrated in Northern India, but now celebrated by Hindus all over the world. It is also known as the festival of colour and it welcomes spring. It is most known for its colored powder runs (which happen on the second day of Holi) – where people gather and have a super fun filled colored water/ colored powder fight! Holi celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It is a time for forgiveness, friendship and family.

The evening before the color run is known as Holika Dahan – the end of winter. This is celebrated with a bonfire – symbolic for the burning of the demoness Holika – symbolising good wining over bad.

Popular holi themes to explore with kids

• Anything bright and colorful – especially colored powder/ splat art type activities
• Bonfires for Holika Dahan and the end of winter
• Love, friendship and forgiveness
• Holi traditional foods such as gujiya (sweet dumplings), Dahi vada (yoghurt dumplins), Pakora (fried cheese fritters), Barfi (Indian sweets)

Symbolism of the different colours

As Holi is all about colours, it is not surprising, that the different colours have different symbolisms! Here are the most important ones:

Green – Spring
Blue – Krishna
Red – Love
Yellow – Tumeric (popular in food)

Holi Ideas and Activities

We have some craft ideas with photos and links shared below.. but here are some additional ideas you can consider making:

• Make some Holi Bunting – this can take any form you wish – you could simply cut out some triangles in different colours and connect staple them all to some string. You could use the splat painting techniques outlined below and also use those to create your bunting triangles. You can cut out white triangles, and write the Happy Holi on them and get the children to decoracte. You can combine any of these Holi bunting ideas with some handprint cut outs!
• Make Holi Greeting Cards – again, use some of the splat painting ideas outline below and cut them out, add to the front of greeting cards.
• Make Holi Decor – From some recycled boxes, cut out the word H O L I in large letters and decorate
• Make traditional Holi Food – I always think food is such a wonderful part of any celebration, that exploring and experimenting with new recipes is always a fun part! Here are a wonderful set of recipe ideas to browse and be inspired by! But.. be sure to include some of these Holi Sugar cookies:

These Sugar Cookies are so tasty, so easy and fun to make. Find out more from Love Laugh Mirch and her family!

How to make colored powder for Holi celebrations

• Cornstarch
• Water
• Food colorings
• Foil trays or baking tray lined

In essence you just mix the cornstarch with food colored water and let it dry out. But you can read the full how to make coloured powder instructions here!

Make a Holi T-Shirt

The main poinr about a Holi T-shirt, is to actually “get out there” into the Holi Color Run and get it as “naturally” colored by the water and colored powder fights as possible!!! But of course, you may wish to simply create your own wonderfully colorful Holi T-shirt instead!

There are lots of ways you can do this:

• Make handprint tshirts
• Have a go at tie dying
• Create splatter paint t-shirts (use the splatter paint techniques outlined below)

Alternatively, here is a lovely idea you can try out too:

Hobby Ideas has a cute Holi T-Shirt DIY for you.

Holi Friendship Bracelets

Holi is a time for forgiveness and fresh beginnings! So why not make a some Holi friendship bracelets to pass out to friends and family? As you know, we have MANY friendship bracelet crafts to inspire you – but we always come back to our oh so favourite Cardboard Disc Braceletes – as they are os easy to make and a great way to add lots of colors to your bracelets.

To make these friendships you do NOT need to purchase the anything, you can make your own cardboard loom. That said, I have created a super simple 3 page printable pack – to use in the classroom or at library events etc. You can get this over in the Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s Store! I especially love the 4 little Happy Holi cards you can print and attach your friendship bracelet too!

Holi Art Projects

There are host of fantastic Holi Art Projects you can do with kids:

Any kind of Splatter Art, is particularly appropriate for Holi celebrations. If you go “big”, you can use this splatter art as gift wrap paper and Holi gits. The Artful Parent has some great splatter art tips for you.

You can also combine your splatter art with some black tree outlines. As trees are a lovely symbol of nature, growth and spring, these make great Holi Splatter Art projects. Learn more with Projects with Kids here.

Or why not have a go at either throwing or splatting spongings to create some wonderful splat art. Throwing color soaked sponges is a great way to “mimic” the Holi color run activity, without being overwhelmed by crowds and people. Using sponges, instead of water balloons, for your colors, is also a great eco friendly way to enjoy the Holi celebrations. Learn more with Taming Little Monsters!

Or why not have a go at these lovely Holi Greeting Cards by Artsy Crafty Mom?

Make some wonderful color fun portaits with kids of all ages. How cute are these? Katie Morris Art explains all the steps!

Make some Rainbow Oobleck for a Holi sensory activity

The Playbase Mom has this WONDERFUL rainbow oobleck activity – which makes for a fantastic Holi activity for Preschoolers. A colorful sensory activity which feeds right into the cheerfulness of Holi – but perfect for doing at home, without the excess mess and crowds of people – this Holi activity is perfect for preschoolers and toddlers alike.

Make a Rainbow Skittles Experiment

Why not create your own “fireworks of color” in a bowl with this super fun and oh so easy Rainbow Skittles Experiment from Science Sparks!

Bonfire Crafts For Kids

As mentioned previously, bonfires are a big part of the 2 day holi celebrations. As you celebrate the end of Winter on Holika Dahan – the night before Holi, bonfires play a big part! So why not make some lovely bonfire crafts with the kids?

Woo Jr has a lovely handprint bonfire craft ideas. You can either trace hands onto colorful paper or make some wonderful fire coloured handprints to cut out. And assemble them into a cute keepsake bonfire craft!

Or how about this lovely tissue paper bonfire collage from Activity Village? So pretty, quick and easy!!

Finally, how lovely is this bonfire art project by Crafts on Sea? So fun!

I hope you have been inspired by these colorful Holi Ideas and Activities! As Holi is a big a celebration, many events also end in a Holi Firework Display. SO.. you may also wish to explore this set of wonderful Firework Themed Activities for Kids: