Hajj Footprint Gift

Last year during the Hajj and Eid period I made an advent calendar for my son. During this time I tried to teach him about different aspects of Hajj. We discussed the Maqam Ebrahim. This would not be something I would just discuss, but as my son knows the story of Prophet Ebrahim (AS) well, I thought it would be fitting to talk about it and explain that Prophet Ebrahim (AS)’s footprints are inside. On discussing this I learnt that my son didn’t understand what the concept of a footprint was. I decided it would be a good idea for him to make his own, so I let one of the pockets in his advent calendar lead to this activity. Make footprints.

Footprint Art

Piece/s of paper

paint (non toxic, in colour/s of your choice)

sponge or paintbrush

Before starting, wash your child’s feet, grab them a chair or something comfortable to sit on, put some newspaper down in the area you need to work in and keep a wet cloth or wipes handy. Paint a foot with the paint and press firmly onto the page, lift off and repeat with the other. If you have older kids and you’re comfortable with them handling the paint, you could always pour some paint into a plastic plate, let them step in and walk onto the paper. Once finished, give the feet a nice wipe down (they’ll still need a wash, but at least it won’t get everywhere in the meantime). Hang up the paper to dry.

We made 3 copies, the first was a practise piece for us to keep and the second 2 we gifted to each set of grandparents.

We printed a note on the paper (if you decide to do this, please ensure your printer is able to handle the painted on paper and test that it’ll line up well once printed), and laminated each sheet. We then put them in A4 envelopes and let the cookie monster give one to each set of grandparents.

Our note read:

Dear Grandparents

I have been learning about Hajj. So far I have learnt that the clothing worn during hajj is called ‘ihram’ and that it is white. I have also learnt that the walking around of the kabah is called ‘tawaaf’. We have talked about the Maqam Ibrahim and that Prophet Abraham’s footprints are inside it. To help me understand we made footprint art. This set of footprints is for you to keep.

Eid Mubarak!

It was a simple idea but the grandparents loved it!