Holi is an Indian festival of colors that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, forgetting resentments and welcoming new beginnings. The festival includes lots of singing and dancing, and is well known for the vibrantly colored powders that people throw while celebrating. I am always interested in learning about holidays and traditions from other countries and cultures, and now I get to share them with my daughter as well. Today we are sharing a beautiful children’s book about Holi and creating some fun Holi crafts with all the bright colors!

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Festival of Colors was written by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. This brightly colored book follows two young siblings as they prepare for Holi by gathering and grinding flowers of different colors to create the vibrant powders used in the celebration. The text is easy to read, highlighting the different colors and exploring the different flowers that the children find in the garden . Once the powders are ready, the siblings head to the festival with their family, friends and neighbors.

The text explains what the festival represents, and also shows how much fun it can be. The illustrations are full of amazing colors, showing the happiness and joy that the whole group feels, and the fun that can be had while covering one another in the bright powders. The back of the book also includes more information about the festival.

Holi People Craft

For this craft, we first gathered some old broken crayons in similar colors. We placed them into a bag and smashed them with a mallet and rolling pin. (You may want to use two bags, as the sharp edges of the crayon can cut the bag open). You want the pieces as fine as possible so they stick to the contact paper in this craft.

Next, I cut a frame out of a piece of black construction paper and laid it onto the table. I put tape rolls on each corner and laid a piece of contact paper on top of it, sticky side up. Then, I printed a copy of this printable picture, cut the edges off and glued it in the middle of another sheet of construction paper.

Finally, we sprinkled the crayon pieces onto the surface of the contact paper. Once we were finished, I flipped the contact paper over and attached it to the construction paper frame holding the printable. I glued the edges of the frame together to keep any excess crayon pieces from falling out.  My daughter especially loved making the “poof!” noise as she sprinkled the colors on, like the characters in the book.

Painting for Holi

This art project was another fun way to mimic the appearance of the powders on the people in the book. First, print out this free printable, or draw the outline of a person onto a sheet of white paper. I set out different colors of paint onto a plate, and gave my daughter an old toothbrush to use.

We dipped the old toothbrush into the paint and used our fingers to flick the bristles toward the paper. This left a fine splatter pattern on the page that looked a lot like the powders in the illustrations. My daughter had a lot of fun with this one. She also used the paintbrush as a brush, stamping and swiping on to the person outline.

Collecting and Sorting Colors

While the kids in the story are collecting flowers to create their powders, they are also helping the reader to review different flower names and color words. This was a great opportunity for us to work on a variety of skills with a simple sorting game. First, I cut several flower shapes out of various colors of construction paper. Next, I scattered them around the room and encouraged my daughter to “pick” them. (Since we are still in the gray stages of winter here, this was a fun way to prepare for Spring too!).

Once she had gathered the flowers in her basket, we laid them out on the floor and I encouraged her to sort them into piles based on their colors. This not only gave her an opportunity to work on sorting, but also helped her to review color names, and encouraged us to talk about the types of flowers that bloom in each color around our home.

Holi Powder Toss

If you are really daring, there are Holi powders available online for purchase. Dress in white and head outside to have your own mini festival! Talk about the meaning of the holiday and the new beginnings that Spring can bring for you and for your family. Then have fun tossing the colored powders at one another!

Spring is a time of new beginnings and I loved learning all about the meaning behind Holi. This fun book has definitely encouraged us to learn more about the festival! Does your family celebrate Holi? Share in the comments!

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