If your household is anything like mine the morning of Eid, it will be the epitome of chaos; siblings running in and out of your room, a mother making biyearly phone calls to family and friends, and a father threatening to leave without us if we aren’t ready on time. Luckily, through the many Eids that I have celebrated, I have come up with a (I believe) fool-proof list of preparations to make your Eid day run as smoothly as possible.
- Try On Your Entire Look
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Before the big day, it’s absolutely necessary that you test-wear your clothes! This way, you can check the sizing and fit and, if needed, make adjustments. I also recommend practicing any makeup looks that you plan to do beforehand so that you already have an idea of what colors and products to use. This will save you from the stress of trying a makeup look the morning of Eid, risking not liking it, and having to wipe it all off and start again. By trying on your entire look, you will already know what to expect of your outfit because on Eid, the last thing you want is any unwelcome surprises.
- Do Henna a Couple of Days in Advance
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Henna, with all its beauty, is a pain for the time it consumes, the mess it can make, and the length that it must be kept on. My family often allocates an entire day to doing henna. Now, I will admit, sometimes this ends up being the day before Eid, but that causes dozens of other problems to arise. Natural henna must be worn for almost an entire day to get the best color, so if you do your henna the day before, you might not get the best result when you take it off. Or, speaking from my own experience, you might have to go to bed with the henna and accidentally stain your face with it after sleeping on your hands. Either way, not an ideal scenario. Of course, instant henna exists, and I definitely recommend it if you would like to save some time. But whichever you choose, I would still put it on days before Eid, just in case.
- Take Out Your Outfit the Day Before
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The number one cause of being late on Eid morning is not having your entire outfit prepared and laid out the night before. And I mean everything—clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories. There is nothing worse than not knowing where an element of your outfit is and turning the entire house upside-down to find it, often to no avail. If your outfit is already set out, then all you will need to do in the morning is put it on, and it will save so much time.
Outfit Checklist:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Hijab
- Jewelry — bracelet, necklace, earrings
- Purse
- Other accessories
- Go to Bed Early
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With all the preparations that have to be done, we’re all guilty of staying up late the day before Eid, even me. But trust me, when you have to wake up at sunrise the next morning, your body and mind are going to thank you for going to sleep early. It will make getting ready so much easier if you are fully rested, not to mention that you will enjoy the day’s festivities more. If you have followed my guide, then you should be more than prepared to handle Eid morning, so do yourself a favor: Once it hits 10 PM, go to bed.