With Ramadan around the corner, I am running around like a headless chicken to complete all my tasks. Well, to be honest I started with the prep three weeks ago yet there is still so much to be done.

I like to plan out before Ramadan so that I can focus on the Ibadah and feel less stressed. l will be sharing all my Ramadan Resources with you here.

So, let’s start with the Ramadan Preparation Checklist and go thru each of the tasks to see how far along I have come-

• Calculate and Give zakat– We all need to give our zakat each year. I usually calculate it with help of an excel that I had downloaded a few years ago. I just fill in the rows and the sheet compute the zakat to be given. You could give zakat even after Ramadan but make sure you give most of it away before or during Ramadan.
• Home Cleaning– I just decluttered our wardrobes a few weeks ago and I am almost done with the kitchen and overall house clean up. I do these deep clean ups at regular intervals and just decluttered the kitchen and closet while I was on vacation. It’s good to plan ahead and focus on one area at a time rather than piling it all up till the end.
• Groceries Shopping– Listed out all the items we will be needing for Ramadan and we are almost done with it except for a few minor things. Also did a pantry stock check so we are good to go. A complete Ramadan meal plan with groceries list and Iftar party planner is available in the Ramadan Resources I have listed in this post.
• Ramadan Meal Planning – I have made a list of all the food items that I will be preparing during Ramadan and sorting the into different categories such as – smoothies/coolers, snacks, main course, snacks and so on.
• Ramadan Decor– I have been putting up a Ramadan decor since past three years now. It’s a combination of DIY and some store-bought stuff.  My son is really excited and loves to help me with the decoration. Hence, I will be continuing with the tradition this year. Here is our Ramadan decor for this year-

• Kids Activities– We did a few activities last year although my son was still young to understand about Ramadan. I have gathered a few activity books that I had purchased from amazon. So, I made a Ramadan Gift Basket with my son’s favorite Islamic books, puzzles and a beautiful Salah/Prayer Mat set that comes with a Kufi or skull cap, a cute satchel and a Qibla Sticker. My son loved it and was thrilled to receive this Ramadan basket although he is still too young to use all these items.I also involved my son in few Ramadan crafts such as making a Good Deeds calendar or Ramadan banner, Ramadan Moon phases and so on. The link to these amazing Ramadan Resources that I have gathered from all over the internet will be available at the end of this post.
• Ibadah Plan– I will be using the Ramadan Legacy app to track my prayers, fasting and Quran recitation. I have used this app earlier and it’s good. Trust me you need to use some kind a tracker either an app or a printed tracker. If you don’t track your progress you will easily lose steam after first ten days and will most likely mess up the rest of Ramadan. You could also use a Salah tracking app such as Salah Diary to track your daily prayers, I have listed the App links at the end.

Also, you could use this simple and effective Ramadan Ibadah Checklist to serve as a visual reminder to fulfill all the Ibadah acts during Ramadan-

• Zakatul Fitr and Sadaqa-We live in an Islamic country so it’s easy to pay zakat here and we usually pay it off during last week. It’s around 20- 25 Riyals per person I guess in Qatar. Please check with your local mosques or Islamic center regarding the amount. Also, it’s necessary that we give as much Sadaqa as possible during this month, the key is to stay consistent and give charity through our the month. It need not me in the form of money, it could also be a kind act such as distributing water or dates or feeding a fasting person, or offering to baby sit for a friend so that she could pray Taraweeh.
• Eid Shopping – I am almost done with the Eid shopping for the family. Need to buy few accessories for the kiddos and some items for the Eid party and feast. Also, we have a tradition of giving Ramadan gifts especially for the kids. I usually prepare a gift bag with some Ramadan activity printable or books, stationery, Ramadan decorations such as balloons and some goodies.
• In addition you could add a Thank You or JazakAllah Khair note to express gratitude to close friends, relatives, social workers and even to non-Muslim neighbors.

Alhamdulillah, for making it this far, I hope that we all reach Ramadan and make the most of it. Ameen!

Do share your Ramadan prep progress and also any other resources that you are using in the comments.

Here is the link to all the Ramadan Resources that I will be using –

Ramadan Preparation and Ibadah Checklist – Free Printable

Ramadan Legacy Planner

Salah Diary

JazakAllah Khair Notes

Free Ramadan Resources –  (P.S – These resources are free printables that I have downloaded from various sites and have shared in their original format without any modifications.)