🗓️ Save the Date: Janmashtami this year falls on Saturday, August 16, 2025.
In every Indian household, Janmashtami is a gentle reminder that joy often comes wrapped in a whole lot of chaos.
And when you’re celebrating it with little kids?
Well, let’s just say it’s less “peaceful temple bhajan” and more “running commentary from your toddler on why Krishna really needed all that butter.”
This year, as we prep for the birth anniversary of the cutest prankster, our home has been buzzing.
Between my toddler’s endless questions (“Will baby Krishna cry like my baby brother?”) and my baby’s fascination with every dangling decoration, we’re already halfway to a full-blown leela.
📖 Step 1: The Storytime Hook
Kids love stories, and Janmashtami is storytelling gold.
From Krishna’s miraculous midnight birth in a prison cell to his butter-stealing escapades in Gokul, every detail makes their eyes widen.
At bedtime, we’ve swapped our usual books for colourful Krishna picture stories and coloring pages.
My toddler’s current favourite?
The one where Krishna hides from Yashoda after stealing butter—because apparently,
“Mama, this is exactly what bhaiya will do when I catch him taking my toys.”
⚜️ Step 2: Little Hands in the Décor
Janmashtami décor is as much about creating a festive vibe as it is about letting the kids feel involved.
We are making a mini jhula (swing) for baby Krishna’s idol, and my toddler insists on “helping” by adding every flower from the basket—so Krishna’s swing now looks like a mini flower shop.
My baby’s role?
…Trying to eat the marigolds.
It’s teamwork, baby, in their own way.
🥻Step 3: The Dress-Up Drama
If there’s one thing toddlers love more than festivals, it’s dressing up for them.
This year, we’ve got tiny yellow dhotis, peacock feathers, and bead jewellery ready.
The catch?
Convincing them to keep it all on for more than three minutes.
Pro tip from experience—do the photoshoot before the prasad is served.
Once the laddus come out, the dhotis are history.
🎼 Step 4: Bhajans and Baby Beats
Music is the heart of Janmashtami.
We’re making a playlist of bhajans and fun Krishna songs for the kids.
My toddler’s version of “Govinda Ala Re” sounds suspiciously like a nursery rhyme, but hey, devotion comes in all pitches.
🪷 Step 5: Puja and Prasad Prep
Midnight puja is the highlight of Janmashtami in our home, and the prasad is just as important.
To keep the evening smooth (and my energy intact after fasting), I prep both together:
- Clean and decorate the puja area in the morning so you’re not scrambling at night.
- Arrange the jhula with flowers, leaves, and lights, and keep baby Krishna’s clothes and ornaments ready.
- Set out a puja tray with incense sticks, diya, dhoop, conch shell, water for abhishek, and a plate for offerings.
- Prepare the prasad early — makhan-mishri, laddus, and fruits — so they’re ready for the midnight offering.
- Give the kids mini roles like offering flowers, ringing the bell, or “helping” mix the makhan-mishri (translation: taste-testing every 2 minutes) while the baby busy creates his very own music with a spoon and a steel bowl—his first percussion instrument. The house might look like the aftermath of a butter heist, but isn’t that just on theme?
🥥 Step 6: Janmashtami Fasting Tips
In our home, Janmashtami means a full-day fast until the midnight puja, but fasting with little ones around means you need to be strategic:
- Start the day with hydration – coconut water, lemon water, or milk to keep energy up.
- Keep sattvik snacks handy – fruits, makhana, or milk-based drinks to break the fast after midnight.
- Avoid heavy cooking early – prep as much as you can the previous day so you’re not battling hunger and kitchen chaos together.
- Plan kid meals separately – little ones don’t fast, so have their food prepped early to avoid meltdowns (theirs and yours).
🧼 Step 7: The Great Clean-Up
Once the laddus have been eaten, the butter “accidentally” smeared on the table, and the jhula flowers scattered all over the floor, comes the part no one puts in the festival photo album—clean-up.
It’s usually me, armed with a broom in hand while daddy entertains the baby and my toddler “helps” by picking up one marigold every 5 minutes.
By the end, the house is sparkling again… or at least sparkling enough for me to pretend it is.
🛌 Step 8: The Blissful Sleep
The best part?
After all the running, giggling, singing, dressing up, and sugar highs—comes the sugar crash.
Both kids, dressed in slightly askew festive outfits, snuggle in and drift into the deepest sleep of the week.
And for a brief moment, the house is peaceful, smelling faintly of marigold and laddus and love…
That’s my real Janmashtami prasad.
❤️ The Heart of It
Janmashtami with kids isn’t about the perfect decorations or the quietest puja.
It’s about letting them giggle through the stories, “help” with the offerings, and feel like part of something bigger.
Yes, you’ll find butter on the floor, flowers in the wrong place, and a toddler wearing a peacock feather with pajamas…
But you’ll also find the kind of joy that makes the festival truly special.
Because in the middle of all the chaos, you’ll see the festival through their eyes—wide with wonder, full of questions, and brimming with the kind of love that’s pure Good Juju.
From our slightly messy, extra festive home to yours—
Happy Janmashtami!
May it be filled with stories, songs, and the sweetest kind of chaos. 🌸
Best regards,
The Good Juju 💕
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