This year, make Rakhi at home! Kiki tells you how

Rakhi is 5 days to go! And buying Rakhi is surely on your to-do list... Well, some of us start ever earlier, like Kiki (my 4-year-old super excited daughter) and I went looking for that perfect thread two days back. We walked the aisles of our neighbourhood market. There were umpteen shops selling Rakhi in all possible shapes, sizes and colours... and so we started scouting for that perfect thread through bunches and piles, colours and styles. Our efforts to select that perfect thread for our respective brothers were not entirely in vain. We did shortlist a few, but Kiki's excitement had dimmed. She was not happy. She wanted something unique for Jerry (her one-of-a kind brother!).

Kiki turned to me with an unspoken question... and I decided then - we will make our own Rakhi this year and we turned back home after a short detour to the stationery shop. 

It took Kiki 40 minutes by the watch and when she was done - she was holding the most unique and adorable Rakhi in her hand! Her happiness knew no bounds, and neither did mine.

So I thought to share my happiness with you all and also share a step-by-step guide on how to make your very own Rakhi, this year. Here it goes....

What you need:

• Pencil, paper, colours
• Scissors and glue
• Colourful threads
•  Love, patience and imagination
  

How to make Rakhi at home:

• STEP 1: Kiki loves to draw flowers and stars. So I asked her to draw 3-4 flowers of different sizes (big, bigger, biggest) and fill them with her favourite colours.
• STEP 2: I helped her cut out the flowers and paste them asymmetrically one on top of the other, with the biggest flower serving as the base. To give the flower a 3D (raised) look and feel, we folded the edges.
• STEP 3: We took about 10 strands of colourful threads (you can also use Mauli) and knotted the ends together.
• STEP 4: Lastly, we pasted our 3D flower on the thread. And it was done!
  

Yippee! We love it and just can't wait to show our creation at our big family get together. It's going to be double the fun! 

Our Rakhis are not perfect but our love for our brothers is unparalleled. And yes mom and daughter had a whale of a time bonding over art and craft too! You can tweak the method, and use your own imagination and creativity to make your Rakhi. 

So, here's what I say... before you go rakhi shopping this year, why not give it a shot at home first. What you make may not come out perfect like the market one, but hey, it will be the one-of-a-kind with your love stamped all over it! 

Surely what your two own hands can create for your brother, no thread in the market can ever, ever match up to! 

Happy Rakhi to you all!

Did you like Sumitra and Kiki's Rakhi making at home? Have they inspired you to create something special for your brother? We would love to know if you tried making a Rakhi at home and how did it go for you? Do share in the comments section below... you can also send us pics on our FB page!