El Día de los Muertos is a holiday that is about celebrating loved ones that have passed away. It is typically celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries and it’s also celebrated by many families across the United States.
The Day of the Dead is a holiday for remembering the people that have passed on, and the cherished memories you have with them, it is a great time to help children remember them as well.
Here are some tips and activities you can do with your children to celebrate the Day of the Dead :
- Build an altar together. Have your children help you in creating an altar with you commemorating lost loved ones. An altar is a special collection of items that remind you of your cherished loved one. For instance, kids can contribute favorite flowers or symbols of memories they had with that person.
- Join in on a parade. Many communities do Dia de los Muertos parades, often after dark. The people in the parade dress up as sugar skulls, skeletons and wear dark clothing. This can be a great way for children to have some fun on the holiday. If you don’t participate, at least go and watch one in a community near you.
- Make Sugar Skulls. Sugar skulls are a traditional and are a fun and creative way to celebrate El Día de los Muertos.
- Make shell bracelets. The sound of them moving is what many believe will wake the dead’s souls for this day. To make, simply get some small shell beads from a craft store and string them on heavy duty fishing line. Feel free to paint them or place other colorful beads on them.
- Serve traditional Latino food such as tamales or Pan de Muerto. Different countries eat different foods for this special day. In Guatemala, where I come from, we usually have a traditional dish of cold meats and pickled vegetables called fiambre or sweet molletes.
- Make crafts. You can check out the cute and easy skull box crafts we made with the kids at home HERE.
- Visit the cemetery and clean up the graves and decorate them for family that has passed on. This is a perfect time to teach kids about the importance of celebrating life and seeing death as part of a cycle instead of portraying death as something scary.
Check out more Día de los Muertos posts on my Pinterest board below.
Paula moved from her native Guatemala to SW Florida with her husband and two children and together they are discovering what it means to live life between two languages.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
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Very interesting–I love to hear and learn about other cultures traditions.
great tips and what a wonderful celebration
we have different ways on celebrating the day of the dead or we call call it All soul’s day. we usually visit our dead loved one on their graveyard even spend the night there, the whole cementery will be filled of people who is there to remember their loved ones.
Nice celebration. Very colorful.
I haven’t celebrated El Dia De Los Muertos since middle school!! Been such a long time….I miss the candy skulls, hehehe!
These are good ways to teach children about the tradition.
We don’t celebrate this type of occasion though, but this reminds me of the occasion celebrated in the Philippines called “Kalag-Kalag”, which also means remember those loved ones who had passed away. I guess it is the same thing as El Dia De Los Muertos.
Oh how festive, beautiful decors too.
It’s the first time I have heard of this. I know we celebrate All Saint’s Day in the Philiipines every 1st of Novermber, but we just go to the cemetery and visit their tombs. Very interesting celebration for Day of The Dead.