As director of a synagogue, one of my very favorite things is to throw parties. Now, listen. A party can mean anything from a teen program pizza party to a Hanukkah event to a small gathering of children having fun together. It's all a party if (a) there's food involved (b) it's a holiday and (c) I get to do any decorating whatsoever.
Last week I worked with my Education Director to have a pop-up Tu B'Shvat children's celebration and it was so cute.
I went to Sherwin Williams and got a roll of brown paper for the tablecloths.
The paper is relatively cheap, very thick, and there's a lot of it. Gosh, I'm so smart.
We got a sampling of the 7 species in one form or another:
Wheat
Barley
Pomegranates
Date
Figs
Olives
Grapes
For wheat, we got Triscuits and for barley we had shot glasses of barley soup. Everyone's so creative! (not on TikTok? ignore)
We did something super earthy and natural and we just poured the 7 species on the paper and took a Sharpie and wrote around it. Read: we didn't want to do dishes.
We had a table with pots, soil, and paints and let the kids decorate and plant.
There was a table with ingredients for granola (including some 7 species of course!) for the kids to put together and take home to bake.
Our Youth Education Director and I both feel it's so important to offer these celebrations and get togethers to each demographic in our congregation. For children, it helps lay a foundation for Jewish community and encourages those relationships to grow as they do.
Tu B'Shvat Sameach!
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