Category Archives: Crafts

Gelt S’mores (and a Hanukkah miracle)

Posted on 12/25/2011 | 5 comments

Dark chocolate Hanukkah Gelt S’more

Hanukkah lasts eight days, eight looooong days. Gelt S’mores help keep things lively. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah

Tagged gelt, Hanukkah, marshmallows

Dreidel Challah, Menorah Challah

Posted on 12/23/2011 | 9 comments

When Hanukkah and Shabbat coincide, the challah deserves a thematic tweak. The preschooler and I made a big Menorah Challah and a few little Dreidels.

We learned that using food dye to color the “flames” orange is not worth the trouble. After the challah is baked, the food color merges with the golden egg wash. But it was fun to try, and now we have orange palms for the rest of the day. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah

Tagged challah, dreidel, menorah

LEGO Menorahs: flameless versions

Posted on 12/20/2011 | 13 comments

Lego menorah

Ok, ok, I knew posting about a LEGO menorah that holds real Hanukkah candles might cause trouble. It did. I now present a few ultra-safe models that use LEGO bits as flames. Thus, nobody gets hurt, LEGO doesn’t melt, and nothing will trigger the smoke alarm.

Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged Duplo, Lego

LEGO Menorah for Hanukkah

Posted on 12/18/2011 | 8 comments

Duplo and LEGO menorahs: upside-down construction

The intersection of Jewish holidays and LEGO again, but this time, with fire. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Hanukkah

Tagged Duplo, Lego, menorah

Squirt the Menorah: Hanukkah game

Posted on 12/16/2011 | 3 comments

Squirt the Menorah

I live in Nashville, so I’m not so much in touch with the rest of the Hanukkah carnivalling world. Is “Squirt the Menorah” a popular Hanukkah game? The only Google hits seem to be my own.

I should say “Squirt the Hanukkiyah,” but it doesn’t have the right ring to it. Menorah works fine in this case.

Now, usually, when we light Hanukkah candles, they stay lit until they go out by themselves. It’s a no-no to blow them out or extinguish them in any way. Squirt the Menorah involves shooting water pistols at a lit menorah, which sounds pretty treyf to me. But we don’t play it during Hanukkah on the really real candles, the candles upon which we’ve said the commanded blessings and all. No, we play Squirt the Menorah ahead of time, when it’s okay to extinquish the candles with a squirt gun. Odd, but okay. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

Tagged Hanukkah, menorah

LEGO Dreidels, DIY

Posted on 12/15/2011 | 12 comments

LEGO dreidels

The intersection of Lego and Jewish holidays is always fun. Especially if the constructions actually do stuff. Like spin.

Here are a few Lego dreidels we created with oddments at home. They all spin, some better than others. Ideally, they’d all have the proper letter on each side: nun, gimmel, hey and shin, but I only added letters to the dreidels we figured on Continue reading →

12 Comments

Posted in Hanukkah, Jewish Toys

Tagged dreidel, Lego

PVC Menorah kit for kids, revised

Posted on 12/14/2011 | 4 comments

PVC Menorah, ready to disassemble and reassemble

The finished PVC menorah worked beautifully at the Chanukah Carnival. The volunteer who staffed that station devised a great ploy to generate interest: he left it half-assembled and then asked kids if they would like to “help finish it.” They sure did. Boys and girls, I am pleased to report, in seemingly even numbers. Leaving it half-built was a wise move. This left just enough of the structure up to entice would-be builders, yet not enough to look finished (and therefore not as alluring). If he had disassembled the whole thing between turns, the kids would have seen nothing to draw them to the table.

Setup: I put everything on a huge baking tray on a card table. The tray was the working surface, and the raised sides (like a jellyroll pan) kept pieces from Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged hardware, menorah, pvc

Hanukkah Connect-4: the Gelt Edition

Posted on 12/11/2011 | 5 comments

“Real Gelt” Connect-4

Games and crafts should say, “touch me.” Whether in a whisper or a scream, they should entice. And what screams “touch me” like chocolate?

Here’s a variation on a classic board game perfect for Hanukkah parties, carnivals or just fun at home:

Connect 4 with real chocolate gelt.

Simple, yes? You’d think. But size matters. We all know gelt brands vary in palatability, but they also vary in diameter and width. And successive generations of Connect Four frames vary in inner dimensions. The old yellow and blue frames—some with tab and slot assembly, some with pin and hole assembly—are not created equal, and the snazzy new dark blue versions are totally different. (Any of these will do, but not the new Launchers incarnation or the travel size game.)

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

Tagged chanukah, gelt, Hanukkah

Edible Dreidels

Posted on 12/01/2011 | 15 comments

The classic Marshmallow Dreidel, with my mini version for older kids.

Marshmallow dreidels, regular and mini

Bump up the educatainment value with a food-safe marker and a printable guide to writing the 4 Hebrew letters (name of letter, what it stands for in Hebrew and English). Bump it up even more and make an Israeli dreidel for contrast: in Israel they use a Pey instead of a Shin. See below.)

Don’t you dare make these yourself and hand them out to kids. The whole point of edible Jewish crafts is that the kids do the making. You can be there, preferably, since another whole point of edible Jewish crafts is spending time together making Jewish things. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah

Tagged dreidel, Edible pen, marshmallows

Review: Jewish Holidays in a Box (Hanukkah Kit)

Posted on 11/08/2011 | 1 comment

photo courtesy of JewishHolidaysinaBox.com

Jewish Holidays in a Box is a nifty concept: one kit per holiday with how-tos, whys and whats tucked neatly inside.

This post is a review of the newly-released Hanukkah Kit, which is the first in a series of kits from Jewish Holidays in a Box. The kit is aimed at children ages 4-10, Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Hanukkah

Tagged chanukah, Hanukkah

PVC Menorah: advice needed

Posted on 11/02/2011 | 3 comments

my DIY PVC menorah, so far

EDIT: Please see the finished version at PVC Menorah Kit for kids, revised. It turned out SO WELL. Kids love taking it apart and putting it back together (and so do I).

finished PVC Menorah, ready to disassemble and reassemble!

For the synagogue’s Chanukah Carnival this year, I want to add a Build a Menorah station for kids. The goal: to assemble a menorah from bits of PVC pipe, and then to “light” it with hardware or pipe caps. They don’t get to keep the menorah and it won’t actually work (as in, it isn’t wired and it isn’t fire-safe for candles). No, the real goal is the process: for kids to figure out how all the pieces can fit together properly, and then to take them apart for the next person to try. They can choose to make a 7-branch Temple Menorah or a 9-branch Hanukkah Menorah (Hanukkiyah). Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged Hanukkah, menorah, pvc

Book Review: The Shabbat Princess

Posted on 11/01/2011 | 1 comment

The Shabbat Princess, written by Amy Meltzer, illustrated by Martha Avilés (Kar-Ben, $7.95, 32 pages, ages 4-8, ISBN 9780761351061). See links below.

I got a copy of The Shabbat Princess a few weeks ago and put it on my desk to review, but my 4 year-old son saw it, took it, and still keeps it in the “good” book pile by his bed. This arrangement constitutes his version of a book review. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Shabbat

Tagged hiddur mitzvah, Shabbat

Instant Edible Torah Scroll

Posted on 10/19/2011 | 8 comments

Edible Torah: pretzel rods, fruit leather, Rolos.

Simchat Torah starts Thursday night. The “Rejoicing of the Torah” is a happy holiday, not surprisingly. Every week, Jews read a portion (parsha or sidra in Hebrew) from the Torah, and no matter which schedule we follow, we all finish and begin again on Simchat Torah. The moment the reader chants the last word of Deuteronomy and then the first word of Genesis is one of the highlights of the liturgical year. What are the last and first words? See below.*

At synagogue on Simchat Torah, there is plenty to keep the kids engaged and happy, especially at the evening service. Flag-waving, candy-scarfing kids can also carry toy Torahs on the noisy processionals (hakafot); beat kosher rhythm Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Edible Craft, Simchat Torah

Tagged scroll, Torah

Instant Edible Sukkah: easy tips for the disorganized or spontaneous

Posted on 10/17/2011 | 2 comments

top view of child-made edible sukkah with Nitwit candies

Here are a few easy tips about making an edible sukkah from graham crackers and pretzel sticks. Way easier than my meticulous post with step-by-step instructions and photos from two years ago: Make a Kosher Edible Sukkah for the obsessively organized.

Construction: Honey Maid graham crackers are ideal. They break evenly into squares just the right size for building a cube sukkah on a dessert plate. Use the whole rectangle (5″ long) if you are building on a dinner-size paper plate. Yes, they are kosher. Buy a bunch and use them for Sukkot s’mores later. Generic brands crumble when they break, and you will end up with a box full of rejects.

Roof: Snyder’s Pretzel Sticks (kosher) are the perfect length to span a Honey Maid Graham Cracker cube sukkah. Not rods or dippers, but Sticks. This year, I could only find them packaged in individual, 100 calorie bags. If you build a sukkah Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Edible Craft, Sukkot

Tagged sukkah

Mini Lulav and Etrog for a Tabletop Sukkah

Posted on 10/10/2011 | 2 comments

lulav lesson with Playmobil folk

Our action figures now have a model sukkah well-appointed for hospitable gatherings. Actually, we have several, because it’s hard to stop once we start. Yesterday’s post tried to outline a classic craft, a tabletop or model sukkah made from tissue boxes and shoe boxes, and also some ideas for free-builds using Legos, Lincoln Logs and other construction toys.

Lulav and etrog, polymer clay. The pitom is a broom straw

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Sukkot

Tagged Duplo, etrog, Lego, lulav, Playmobil, polymer clay, sukkah

Build a Tabletop or Model Sukkah

Posted on 10/09/2011 | 15 comments

Box sukkah for Lego mini figs,with Lego kiddush cups and polymer clay challah

At Sukkot, we are commanded to dwell in a sukkah. This ideal may be out of reach for many, but it is definitely do-able for dolls. Any action figure can be an honored guest or hospitable host/ess in a tabletop or model sukkah.

A model sukkah is an easy, fun, and classic way to explore Sukkot with kids. Using whatever materials are already at hand, you can create a sukkah in miniature, play with it all week, use it as a centerpiece, and along the way take a look at the customs of the holiday and the rules of sukkah construction. Not sure about the details? Brush up at MyJewishLearning’s Sukkot page.

First, show your kid a real sukkah if you can, or pictures of different sukkot (plural for sukkah, and hey, the name of the holiday, too!) in books or online. It won’t make much sense Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Sukkot

Tagged blocks, Duplo, Lego, sukkah

Edible Whales for Yom Kippur

Posted on 10/04/2011 | 5 comments

yonah and the dag gadol

Yes, I know we don’t eat during Yom Kippur, but kids do, and my kid will be eating these. As will all the children at my syagogue’s young family service, right after they crawl through the Belly of the Whale (a play tunnel).

Kveller.com just published my post about repurposing a store-bought snack into an instant, Jewish holiday food.

I invite you to read it at Kveller: “A Whale of a Snack for Yom Kippur.” And, if it passes muster (or mustard), can you “like” it there, please, so that Kveller will know someone is reading it?

Meanwhile, there is still time to buy a bag of Bugles for another “Jewish” snack: edible shofars. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged edible shofar, Jonah, shofar, whale

Yom Kippur: Jonah and the Whale crafts

Posted on 10/04/2011 | 3 comments

use old toys to dramatize Jonah and the Whale

Looking for crafty things to do with kids to prepare for Yom Kippur?

One theme is Jonah and the Whale. It’s the story we’re all going to hear on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, whether we are in the big sanctuary or in the kids’ service. Jonah’s tale is supposed to make us think about all sorts of Jewish values/middot: obedience, faith, repentance and forgiveness, to name the biggees. Yom Kippur is one heavy-duty holiday.

For little kids, I’m keeping the holiday simple. My ideal Jonah and the Whale take-home message is: Jonah screwed up, said he was sorry, and then did what he was supposed to do in the first place. Loosely, this is teshuvah, or repentance. But, still, the story is tricky. Far easier to extrapolate is the scary take-home message: if you screw up, God lets a whale eat you. Pretty creepy. To nip that in the bud, Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged Jonah, whale, Yom Kippur

Have a SUPER Rosh Hashanah!

Posted on 09/27/2011 | 3 comments

polymer clay yemenite kudu shofar for the Man of Steel

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged Rosh Hashanah, shofar, Superman, toys

Edible shofars….straight from the bag

Posted on 09/27/2011 | 2 comments

Edible shofars straight from the bag

Bugles snacks from General Mills are the perfect mini-shofars.

Please see this brief article at Kveller.com, in which I list the merits and uses of Bugle shofars and lament the recent loss of kosher status. If you don’t keep strictly kosher, you are in luck! You get teeny, tasty shofar snacks for Rosh Hashanah!

“I Need Store-Bought, Thematic Snacky-ness, and I Need it Now!” (Raising Kvell post)

If you like the article, please mention it on the Kveller comments immediately below it. I would love to hear from you.

Shana Tova, and bon appetit!

edible shofar