Let’s face it, you’ve spent several days cleaning the house, planning the meal and preparing for family to come over. But perhaps you’ve overlooked this big preparation from the eyes of a young child. Getting the little ones involved in religious celebrations is always a great idea but sometimes easier said than done! Below is a compilation of creative ideas to keep the kids entertained and make this Passover wonderful for your entire family!
Books:
We absolutely love books in our house. The more stories the better! So around the holidays I always try to find books that will make it more fun for the kids to be able to relate to all the fuss that might be happening around the house and it’s a fun easy way to teach them about the holiday. Here are a few sampling of books that I enjoy with my kiddos. We also love our PJ Library subscription! Most books can be reserved at your local library (if you plan ahead) or if you’re last minute like me, order through Amazon Prime!
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Grover and Big Bird’s Passover Celebration (Shalom Sesame)
This is a great book for younger children age 2 and up! It’s a wonderful way to teach children about the Passover holiday through Sesame Street characters that they might be already familiar with.
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The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah
In this retelling of the classic story of the Little Red Hen, no one will help the Little Red Hen make the Passover matzoh, but they all want to help her eat it at her seder.
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Sammy Spider’s First Passover
Sammy Spider presents Passover through rhymes, mazes, puzzles, and more. This makes a great afikomen gift for kids.
Coloring Sheets:
You can download our kid friendly coloring sheets here. Have them handy at the table with a box or crayons and keep the kiddos busy while you get through the main part of the Seder.
Rituals
It’s always more fun to involve the kids with the holiday rituals and keep them feeling like they are a part of the big meal.
Urchatz
Appoint a younger child as the water boy or girl and have them walk around the table washing everyone’s hands. Kids love to pour water! Give another child the task of drying everyone’s hands.
Karpas
Kids love feeling important so why not appoint them to be in charge of the Karpas and pass out to each guest at the table.
Afikomen
As in most Jewish homes with children, finding the Afikomen is the favorite part of the Passover Seder. Remind the kids that the afikomen search comes after dinner–so they have to stay involved at the table until then. You can even make it more involved by creating clues or a treasure map leading to the afikomen. Offer a prize for the kid who finds the treasure, as well as little gifts for all the kids who participate. And parents: while the kids are hunting, use this time of the seder to go back to the adult Haggadah.
Remember, hungry kids are cranky kids!
Set up platters of cut veggies and fruit at each of the kids’ plates, with assorted dips (from simple salad dressing to yogurt to almond butter to honey!) This way, your kids are dipping and snacking and enjoying themselves.
Passover Bag of Plagues
Small goody bags with candy or even a couple of small toys to keep them entertained are always fun. I usually find cute stuff in the discount bins at target or even at the dollar store! You may want to try:
- Plastic sunglasses for darkness
- Plastic toy frog
- Lion finger puppet for wild beasts
- Plastic bug or insects (lice and vermin)
- Kosher for Passover marshmallows for hail
- Red dot stickers for boils
- Band-aids for blood
Hagadas:
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Sammy Spider’s First Haggadah (Passover)
Children might already be familiar with Sammy the Spider. In this book Sammy leads young children through the steps of the Passover seder, telling the story of the Exodus, asking and answering the Four Questions, and sampling the traditional foods.
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$5.55 available through Amazon Prime
If you’re looking to grab a free Haggadah, Maxwell House puts out a free one, available at Publix. Or you can also grab some of our coloring pages and other add a few blank pages for the kids to make their own Haggadah. Simply stable or hole bunch and string with yarn or ribbon.
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Remember to display their Artwork
More thank likely your child/children will be coming home with various arts and craft projects related to the holiday. Make a special place for them in your home and display them prominently. The more they feel like they have contributed to the Seder table, the more excited they will be to participate.
Each family’s Seder is unique. The bottom line, have Fun! The seder was never meant to be dull. Quite the contrary, it is to be a relaxed, informal educational experience to be enjoyed with family.
The opinions expressed here are a compilation of ideas found on the internet, some of my personal views and experiences as a mother and art educator.