Feb 22 2013
By Molly Tolsky at 11:11 am
At last, the wackiest, craziest Jewish holiday of the year has arrived! Purim begins tomorrow night at sundown and goes until sundown on Sunday night, which means 24 hours of costumes, hamantaschen, noisemakers and more.
But Purim ain’t all cookies and costumes–it’s about beauty pageants, drinking, and evil plots, too! Refresh yourself on the Purim story, and then if you need some last minute ideas to make this year’s Purim extra fun, we’ve got you covered. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 15 2013
By Deborah Kolben at 11:57 am
DIY Lego Purim grogger
If you’re anything like me (and by that I mean totally unprepared for holidays until they are sitting on top of you) it can help to start thinking about Purim, well, last week. But now will do. It’s not officially until a week from Sunday, but if you want to take part in some of these fun crafts with the kiddos, it’s time to start planning.
This year, we’re turning to our friend Bible Belt Balabusta for some tips and tricks.
1. Hamantaschen Play-Doh Practice
The trick to making Hamantaschen is turning circles into triangles. Before the big day, practice at home with Play-Doh. Read the rest of this entry →
Jan 25 2013
By Kveller at 11:37 am
Hello, Kveller folks. Just a friendly reminder that Tu Bishvat, the Birthday of the Trees, starts tonight at sundown. If you need some last minute ideas for food, crafts, and activities, we’ve got you covered.
To Eat
A common way to celebrate Tu Bishvat is to eat foods that contain the seven species from the Bible: figs, dates, pomegranates, olives, grapes, wheat and barley. That means you could make stuffed dates or fig and goat cheese sandwiches. Or you could make this fruity dinner for Tu Bishvat featuring orange and maple baked tofu and persimmon and pistachio cupcakes.
To keep up with the fruit theme, this orange salad is light and refreshing. And what better way to eat fruit then dipped in chocolate? Here comes in the chocolate fondue with fruit. Lastly, a little adult fun can be had with some homemade sangria using any of your favorite fruits. Read the rest of this entry →
Dec 6 2012
By Kveller at 2:17 pm
Kveller editor Deborah’s daughter crafting up a menorah.
Hanukkah is almost here! It’s time to dust off the menorahs, locate your dreidels, and buy about a ton of potatoes and Hanukkah gelt. If you’re loooking for more ways to get in the Hanukkah spirit, this is the perfect DIY decoration holiday–and your kids can join in on the fun!
We want to know how your family is preparing for the coming eight days. If you have pictures of your kids making Hanukkah crafts, share them on our Facebook page or send them to info@kveller.com.
If you aren’t sure where to start, or are looking for some creative projects for your kids to work on, check some of our favorite ideas below. Read the rest of this entry →
Nov 15 2012
By Kveller at 12:00 pm
We hate to shock anyone, but did you know that Hanukkah is just a little over three weeks away? That’s right, the Festival of Lights begins on December 8th and we’ve got just the thing to help you prepare.
The Handmade Hanukkah Kit from Kiwi Crate is one little box with a whole lot of Hanukkah fun packed inside. It includes tools and supplies to make your own sparkly menorah and spin-art dreidels. Kiwi Crate is an award-winning company that sends a new crafty kit every month to subscribers. Read the rest of this entry →
May 21 2012
By Amy Deutsch at 12:12 pm
The focus around Shavuot is often on the dairy products: cheesecake, blintzes, and kugel. But it’s fun to change it up with a few springtime crafts. We’ve found some of our favorites to share with you (and check out our Pinterest board for a few more ideas, too).
One of our more popular crafts here on Kveller are these Mount Sinai muffins–an edible craft. They’re simple to make, super-fun to decorate with kids, and a great way to start a conversation about the holiday (for more on that, click here). And did we mention that they taste good, too?
Read the rest of this entry →
Apr 6 2012
By Kveller at 12:37 pm
Pesach starts tonight and we wanted to take a moment to wish you a happy holiday. This festival of unleavened bread is one of the most celebrated holidays of the Jewish year, so get out there and have at it! And when you’re looking in the fridge later this week, wondering what to eat, don’t forget to come back and check out our recipes. Or if your kids are making you crazy, set them up with a craft or two.
And don’t forget–even though this is one of those holidays that comes with lots of stress (cleaning, cleaning, cleaning)–it’s still about being together with family and friends and celebrating that. So enjoy!
Chag sameach!
Apr 2 2012
By Tamara Reese at 2:02 pm
You too can have sticky frogs to entertain the kids at your seder.
If you’re inviting children to your seder, it’s always nice to have a few fun things planned for them. Sure we all love belting out all eleven verses of Chad Gadya at the top of our lungs (anybody?) but it is a long meal with lots of adult talking going on. Last year our friends hosted a seder and had adorable plague masks for the children to pick out and wear. It was a great addition that made the meal more kid-friendly.
This year I came up with a little favor for the kids at your Passover table. And for less than $1 per child it provides endless entertainment. Read the rest of this entry →
By Amy Deutsch at 9:45 am
Though I love to look at other people’s crafts, I myself am not exactly a crafty person. But I thought that perhaps you, like me, might want to check out some of the cool stuff that people are planning for Passover. (If you haven’t yet seen our Kveller Crafts Pinterest board, you might want to stop there too!)
First stop is the gorgeous afikomen cover here on Kveller. It’ll add a special twist to your matzah hunt.
We also think that this recycled seder plate is a great activity. Read the rest of this entry →
Mar 5 2012
By Amy Deutsch at 9:53 am
Purim is one of those Jewish holidays that lends itself so easily to crafting. From making mishloach manot (goody bags) to groggers (noisemakers) to costumes, there’s just so much to do. We’ve collected some of our favorite crafts for you to check out below–enjoy, and get crackin!
Here at Kveller, we have an environmentally-friendly grogger (repurposed from your recycle bin) as well as some great Purim cards, no-sew costumes, and mishloach manot ideas. And did we mention our adorable miniature Purim dolls from Meredith Jacobs?
We also really love this grogger from Creative Jewish Mom. She uses cups, some electrical tape, and other fun stuff to turn something simple into something festive. And that Purim grogger can easily be a music-making maraca during the rest of the year!
The Upper West Side Mom has a great way to reuse those clementine crates we’ve all been collecting throughout the winter. She turns them into a mishloach manot container! Now, you definitely have to fill this with a LOT of snacks, but for a good friend, it’s a perfect Purim gift.
And in case creating a recycled mishloach manot container wasn’t enough for you, Joanna Brichetto at Bible Belt Balabusta takes it even a step further–by creating an edible container out of pretzel dough! Fun to make and delicious too.
What other crafts are out there? What did we miss? Share them below!
