Pesach is coming - quickly. I haven't started cleaning yet but I made a list last night, and really, it's all about the list. Once the list is done, you're halfway there, right? So I am, apparently, halfway there. And I really feel much better now.
I know that if I try cleaning with my kids around, we wind up just making a bigger mess. So I don't clean with them. Because if I did, it would go something like this:
Me: Okay, we're gonna clean the pantry now. Who wants to help?
Everyone: Me, me, I do!
Me: Okay guysies, let's do it. We need to take all the food off the bottom shelf and, no, no, the bottom shelf, not the top shelf. Yeah, good. Put it on the table, no the table, the table, the one in the kitchen, yeah, that table, no, no, not the floor, no, now is not the time to eat Froot Loops. Or marshmallow fluff. Okay, now take that spoon you just used and throw it into the sink. We're putting everything on the table. It's not time for a picnic. No, it's not. No picnics, cleaning. You're not hungry, we just had lunch. Take stuff out of the closet and put it on the table. Okay, forget it, just forget it, let's do a project.
And so we do a project. And all the food, in various states of being opened and manhandled, is all over the kitchen. So now I need to clean the kitchen before I can clean the pantry. Very not helpful or zen-like, a state I try to channel when I clean. And that is why I like to clean alone.
So instead of cleaning during the day, we will be crafting for Pesach, specifically for the seder. The seder is very long - for kids and adults - and diversions are needed. So these next two weeks will hopefully be full of kid-friendly seder ideas, plus some other ideas to make your Pesach table prettier and more functional.
Let's start.
This morning we made a quick and easy project for the seder - Matzah Placecards - something to make me feel like I actually accomplished something even though it really took no time at all.
What You Need:
Several sheets of cardstock, I used 12x12 sheets
Scissors
Marker
Brown crayon
Glue
The How To:
I started by counting the number of people coming to the seder - we will be having between 15-17 people, depending on who goes to sleep. I wish I could count myself into the sleeping crowd, but Josh won't let me.
I know that if I try cleaning with my kids around, we wind up just making a bigger mess. So I don't clean with them. Because if I did, it would go something like this:
Me: Okay, we're gonna clean the pantry now. Who wants to help?
Everyone: Me, me, I do!
Me: Okay guysies, let's do it. We need to take all the food off the bottom shelf and, no, no, the bottom shelf, not the top shelf. Yeah, good. Put it on the table, no the table, the table, the one in the kitchen, yeah, that table, no, no, not the floor, no, now is not the time to eat Froot Loops. Or marshmallow fluff. Okay, now take that spoon you just used and throw it into the sink. We're putting everything on the table. It's not time for a picnic. No, it's not. No picnics, cleaning. You're not hungry, we just had lunch. Take stuff out of the closet and put it on the table. Okay, forget it, just forget it, let's do a project.
And so we do a project. And all the food, in various states of being opened and manhandled, is all over the kitchen. So now I need to clean the kitchen before I can clean the pantry. Very not helpful or zen-like, a state I try to channel when I clean. And that is why I like to clean alone.
So instead of cleaning during the day, we will be crafting for Pesach, specifically for the seder. The seder is very long - for kids and adults - and diversions are needed. So these next two weeks will hopefully be full of kid-friendly seder ideas, plus some other ideas to make your Pesach table prettier and more functional.
Let's start.
This morning we made a quick and easy project for the seder - Matzah Placecards - something to make me feel like I actually accomplished something even though it really took no time at all.
What You Need:
Several sheets of cardstock, I used 12x12 sheets
Scissors
Marker
Brown crayon
Glue
The How To:
I started by counting the number of people coming to the seder - we will be having between 15-17 people, depending on who goes to sleep. I wish I could count myself into the sleeping crowd, but Josh won't let me.
Anyway, so we made 17 placecards in all. First, I drew 17 squares onto the cardstock, totally freehand - and each square looked different than the others, which is okay because no two matzahs, much like snowflakes, are exactly alike.
You might be wondering why I went with a square instead of a circle because chances are the matzah you use at your seder is round. An excellent question, really. Not one of the four questions that we will be asking in a couple of weeks, but a good one anyway. You see, I grew up with round matzah at the seder too, but my Josh likes machine shmura matzah - never heard of it? Me neither, 'till we got married that is - and machine shmura matzah is square.
And conveniently enough, these square machine shmura matzahs are sold in Shoprite, as opposed to the round ones which are only sold in secret locations by mafia-type guys who charge $32 a pound for a box of what may or may not be broken and/or burnt matzahs. Hhhm, that sentence sounds slightly angry. That must have been my father speaking just then. (Hi daddy!) But I digress.
So I used yellow cardstock because that is what I had, and also because I feel like if I would have used white I would have had to color them all in carefully because who ever saw a white matzah, you know? At least with the yellow cardstock, a little brown crayon goes a long way, and with 17 placecards to make and only two weeks to go, we have to get a move on.
You might be wondering why I went with a square instead of a circle because chances are the matzah you use at your seder is round. An excellent question, really. Not one of the four questions that we will be asking in a couple of weeks, but a good one anyway. You see, I grew up with round matzah at the seder too, but my Josh likes machine shmura matzah - never heard of it? Me neither, 'till we got married that is - and machine shmura matzah is square.
And conveniently enough, these square machine shmura matzahs are sold in Shoprite, as opposed to the round ones which are only sold in secret locations by mafia-type guys who charge $32 a pound for a box of what may or may not be broken and/or burnt matzahs. Hhhm, that sentence sounds slightly angry. That must have been my father speaking just then. (Hi daddy!) But I digress.
So I used yellow cardstock because that is what I had, and also because I feel like if I would have used white I would have had to color them all in carefully because who ever saw a white matzah, you know? At least with the yellow cardstock, a little brown crayon goes a long way, and with 17 placecards to make and only two weeks to go, we have to get a move on.
Once the squares were all cut out, I used the marker (a navy colored Sharpie, in case you were wondering) to write a name on each square. These squares will now become our matzahs. How? By drawing horizontal dashed lines across the square. Did that make sense? It's kind of like doing this: --- --- --- --- --- ---. Did that help at all? I hope so.
Your name squares should now be vaguely matzah-like. I then handed the job off to the boys, who, after some trial and error, colored the matzahs in using a brown crayon and a light touch. Not a heavy touch because then mommy gets upset because we can't see the name on the matzah anymore. A light touch.
While the matzahs were baking, I mean, being colored, I cut out rectangles from some leftover paper - each rectangle was probably about 1.5 inches by 3 inches - okay, I have no idea how big they really were, that just sounded good, but you can see the pictures below. Again, very freehand. I held the rectangles so that the short side was on top and folded that side down about half an inch or so. These will be glued onto the backs of the matzahs to help them stand up and become placecards.
Once all the matzahs were colored, we glued the pieces together and stood them on the table to let them dry. And that is where they are now, all dry and ready for someone to look at them while eating a yummy, yet super crumby bagel. And so now I must go and move them.
