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.
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.