Winter Round-up
Celebrating Winter with families
With the last flicker of the candles on the menorah, we say goodbye to Hanukkah, and hello to the arrival winter and a new month on the Jewish calendar, the month of Tevet! This month begins during the last couple of days of Hanukkah, and it’s known as the darkest month of the year. To bring in some extra warmth and light to your month, we’ve created winter (Jewish) themed DIYs and activities for grown-ups and littles!
We wish you a warm and cozy month of Tevet and season of winter!
~Jennifer
Hello Tevet! We recently began this new month on the Jewish calendar. Tevet is known for the start of winter, and also for the baby goat (kid) or gedi in Hebrew (so cute)! We’re celebrating this new season by making a very special snow globe. You can read more about the gedi and see the process to make your very own winter wonderland too!
We’re celebrating the month of Tevet and the arrival of the winter with a flurry of snowflakes - edible marshmallow snowflakes! In Hebrew, snowflakes is pronounced Ptitey sheleg, and they’re pretty magical because no two are ever the same. With this snacktivity, we’re challenging ourselves to make as many different patterns as we can. Come make some with us, and don’t forget the hot chocolate too!
It’s the start of winter (horef in Hebrew) and a new month! We’re celebrating the new season with a winter yarn tapestry, complete with icicles (yarn strands), snowflakes (circular weavings) and snowballs (pom-poms). This is a festive project for grown-ups and kids alike! Come celebrate winter and make a yarn tapestry with us!
This is a special tutorial to make circular loom weavings to finish our winter yarn tapestry. We used yarn in different textures, thickness and shades of white to make these beautiful weavings. We think they look a little like snowflakes, which is perfect for the arrival of a new season! Come make some with us!
This is a special tutorial to learn how to make fork pom-poms which look just like snowballs for our winter yarn tapestry. This is one of my all time favorite crafts and simple to make for grown-ups and kids alike. So let’s go make some pom-poms!
On this last day of Hanukkah, we are making intention word bracelets with alphabet beads as a personal promise to ourselves to shine bright like the Hanukkah lights. You can choose any word that is meaningful for you. We chose the Hebrew words “or ve ahavah” which translates to “light and love” in English. See the steps to make your own bracelets.
During this time of year, it’s so wonderful when children have the opportunity to be the light for someone else by participating in an act of kindness. Today we’re sharing a wonderful family mitzvah - children making stuffed animals for other children in the hospital. Your invited to join us at our family mitzvah day and create your own tradition of an acts of kindness day too!
We made mini (but mighty) visual for the new year ahead. It might be small, but when I hold it in my hands, it feels weighty and substantial. I love the process of making a vision board. It’s really a lovely form of self-care - thinking about what you want to bring into your life and how you want to feel in the new year ahead. Come see the process of making one for yourself.
I think it’s wonderful throughout the year to give children and pre-teens the opportunity to do something kind for someone else! Since we are still basking in the glow from Hanukkah, we wanted to spread the light and make DIY “Seeds of Happiness” and share these happy smiles with friends and family.
It’s wonderful when children have the opportunity to participate in an act of kindness for someone else. Yesterday, we made mini challahs, and today, we are going to package up them up into little loaves of love for a special challah delivery.
It’s almost the official start of winter! If you find your family spending more time indoors as the weather gets chiller (or looking for meaningful activities to do while your children are on winter break from school), it might be fun on your next Shabbat to take a break from your normal routine and do something special, like bake mini challahs for Shabbat with your children!