Fun Ideas for Celebrating Passover and Unleavened Bread

Looking for some ideas for fun ways to celebrate the Bible holidays of Passover and Unleavened Bread? While these times both have great spiritual significance and we would certainly do well to spend time in prayer, worship, and Bible study, as well as perform other acts of service as a way to honor the Creator, I think it's also good to remind ourselves that it's also okay to do things just for fun. These are times of joy after all! Here are some ways to spark joy this Biblical holiday season.

Red Sea Crossing Smoothie Bowls

Why not make something delicious that also reminds you of one of the greatest miracles ever?

Lamb shaped things.

Use a lamb cookie cutter on everything from cheese to apple slices. I made cutout cookies in the shape of lambs to go with my blood on the doorpost Passover dessert.

Blood on the Doorpost Decoration from Torah Sisters

Use red cloth over your doorpost to remind your family and visitors of the Exodus story. A red cloth on the mantle can also be a reminder.

Matzah Toffee from Smitten Kitchen

Try your hand at making this traditional Passover snack! It's easier than you think.

DIY Flair Omer Counter

First Fruits begins the count of the omer, where we are fifty days from celebrating Shavuot. Making your own counter like this one can be a fun way to keep this command. Or try the Scratch Off Omer Counter.

Have a taco night!

Did you know that most tortillas are unleavened? That means having a taco night can be part of your Unleavened Bread celebrations! 

Passover Bucket List

Print this one off or make your own list of things you want to do during this feast celebration!

Unleavened Bread Pinata

Make this any size you want! If you have a square shaped box, all you need is crepe paper and candy or prizes to fill it with!

Ten Commandment Gummies

Moses Bible Crafts from Mrs. Jones' Creation Station

Hear me out on this - Bible school crafts don't just have to be for kids. If you have good memories of doing projects like these in Vacation Bible School, you might enjoy revisiting them now! Feel free take inspiration from these and make something more chic...you could write out the ten commandments in calligraphy or decorate a candleholder with a reminder of the burning bush from Exodus or make a miniature empty tomb out of wood. The possibilities are endless! 

Try a new topping on unleavened bread.

You can use homemade or store bought. Instead of plain matzo or matzah pizza, try topping yours with hummus and and seasonal vegetables (as seen here with watermelon radishes), peanut butter and jelly, cream cheese with salmon or roasted vegetables, or even a fried egg. 

Matzah Toffee Ice Cream Sundaes

You might not want UB week to end with desserts like this!

I hope you all have an amazing time celebrating these Biblical holidays! I'd love to hear what fun things you do to celebrate!

More posts on Passover and Unleavened Bread:
How to Celebrate First Fruits
Kids Crafts for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits
Unleavened Bread Recipes from Around the World

Blood on the Doorpost Passover Dessert from Exodus 12:7 (Easy and Creative)

Look no further for a creative Passover dessert that's easy to make, but still presents beautifully! I wanted to create a dessert that was specific to the Biblical holiday of Passover to make the festivities special. This creation was inspired by Exodus 12:7 and the directive to the Israelites to put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost to their homes. This creates a fun visual and could certainly be simplified a bit to make for a kids Bible school snack. 

How to make the blood on the doorpost Passover dessert:

The core tenets of this dessert are very simple. You'll just need something rectangular shaped for a door, and then something red to symbolize the blood of the lamb.

In this case, a rectangle of vanilla cheesecake with almond flour crust is used for the door.

A raspberry coulis is the 'blood' that goes around the cheesecake 'door.'

There is a small serving of homemade lemon frozen yogurt, beneath the sheep cookie. The color is an homage to the Messiah making our sins white as snow, and ties in with the Passover lamb as well.

The lamb cookie is a shortbread cookie (just flour, sugar, and butter and not leavened in any way), cut with a lamb shaped cookie cutter.

You could certainly adapt this in many ways...make rectangular meringues or unleavened cake for the door. The coulis could be made from strawberries or another red berry, or you could use a red jam or jelly. You could forgo the frozen yogurt altogether, opt for store-bought, or use whipped cream or ice cream in its place. If you're not comfortable using shortbread around Passover, feel free to leave off the lamb cookie. Depending on the changes you make, this could a gluten-free, low-sugar, or dairy-free dessert.

More on Passover festivities:

Biblically Clean for Passover
Passover Dessert Recipes
Matzah Toffee Ice Cream Sundae

Eight Days of Activities for the Feast of Tabernacles

What are you supposed to do during the Feast of Tabernacles? How should you spend this set apart time? What are good activities for kids during Sukkot? 

I've put together some ideas of how you can make this week special for yourself and your kids and even a group or congregation. Please note that these are just ideas and not things you have to do. The holidays in the Bible are intended to be joyful times, and these are simply some suggestions if you're working to figure out how to make the holiday of Sukkot special for yourself or your family.

The first and last days of the Feast of Tabernacles are considered Sabbaths (even if they don't fall on the weekly Sabbath), and that means we are to refrain from ordinary work like our jobs, running our businesses, shopping, and household chores. If you are camping away from home, I would encourage you to set up and tear down your campsite on days that are not Sabbaths because pitching a tent, unpacking, etc. are not restful activities.

Eight days of activities for Sukkot:

Day 1  - Read the Bible. Read out loud passages from Scripture like Exodus 23:15-16, Leviticus 23:33-43, Deuteronomy 16:13-17, Ezra 3:4, Nehemiah 8:14-18, Zechariah 14:16-19, or John 7:1-44. These are verses that either give instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles or talk about them being kept. These can give you fresh inspiration for keeping this holiday, and in Deuteronomy 31:10-11 instructs that Biblical law is to be read during Sukkot.

Day 2 - Go to a farm and pick apples. Part of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is that the Living God has provided an agricultural harvest to sustain His people throughout the coming months. Make a family or friends event of going apple picking to see for yourselves the abundance that He gives us! Any bounty that's brought back can be used for meals and snacks or festive decorations in your home or sukkah.

Day 3 - Have supper in the sukkah. Of course you can do this every day or even for every meal. If you don't have a sukkah set up, go for a picnic outside, or utilize a gazebo or shelter area at a park for your meal. Don't feel like the meal needs to be fancy - eating outside is what makes it special and memorable. One family I know has a tradition of inviting friends over for "Soup in the Sukkah" each year. Make it a potluck if others are joining you.

Day 4 - Go on the Sukkot scavenger hunt! This is a great activity for kids to burn some energy and learn the Bible a little better at the same time. You can play this in your own backyard or neighborhood or at a campground. The instructions can be found here.

Day 5 - Take photos! Why not take advantage of this beautiful time of year to take family pictures? Use lovely fall leaves as a background or an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, or your sukkah or campsite! If you can't swing a professional photographer or your family isn't celebrating, you should still be sure to snap some pictures of your activities throughout the holiday. These will help you to remember your experiences during the Feast of Tabernacles and help to establish this as a meaningful time.

Day 6 - Have a fire. Sukkot weather seems to be made for a roaring campfire, doesn't it? Whether you're home or away from home, sitting fireside with family and friends can be fun and relaxing. Adults have good opportunity for conversation and kids can play nearby. If you want to host an event for Tabernacles, this is a lowkey way to do it. Roast all beef hot dogs or Biblically clean marshmallows for easy food options.

Day 7 - Study your Bible in a beautiful place. You can read Scripture anywhere, but deliberately going somewhere to spend time with the Creator can be so refreshing. A new place can also offer fresh insights on the word. Passages about mountains impact me in a different way if I am in my home versus in the Rocky Mountains. There's no wrong part of the Bible to study during any of the Biblical holidays but things the Messiah said during Sukkot and what the Bible says about the Feast of Tabernacles can be especially meaningful.

Day 8 - Have a white elephant gift exchange. This is a simple game that can be a lot of fun! If you're not familiar with a white elephant, it's a gift giving game where each person brings a wrapped present. Rather than designating the gift you bring for a specific person, numbers are drawn to see who picks a gift first, the next person has the option to 'steal' what someone else has already opened or pick a new gift. It has created many good laughs for our congregation over the years. White elephants are often done with gag gifts, but we opt for giving nice but inexpensive gifts. See this post for more directions and gift ideas.

More ideas for the Feast of Tabernacles:
Sukkot Scriptures to Read
The Feast of Tabernacles: What it Means and Why You Should Celebrate It
Stargazing Party for Sukkot

Noisemaker Craft for the Feast of Trumpets

This is an easy craft to make for Yom Teruah! Since this Biblical holiday is also known as the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Sounding and there's much emphasis on worshipping YHWH with a joyful noise, why not make some noisemakers for kids to have fun with?

What you'll need:

Paper plates
Dry beans or something similar
Stapler
Happy Yom Teruah and Make a joyful noise printables - totally optional, you can always just let kids decorate
Markers
Glue
Any other decorations you might want

Step 1: Take two paper plates and add a handful of dry beans to one. You could also use something like pop tabs or wooden beads, whatever you have on hand should work just fine.

Step 2: Place the second paper plate on top of the first, so that the bottom sides are both facing out. Staple around the entire thing.

Step 3: decorate! If you're using the printables, you can cut those out and glue or tape them to your noisemaker. Color them in if you wish. Otherwise you can write your own verse or saying, color, add glitter, and attach streamers to your heart's content.

There you have it. This is not a complicated craft at all! But be warned these are plenty loud. Toss in a handful of cotton balls with the dry beans to mitigate the noise a bit if you'd like. Otherwise have kids play outside with these or just welcome the noise!

Have a very blessed Feast of Trumpets!

Related posts:
20 Fun Ideas for the Fall Feasts
Smoothie Bowls for Yom Teruah
Joyful Noise Yom Teruah Printable Card