In just a few weeks, we will be celebrating passover, or as we like to call it, pessach.
We hope more families will be able to celebrate pessach together this year, following last year's restrictions. Spirits are high as we're all getting in the mood for this special holiday!
Pessach is one of our most beloved holidays, as it comes with so many cool built in features -
A festive family gathering, all the best foods, special clothes, songs that often include harmonies and choreography and of course, gifts.
Pessach includes many other elements, and it can be described as an all encompassing experience, since it lasts a full seven days, and requires quite a lot of preparation.
We start preparing our home for pessach weeks in advance, cleaning, sorting out closets and airing out cupboards that haven't opened since our last spring cleaning.
It's not uncommon to hear people plan their purim's mishloach manot supplies, so that it runs out just before pessach.
So we plan ahead; who eats where, what are we making and what are they in charge of. Many shopping lists are involved, and it all peaks into a wonderful holiday, where we get to have a fun seder or even two, with an eventful Chol HaMoed that follows. And we just know that our effort was well worth it.
To make things a little easier for you, as this pessach is approaching, we'd like to help you organize your pessach shopping. This post is dedicated to table setting and gift ideas, to make sure you're not missing anything or anyone, whether you're the hosts or the guests this year.
Children are always easier to shop for, aren't they? So let's start with gift ideas for the younger generation, which can help turn your seder into a great success -
When thinking of gifts for the children, we want to achieve a few goals - we'd like to help educate them about this important holiday, we'd like to get the children engaged with the seder so that they enjoy the experience, and if possible, to have a few minutes where they entertain themselves;
This Lift Learn puzzle will teach the kids about each of the seder plate ingredients and get them feeling like grown ups, having their very own seder plate.
The Jumping Frogs kit should get a lot of laughs from people of all ages, and can help you reenact the story of the Haggadah, in a way that the kids will never forget.
Looking for a fun way to teach the children about the ten plagues, or the ten makkot? This lovely bowling set is definitely great at getting the kids to memorize the plagues. It may be a real hoot to hear them call out "I knocked down Diseased Cattle!".
Find these and many other options in the Toys and Games category.
Next up, is the gift that's great for everyone - a book!
Whether it's a Grover Haggadah for the kids or a Kosher Cookbook for your beloved chef, you know a book is always a welcome present.
Tell the kids of Benjamin's events in Egypt, with this beautifully illustrated book, told from the eyes of young Benjamin.
Do the children in your seder group know of the carp in the bathtub? Make sure they're well informed on the topic, so they can carry on the torch.
We recommend you review the Books for Passover category. We just know you'll love the options there, for all ages and styles.
A seder table isn't complete without a few cups on it - we know of the kiddush cup and Elijah's cup, and now, many people enjoy adding Miriam's cup.
Adding Miriam's cup to your seder table is a wonderful way to commemorate the life saving miracle performed by Miriam the prophet - it symbolizes the well which escorted Miriam wherever she went, thanks to her righteous ways and leadership skills.
This custom also comes with a wonderful added bonus of making the young ladies around the table feel included, and have a role model they can easily relate with.
Celebrate Miriam the prophet with this beautiful Miriam's cup, the purple Miriam goblet or any other from this unique category of Miriam cups.
Just fill the cup with water, place it next to Elijah's cup, and honor Miriam the prophet for the great miracle she performed.
Speaking of the seder table's look and feel, we can't neglect mentioning matza covers.
Matza covers serve both as a functional bag for our matzas and as a decorative element, as they come in all shapes and forms.
Some families find matza covers to be a nice way of honoring each family with their own portion of matzas for the seder.
Placed on the table, next to the seder plate, the matza cover is good for keeping all matzas and crumbs in one place. Browse through the matza covers category to get a different cover for each family, or even a set to make all the table match.
Don't forget to get a few covers for the Afikoman, as the children will be looking forward to hunting for those.
Last but not least, let's compliment the table's decorations with a few unique serving dishes.
A beautiful Charoset dish to tie the look up, so unique that you'll want to borrow it for other holidays as well, and that's totally fine, we won't tell.
The Pomegranate Double Dish is a beautiful way to serve any dipping sauce, horseradish or any other symbolic foods your seder incorporates.
The lovely options in the Serving Dishes category may become a conversational piece, and are guaranteed to uplift the mood.
We hope this list helped you get your pessach shopping in order.
From all of us, here in Shalom House, we wish you a Chag Sameach, full of love and light.
