How to keep children – and adults – at your seder table

TALI FEINBERG

Meanwhile, the attention of the adults may wander too. So, how do you keep the seder fun and entertaining for kids and adults alike?

Props, décor, and dress up

Your first port of call is your local Jewish Mommies Facebook group. There, you will find a number of clever entrepreneurs selling cheap and cheerful Pesach props that will bring the seder story to life. Buy a couple of “packs of plagues” for adults and children, and encourage them to go wild. You’ll have adults enjoying their “darkness plague” sunglasses and the kids loving the squeaky frogs. You can even ask your guests to dress up beforehand – think desert robes and pharaoh attire.

Décor is your chance to create an atmosphere. You can continue the desert theme with drapes, lights, and everyone sitting on the floor. You can even add in some sand and palm leaves.

Another idea is to use kitchen paper as tablecloths, and invite guests to draw Pesach images during the seder.

Make it real

Ultimately, if you bring the story of the Exodus to life, you have done your job. So, make it as real as possible. Turn off the lights to get a feeling for the plague of darkness, or put red food colouring in water for the blood. Make sure that real children stand in for the four sons, and allow them to dress up in those roles. You can even get everyone to run outside and go for a brisk walk to get a feel for how it was for the Jews to leave their homes in a hurry!

Get the kids involved

To keep the children at the table, make them lead the way. Encourage them to sing every Pesach song they know, and bring the haggadot they made at school, if they made them. Or you can have simple haggadot for them to colour in and decorate. The older kids can plan the afikomen hunt for the younger kids, and you can have competitions for best dressed, best singing, best reading, and so on.

Choose a good haggadah

Amazing haggadot are coming out all the time. There is even a Harry Potter one! This year, the Jewish parenting website kveller.com created its own one, free to download. A haggadah with great pictures or a special theme can make all the difference, especially for adults who don’t know the seder well.

Have food on the table

The downfall of any seder is hungry guests. Counter this with nuts, dried fruit, or some kind of edible centrepiece on the table. Add in matzah and charoset, and you are good to go.

Make sure guests look forward to the end

Seders are notorious for fading after the main meal. So, give you guests a heads up that the best is yet to come. Perhaps serve dessert after the end of the seder. Or plan a talent show where groups have to perform their own version of Chad Gadya – including sound effects!

Have fun and be inclusive

Ultimately, if guests feel that they belong, that they are part of this special gathering, and that they are having fun, then no one will want to leave. One way to give your guests “ownership” of the seder is to get them involved beforehand. Perhaps they could all bring a “show and tell” item that represents what Pesach means to them.

Then, read your audience and do what makes them feel included. The mom who never went to a Jewish school? Get her to read an easy paragraph – she will love to be included. The wild kid who is always getting into trouble? Make him dress up as the wise son, and see his face light up. The father who can’t wait to get the seder over with? Put him in charge of the talent show or the afikomen hunt, and he will be too busy to leave! By the time everyone has traipsed out the door, you will have given them a fun and educational seder that they are unlikely to forget.