Wrapping up the high holy days is the community celebration of Sukkot, the festival of tabernacles! This fall feast is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year because it's genuinely a party. Yes, there are blessings and liturgies, traditions and rituals, but more than anything there's fun, fellowship, and feasting! 

As the mother to a toddler, I believe that the Feast of Booths is one of the best moedim for engaging little ones with the Torah. As a kinetic exercise, our family builds an actual shelter from the ground up, covered in branches and leaves and corn stalks and every kind of flower that our little ones can pick from a nearby field. The act of building is an act of faith. We build because we trust that God will hold back the rain while we obey Him. We build because we trust that our act of obedience teaches our children the joy found in the Torah. We build because walking out our faith takes action in addition to belief. 

 But you don't have to immediately go into your own backyard and start chopping down trees to experience Sukkot. Something small like a little booth out of popsicle sticks, or even a makeshift fort out of the dining room table with a blanket over it, is a great beginning! Scripture says that all those native born in Israel are to dwell in their booths for the duration of the festival, but you can start with just camping on your porch or in a tent in the yard! 

There are little ways to start celebrating this beautiful festival that you can begin to integrate into your life without getting overwhelmed. So try these crafts and start your own family's journey to celebrating these appointed times!

- Apples and Oranges stuck with clove buds

- Colorful Paper Chains

- Construction Paper Snowflakes

- Braided fabric garlands

- Painted Paper Plates with Scripture Verses