There are so many things about Sukkot that make it an incredibly fun holiday—spending time outside with friends, shaking the lulav and etrog, and of course, building and decorating a sukkah.
How you decorate a sukkah is entirely up to your family. If you’re feeling hands-on, or want to dress up a structure without breaking the bank, try making one of these crafts using materials from around the house. You’ll be able to keep the kids occupied while you finish building a sukkah, and you’ll have some special sukkah adornments to use for years to come.
Fruit and Veggie Printed Banner
Do you have some fruits and veggies that are a little past their prime? What about the ends of some celery stalks or hearts of cabbage? Turn your food waste into art supplies! Simply dip the fruit or veggie pieces in paint or ink and then stamp away on a piece of paper, card or even an old sheet to make beautiful prints.
Fabric Garland
Photo via Southern State of Mind Blog
This decoration looks so elegant, but it’s a snap to make, a fun collaboration for siblings, and a great way to repurpose fabric odds and ends from previous projects. Just cut fabric into about even length strips, then tie each strip to a length of twine, ribbon, or rope. Small children can help rip fabric strips and leave tying and arranging to the “big kids.”
Recycled Planters & Feeders
image via the Mother Nature Network
You can make a planter or bird feeder out of almost anything – seriously! You can start seeds in a sukkah or place potted plants on your table for decoration, or, create the vessel for a bird feeder as a hanging decoration and fill it with seed once the sukkah comes down. You can even turn your leftover citrus fruits into bird feeders! If your tweens are into origami, they can create functional seed starter planters using old newspaper. Find the tutorial here.
Paper Bag Stars
Using just a glue stick turn them into a beautiful three dimensional start to hang in your sukkah. Older kids can do this craft all by themselves, while younger siblings may need a little bit of help assembling and unfolding the final product.
Wind Chimes
image via Inner Child Fun
You can make a wind chime out of almost anything: old keys, spoons, miscellaneous buttons, even bottle caps. Clean out your junk drawer and pull inspiration from this big list of recycled wind chime crafts that kids can make on their own.
Mason Jar “Lanterns”
Adapt this fun tea-light “menorah” craft to make lanterns for the inside of a sukkah. All you’ll need are some cleaned jars, battery operated tea lights, and items to decorate. You can use old stickers or tissue paper and glue to customise each jar.
Magazine Ornaments
image via artfusion19464 on Instagram
Do you have a big pile of old “Happy New Year” cards in the recycling bin? Are they sitting right next to a stack of unread magazines? Use the cards as a base and your magazines to create tubes or beads to make beautiful, easy to hang decorations for a sukkah.Trace shapes on the cards using a cookie cutter as an outline and cut them out to make the backs of your decoration. Now, cut and roll up strips from old magazine pages and use craft glue to seal the seam. Glue each of these down to your cardstock piece and voila – easy to hang, recycled, art.
Don’t forget to show off your sukkah decorations on social media! Use #pjlibrary so we can see—and share—your posts.
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September 19, 2022