GET CREATIVE
BEJEWEL A KIDDUSH CUP
image via Kveller
Celebrate the beauty of Shabbat with this Bejeweled Kiddush Cup craft from Kveller! All you’ll need are a couple of plastic wine glasses, some glue, and a few plastic gems--all of which can be found at a local craft supply or dollar store. When they’re done, kids will have their own specially-designed cups to hold grape juice during the Havdalah ceremony.
BRAID YOUR OWN HAVDALAH CANDLES
image via Design Megillah
The extinguishing of a braided candle is what brings Shabbat to a close. With this tutorial by Design Megillah, your family can add a personal touch to the candle by braiding it yourself! The directions involve minimal mess, unlike a lot of other candle-making guides.
CREATE A HAVDALAH GARDEN
image via Bible Belt Balabusta
Nothing personalizes the Havdalah ceremony like growing the spices yourselves! Gardening and planting will bring the family closer the together while teaching your kids to appreciate nature. You can create your spice garden in a large tub, like in these instructions from Bible Belt Balabusta. If the tub idea isn’t for you, you can also grow spices like coriander, saffron, and paprika indoors with this guide from Natural Living Ideas.
GUESS THE SPICE GAME
A great game to play with family and friends is “Guess the Spice.” All you’ll need are some spices from your pantry. Begin by having someone close their eyes (or blindfold them for extra security). Then, pick a spice at random and instruct them to sniff it. See if they can identify which spice is under their nose!
MAKE A HAVDALAH "PORCUPINE"
Here’s a popular--if unusual-looking--substitute for a spicebox. Take a jar of cloves and an orange, and stud the orange with cloves. (It won’t last forever, but you’ll get some good use out of it.)
MAKE HERB AND SPICE PLAY DOUGH
image via Craftulate
This special play dough introduces children to the spices used in the Havdalah ceremony. The strong scents of those spices--combined with the squishy, malleable quality of play dough – makes playing with this dough a great creative and sensory activity! You can get it ready beforehand, or get your kids involved in making it.
TALK
Take a few minutes for a mini-discussion before or after Havdalah: “What was special about this Shabbat?” or “What are you looking forward to this week?”
DANCE
At the end of Havdalah, let yourselves go. Dance to such songs as “Shavua Tov (A Good Week),” “Eliyahu Hanavi (Elijah the Prophet),” and others. (See the playlist in the LISTEN section below.)
PLAY
At the end of Havdalah, play a quick game called “Knots,” in which everyone gets “braided” like a Havdalah candle and needs to untangle (for 4 people or more):
Stand in a circle.
Everyone stretches their hands to the middle, and finds two hands to hold onto – but not of the person standing next to them.
Without ever letting go, try to “unknot” to form one perfect hand-holding circle. (Hint: Stepping over a pair of arms may be required!)
EXPAND
Start Havdalah with a set of traditional verses - “Hinei El Yeshuati” (God Is My Redeemer). Here is the complete text and a video by Kippalive (with some musical surprises).
Or try this Sephardi (Spanish/North African) custom for concluding Havdalah:
Parents dip their pinkie in the wine or grape juice and touch their child’s forehead --an act of liquid love to start the new week.
Here’s a traditional Sephardi melody for Havdalah – “Lichvod Hemdat Levavi” (For My Heart’s Delight), performed by the group Pharaoh’s Daughter.