It’s hard to imagine Lag B’Omer without public gatherings, local bonfires or celebrations or big parades. Nonetheless, the greatest celebration of Lag B’Omer is that of Jewish unity and Ahavas Yisroel! While it looks different this year than on others, we are perhaps even more connected to one another, albeit through alternative means. It might feel a little unusual to make a celebration at home with just immediate family, but it can still be fun and meaningful. Here are some craft and activity ideas to enhance your day using materials you have easy access to in these difficult times.
Every year, my children look forward to bonfires, and “camp ins” (playing about camping at home or in our backyard. Public bonfires aren’t happening this year and not everyone lives in a location that is conducive to having one. Some families may not even have access to outdoor spaces or yards right now and that can be really challenging. So let’s get creative together and make a Family Lag b’Omer Camp-In at home!
Pitch Your Tent: Whether you have an actual tent, build a fort with chairs and couch cushions and blankets or just set some cozy blankets out on the floor, setting up camp is a great activity for kids of all ages. If you do have a yard and the weather permits, you might do this outdoors.
It is just as fun and cozy indoors, too!
Setting Up Camp:
Let’s Go Fishing! To create a camp like atmosphere, you might want to include some fun camping activities. If you have the ingredients, perhaps you’ll make some s’mores in the oven or microwave. Maybe you have the ability to grill at home or prepare some favorite BBQ foods indoors. You might set up a little fishing game indoors with some paper or felt fish shapes and add a paperclip “mouth.” Use a refrigerator magnet, string and some tape to attach it to a stick, dowel, or long cardboard tube to make a fishing pole and you can go fishing right from your living room!
If you’re in the mood to add some waterplay to the mix, you can go fishing in a big bin or bowl of water. You can use what you have on hand. We had a fishing game party favor one year that we used but another year I just set out some bath toys, a colander and some sandbox toys to fish with! If you want to cool off with some ice play, you can make ice cube “fish” in an ice cube tray using colored water. Toss in a couple of googly eyes if you have them, but no need if you don’t. When your water is frozen, pop them out and add them to a bin of water. We did this with waterbeads one year, but those are not a requirement to make this enjoyable. If you have salad tongs, they make great “ice fishing poles,” but a ladle or slotted spoon would also work well!
Remember--children have inherently great imaginations! They can stretch them as wide as need be--just about anything can be a fish and just about anything can be used to catch it.
Build a Bonfire! While a real bonfire may not be feasible in your space, a pretend one can be great fun to think up and build. Perhaps you’ll go outdoors to gather real sticks or perhaps you’ll work from indoors and use blocks or recycled cardboard tubes. Your flames can be made from scarves/tichels, fire colored clothing and linens, crumpled tissue or construction paper. When it comes to project planning these days, it can be helpful to put your kids in the driver’s seat. Let them navigate what materials to use and how to set them up!
Gather Together and CELEBRATE: Next it’s time to cozy up together and celebrate by the “fire.” Sing or listen to some favorite songs. Dance in your living room! Parade around your house or if safely possible, around your neighborhood. Does anyone in your house play an instrument? If you don’t have “real” instruments” at home, maybe you’d like to make some of your own. If my kids have taught me anything, it’s that everything can be a drum! Share some favorite stories together or share some favorite things about each other. Ahavas Yisroel starts at home and this year, we can really celebrate that!
Feeling Crafty?
If you want to get crafty this year, here are some ideas. Use what you have handy! This year we plan to do a family mural using large paper and art supplies. This is a great way to work together with one another (an important theme of Lag B’Omer) and create something beautiful. We will hang it in our front window to bring joy to our neighbors passing by. You can do this with smaller paper as well. Family members can work together or create individual pieces of art to contribute to your window museum. You might add a message of kindness and encouragement.
For some theme related art, you might want to build a tiny bonfire craft. One year we did this with an overturned plastic cup, squares of colored paper, a paper plate and construction paper “sticks.” I used an LED light inside the cup, but this is not a requirement to make it fun! You can even make a marshmallow roasting stick prop using an actual stick, popsicle stick or wooden dowel and gluing a cotton ball marshmallow to one end.
You can also gather twigs outdoors and glue them onto a paper plate or piece of paper and add some crumpled tissue paper or construction paper flames. If you’d like a moveable miniature bonfire rather than a permanent craft, you can use the same materials but leave out the glue! This can be a great addition to a dollhouse or block building for little toys and figurines to celebrate together.
Marshmallows are fun for eating if you have them. They are also fun for painting with. You can use vanilla pudding or yogurt colored red, yellow and/or orange with food coloring to make edible paint. You can also do this with real paint (but make sure your littlest ones won’t eat it!) or substitute in a cotton ball for the “marshmallow.”
This year is different but we can still make Lag B’Omer feel special! It just may be the perfect recipe for a meaningful and memorable experience.
How to get your child to bed without tears (from either end)
Mothers often have a vision in their mind that bedtime is this calm, peaceful time where their kids will drift off to sleep with happiness and love. As such, when these expectations are not met because a child refuses to cooperate during bedtime, frustration is a natural response.
The first thing I tell mothers to do is take a deep breath and understand that it is natural and normal to have bedtime struggles. Baruch Hashem our children have a lot of energy! Toddlers do not even walk -they run everywhere because they are so excited about life. From a child’s perspective, sleeping is closing their eyes to the world they are so excited about. So step one is to thank HaShem for the bracha of healthy children and know that you are not alone in your struggles.
The second step is to plan in advance and come up with a concrete plan. Situations often repeat themselves, and we can strategize how to tackle the bedtime routine. You do not have to do this alone – get your kids to help! If children are involved in the planning process they are much more likely to cooperate. While there are somethings that are mandatory (ie brushing teeth, getting into PJs, etc.), allow them to have some part in the process.
The third step is getting them to acquiesce to the bedtime routine night after night. One strategy is to take pictures of the child each step of the bedtime route. Have the child pose during brushing teeth, reading a book, shema, etc. and then compile the pictures into a bedtime book. This book works wonders because the child is not only excited about the process they partook in, but because it streamlines the whole bedtime process and allows the child to understand what is coming next.
Even if there are hiccups along the way – don’t panic! Just remember it is natural for children to not want to go to sleep. When we get upset and frustrated, our child is more likely to get upset and frustrated. However, when we have a tangible plan, thank HaShem for our healthy children, and remain calm and pleasant, our children will feed off the positive energy and hopefully make bedtime a positive experience for everyone.
How do we ensure that were giving each child what they need?
We, as Jewish moms, have such big hearts so we want to make sure we are doing right by all of our children, providing for them and all of their needs. However, as hard as it to swallow, we can never really know if we are giving our children exactly what they need. All we can do is try our best. However, ultimately, a child needs to feel loved and that is through undivided attention. A study was performed where a mother was very attentive to a baby, smiling, showing affection and the baby responded by being happy and receptive to the mother’s love. They then told the mother to be distant to the child, to ignore the baby and not smile. The child turned from being happy to agitated. The child needed something he was not receiving.
Do our children also become agitated and act out because they are not getting what they need? Of course we give our children attention, but is it truly undivided attention? When we really think about it, people are often surprised by how unfocused they really are – we’re busy preparing dinner, feeding the baby, running to put something in the laundry, etc. To make matters worse, when we do have a spare moment, it is so easy to get distracted with our rings, dings, and vibrations. Children are perceptive and they know it. They know you’re thinking of who just sent you that text message or what is happening on your whatsapp group, or what to make for dinner. And, in that moment, they might not be getting the attention they need.
So what can we do? Give each child ten minutes of undivided attention. No phone – not in your pocket or table, but away in the other room! If another child wants to tell you something, tell them you want to hear but you are playing with this child at the moment and that it is their time right now. Let that child choose what he or she wants to do. It could be to play a game, color, read a book, tell stories, etc. Make sure that you are truly present with your child during this time. When you give your child your full attention, even just 10 minutes a day, know that you are giving them what they need and both you and your child will feel like a million dollars.