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.
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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.”
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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.
When it comes to arts and crafts at home, there are as many styles as there are art forms. Some of us embrace the “mess” of glitter, glamour and glue. Some of us can’t handle the abomination of playdough colors being mixed together. Some of us love to peruse Pinterest boards and some of us are lucky if we can draw a stick figure. Our children, however, are natural artists--whether they are the type to dip in one finger or jump in feet first to a puddle of paint, whether they are the minimalist prone to carefully etching one line in the middle of a page or the type to sprawl across the entirety of a canvas and maybe also the kitchen cabinets. Wherever you and your young artists fall on that colorful spectrum, here are some tips of the trade and tools to add to your Quarantine Survival Kit!
Building The Basics: To make life easier, it can be helpful to put together an Arts & Crafts Bin with materials kids can access and use independently. You can use a box, a bin, a basket, a bag---whatever you have on hand! Then decide what to stash inside. I like to do a separate bin for each of my children geared toward their interests and abilities. You can also choose a central location for art and craft activities and materials.
Here are some supplies you might want to round up. Use what you have at home and don’t feel like you must buy additional items:
The “Less Mess is Best” List:
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Crayons, colored pencils, pencils
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Color wonder markers/paints and paper/coloring books--these are available on Amazon
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Paper--various types and sizes, construction, plain white, graph paper, old notebooks/notepads
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Old magazines, catalogs, ads for cutting/collage
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Glue sticks
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Scissors (if age appropriate)
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White paper plates
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Brown lunch bags
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Yarn, string, ribbon, embroidery thread
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Beads
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Stickers
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Tape--scotch tape, masking tape, washi tape, duct tape, painters tape--whatever you have
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plastic/paper straws
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Solo cups in various sizes
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Recycled containers, tin cans (if no sharp edges), bottle caps, cardboard tubes in various sizes--one person’s trash is another one’s treasure!
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Coloring books/activity books if those interest your kids
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Old greeting cards or damaged picture books that can be cut up for collage, paper dolls, etc.
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Tin foil
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Stencils--doesn’t even have to be a “proper” stencil, kids can trace shapes and stencils cut from cardboard or household objects or cookie cutters
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Wrapping paper or craft paper rolls for large scale art or cutting up
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Clear contact paper
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Pompoms, gems, feathers, sequins, buttons, google eyes and other small bits
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Pipe cleaners
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Wooden craft sticks
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Brown grocery bags
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Cardboard boxes
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Fabric scraps or old clothing that can be used for fabric scraps
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Plastic canvas and embroidery thread with blunt eye needles--good for older kids/beginning sewers
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Burlap with embroidery thread and blunt eye needles is also good for beginning sewers/older kids
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Hole punchers
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Tissue paper
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Nature’s craft supplies like sticks, rocks, pine cones, seed pods, etc.
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Felt
“A Little Messy Is Ok” List:
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School glue
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Clay
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Playdough (you can also make your own--I’ll have several recipes to share!)
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playdough/clay tools--these can be household items as well, like cookie cutters, plastic knives, a long cylindrical wooden block for a rolling pin or actual rolling pin, etc.
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Markers
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Watercolors--you can make your own with food coloring and water
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Stamps and washable inkpads
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Kwik Stix paint sticks
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Do-a-dot markers
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Chalk or chalk pastels (especially fun on black paper)
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Oil pastels
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Glitter glue or colored glue
“Bless the Mess” List:
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Washable tempera paints
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Acrylic paint
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Face paints or face paint crayons--who says your body isn’t a canvas?
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Shaving cream
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Paint brushes and “non” paint brushes (toothbrushes, combs, cookie cutters, sponges, lego or duplo blocks, forks, feathers, leaves, yarn...)
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Glitter. Yes I said it, GLITTER.
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Baking soda & vinegar
Now What Do They Do With All of This?!
Good question! And a great one to start them with. I like to put out some random stuff on the table and see where they take it… But if that feels a little overwhelming, especially at first, here are some ideas in all three mess level categories:
Less Mess is Best:
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Recycling Bin Challenge: In this activity, kids use objects from the recycling bin (like containers, tubes, boxes, bottle caps, pouch caps) and some tape/glue sticks and small craft parts to create something else. I like to give a theme (like robots or animals or vehicles/boats)...
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Paper Bag Puppets: Kids can make a paper bag puppet pal with a brown paper bag and crayons. Kick it up a notch with some glue sticks, construction paper, magazine cutouts and loose craft parts. Put on a puppet show! You can add an element of challenge by encouraging a specific theme or story for puppet creations. There are plenty more paper bag craft ideas on Pinterest.
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Paper plate silly hats: Cutting the center out of a paper plate makes a perfect sized hat for smaller children. Use a hole punch and pipe cleaners, string, beads, or glue on strips of paper, craft bits, Who can make the silliest hat? There are LOADS of paper plate craft ideas on Pinterest.
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Cardboard tube hair salon: Chances are you’re going to have some empty toilet paper or paper towel tubes this week. Draw a face on the front about halfway down and use scissors to cut a fun hairdo. You can curl the hair if you cut thin strips and wrap them around a pencil.
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Neat & Tidy Sculptures: Pipe cleaners and tin foil are perfect mess free sculpting tools. You’d be surprised what kids can create with just a bag of pipecleaners! Use a cheap roll of tinfoil and challenge your crew to build a boat that can hold the most weight. Use pennies, beads or paperclips and then set sail to test them in the sink, bathtub or a bin of water.
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Tissue paper flowers: Use squares of tissue paper in a variety of colors and a pipe cleaner (or floral wire) to create a beautiful, allergy friendly bouquet of flowers. You’ll overlap a few squares of tissue paper and then gather and pinch the center to create rose shaped petals. Twist your pipe cleaner around the center to create a stem. You can also use white coffee filters for this and color them first.
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Make your own felt board story set: Use a large felt rectangle for your felt board. You can glue it onto cardboard for a sturdier back. Cut shapes, people, animals, trees, etc. to use along with it. You can use stencils for this or create your own shapes/designs. You can even challenge yourself to make a feltboard set to go with your favorite book or story!
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The Crafts Of Our Youth Introduce older crafters to some of the favorites from our youth--friendship bracelets, lanyard, loop looms potholders, shrinky dinks, wiki stix… You can order these materials online if you wish!
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And for the younger crew… even very little ones can bead jewelry with pipe cleaners and pony beads and sew with plastic canvas or burlap and a blunt eye needle.
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Build a cardboard box city: You know who’s doing well right now? Amazon! And that means we’ve got plenty of boxes around the house. Use them to create a mini house, a rocket ship, a boat, a car, a city… What can your kids come up with using cardboard boxes and their Art Bins? When I was a kid, we built an entire cardboard neighborhood in our basement after a family move and even had a functioning postal system with smaller boxes affixed to our “homes.”
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Cut your own paper dolls: using magazines, old greeting cards, damaged children’s books, etc., you can cut out and create your own paper dolls and accessories. To make them a bit sturdier for play, glue to card stock or cardboard (even a recycled cereal box is great for this--pictures and all!)
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Origami is a great art form to take up. You can cut your own squares, use actual origami and there are plenty of tutorials online
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Alphabet collage challenge: using old magazines and catalogs, try the alphabet collage challenge. Find and cut out each letter of the alphabet. Then find and cut out a picture to go with each letter of the alphabet--that is where it starts to get tricky!
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Sticky Wall Collage: use clear contact paper on a wall, window, easel or table-top to create a sticky surface. Kids can stick on paper scraps, craft bits, magazine cut outs, leaves, flowers, etc.
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Family Mural: Cover a large space or tabletop with white paper. You can use easel roll, craft paper, the inside of wrapping paper or multiple pieces of white paper taped together. Set out crayons or whatever you’d like for a family mural. Challenge everyone to draw a garden scene or shape monsters or whatever theme is fun and turn on some music. When the music stops (someone will have to be DJ for this), stop drawing and switch spots with someone. Start it up again and continue working in your new space!
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Tallest Tower Challenge: Using paper or plastic straws and tape, challenge everyone to build the tallest tower possible. It’s harder than you’d think...
A Little Mess Is Ok:
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Magic Messages: Use white crayon to write a secret message or draw a secret picture on white paper. When you are done, pass your paper to someone else in the family. That person will use markers, watercolor paints or do a dot markers to color a beautiful rainbow or design while revealing the magic message.
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Crayon resist pictures: In the same idea, use crayons in many colors or just black to draw a picture on white paper. Go over the picture with markers or watercolor or do a dot markers to create crayon resist art.
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Clothespin peg dolls: I used to love creating clothespin peg dolls when I was little using wooden peg clothespins, fabric scraps, embroidery thread or yarn (can be wrapped around for clothes or made into hair) and markers. Then I’d use my dolls in play with blocks or a doll house or to put on puppet shows or act out stories.
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Playdough “dress up” dolls: using a wooden peg clothespin or wooden peg doll or even plastic animals and dolls, create temporary playdough costumes, hairdos and accessories!
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Stick Puppets: Using popsicle sticks, a plastic spoon, a wooden spoon or even an actual stick from nature, you can create all kinds of dolls and puppets by drawing on and gluing on clothes and details. An insider tip--if you can get nontoxic matte gel medium (available online or from craft stores) it works as effectively as hot glue without the heat and a very tiny bit goes a very long way (think a dime sized amount on a bit of cardboard or plastic container per child with a craft stick to spread it).
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Glue Peel-off Shapes: using glitter glue or colored glue, “draw” simple designs or shapes on a plastic bag, wax paper, plastic wrap or foil. You can also color your own white school glue using food coloring. When the glue dries, you can peel off your shape and it can be stuck to the window like a window cling.
Bless This Mess Activities:
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Doughs, clays and sensory play: You can make just about every type of dough, goo, slime, clay and sensory play medium right in your own kitchen using household ingredients. You can look up recipes for things like playdough, salt dough, slime, gak, oobleck and even bubbles solution online or ask me! You can use small toys, tools, household items and recycled materials for play.
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Paint potions, glue concoctions and explosive art, oh my! If mess causes less stress, this is guaranteed to please. Kids get to use a variety of mediums to create their own art concoctions and then use them. Here are a few ideas:
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Chalk paints: crush up sidewalk chalk or colored chalk using a mortar and pestle or a hammer and ziplock bag (stick chalk inside and hammer from the outside--alternatively children can step on the bags to crush the chalk). Mix chalk powders with water and use to paint on thick white paper or watercolor paper or even the sidewalk itself.
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Glue Potions: I love clear school glue for this but white glue is also fine. Give each artist a disposable cup or dish, a plastic spoon or craft stick for mixing and paper in a tray or foil pan for working on. Kids can add a variety of mix-ins to create their potion. Some ideas include food coloring or liquid watercolor, glitter, beads, buttons, dried flowers, sequins. They can experiment with pouring the mixture over paper, mixing small bits into it or even sprinkling them over the glue mixture. Let dry (thicker puddles take longer) and display.
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Paint pouring: Add some glue or flour into washable tempera paints to thicken it for pouring. Using either an empty condiment bottle for squeezing or a disposable cup for pouring, you can make beautiful pour pictures and designs. A favorite activity here with this is to build a tall tower using plastic blocks like lego or duplo or mega blocks and pouring over the top. You’ll want to have a tray or foil pan underneath with some thick white paper to catch your painting!
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Not your average brush: Paint, check. Paper, check. Paint brushes--oh no! We don’t have paint brushes! No brush? No problem. Use your hands, your feet, a comb, a toothbrush, a fly swatter, a lego, a cookie cutter, a pine cone.
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Magic Explosive Paintings: Place some thick white paper into the bottom of a tray or foil pain. Mix some baking soda, water and food color or watercolor of your choice to make your “magic paint” in a disposable cup or dish. Use a bottle and dropper of vinegar or empty condiment bottle of vinegar for “magic activator.” You can start by painting a design onto the paper with the “magic paint.” Then, add a few drops at a time of the “magic activator.” For an added element, you can begin this process with a crayon or oil pastel drawing and it will work in the same way as a crayon resist once you add the magic paint and activator.
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Make Your Own Puffy Paint: using shaving cream, white glue and food coloring, you can create your own puffy paint. Mix a heaping blob of shaving cream with a generous amount of the glue until you reach a thickness and consistency you like. You can mix ingredients in a paper cup and use a plastic spoon or craft stick. The paint can be drizzled or spread onto paper with a craft stick and it will harden as it dries.
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Help! They’re Painting the Walls: Ok, it’s only the bathtub walls! Make bathtub paints using shaving cream and food coloring. Just add kids and water and voila!
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Help! They’re Painting Each Other: If you’re feeling super brave or super desperate or both, face paints and face paint crayons are great fun for the whole family. Be cautious if anyone has sensitive skin and just wash with soapy water once you’re done! Don’t forget to snap a photo first…
What do I do with all this artwork?!
Now that everyone’s geared up and ready to go, it might be good to have a plan in place for these creations. You have a few options here. The fridge and some magnets. A clipboard hung on the wall for each family member to choose their favorite/latest masterpieces to display. Or hold a family art show and auction of works of art to the highest bidder--parents, you can choose what the currency is here! These masterpieces also make great gifts when mailed to a relative or neighbor or friend who may be lonely at home during this time.