I absolutely love, love, love hosting Shabbat meals and often have friends and family over.

I wanted to share some fun menu plans and ideas. The truth is that I find it easier to share ideas for Shabbat lunch, just because there are more “rules” – so there’s an end in sight! With Shabbat dinner menus, the possibilities are truly endless.

For that reason, I’m going to start by sharing a basic formula I use when planning meals. I’m going to be honest: very often, I overdo it. I make a zillion extra little salads for the first course, just toss in that extra vegetable kugel or quick pickled beets that wasn’t part of the original plan.

So I’ll give you the advice that I need to hear: To avoid excessive leftovers and go easier on yourself, stick to your Shabbat dinner menus strictly! That means no last minute add-ons.

Now I need to turn that into a huge flashing sign to mount over my kitchen counters…

Before I start, I will inform you that I did create a “menu helper” – that is, a doc version of just the basic list of foods you can choose from. It’s editable in Google Docs or any document editor, so you can add your own favorites or remove what’s not relevant. It’s available for download at the end of this post.

The basic formula for making Shabbat dinner menus

Just us – 2 adults and 3 picky children + an eating baby.

• Appetizer – the “challah and dips” course. Usually we have 3-4 dips such as marinated eggplant dip, matbucha, hummus, and often a homemade option such as garlic confit or fire roasted eggplant (from the Peas Love & Carrots cookbook).
• Soup – My kids like to eat chicken soup, and I often make my favorite chicken noodle soup recipe for Shabbat dinner. You can also try making chicken soup in the Instant Pot. We usually use about half the pot and freeze the second half to use the next week. Noodles are made by the bag, separated into 3-4 bags, and frozen as well.
• Main Course – My two younger kids are usually asleep for this (during the summer) or don’t really participate. My basic structure is:
  • 1 vegetable side – Usually a roasted vegetable such as broccoli or cauliflower
  • 1 starchy side – Usually a potato or rice dish
  • 1 main dish (protein) – Most often a chicken-based dish.

Sometimes when it’s just us, I make an all-in-one main dish. One of my favorites is similar to this recipe for crispy sheet pan gnocchi with Italian sausage and vegetables. The recipe I use has in it broccoli too, and I like to use mini gnocchi. I’ll include more ideas below.

Shabbat Dinner Menus for 2-3 additional adults

If we’re having additional adults, I usually try to make a little extra for each course. This will vary depending on how well I know said guests and what they’ll eat.

• Appetizer – I’ll make an extra side salad or two (such as Moroccan carrot salad or roasted beet salad), and depending on who it is, a fresh tossed salad too
• Main Course – If we have any guests, I stick to separate the main, vegetable, and starchy sides. Then, I’ll try for one or two extra sides. Sometimes it’ll be something like saucy pepper steak and rice, or a mixed dish like the gnocchi above.
• Dessert – When it’s only us, I don’t usually serve dessert formally – we just give the kids a small treat. With guests, especially those that tend to sit around and chat, I try to have a baked good (such as brownies), ice cream, some munchies like watermelon seeds and popcorn…

Shabbat Dinner Menus for 4+ additional adults/kids

I tend to go overboard when we’re more than doubling our family’s appetite.

I do the same formula as above but usually there is a nice sized salad for the first course, and at least two extra sides. Sometimes I even put in an extra main. The idea with guests is to offer more options since you don’t necessarily know what they like to eat.

So more guests doesn’t necessarily mean you need more options, but you’ll want to have more quantity. But if you are doubling your options, you don’t also need to double the quantity of each – and that’s where I personally go overboard with my Shabbat dinner menus. Just make a little more (1.5 is probably a good number) than you would for your family, especially with sides.

My Shabbat dinner menu with four or more adult guests will often include extras that are easy to put together or even ready made. Rice mixes or freezer kugels are a great option as an extra.

Mix & Match Shabbat Dinner Menu Ideas

Want to fill in your menu from a running list of ideas? Here you go! I linked recipes where I could, but you can also google an option that works for you.

These are ideas without quantities that you can plug into the template I shared above. They are also meant to just be ideas, so that you can skim and find inspiration.

Tip: you can download my free printable Shabbat menu planner and shopping list for a fun place to write down what you’re doing!

Challah, Dips, Salads first course

Of course, you don’t need to do a big first course, but if you do, here are ideas. On Shabbat dinner menus, we typically skip the fish that is often served.

We purchase 2-3 dips that are easily found in the deli aisle of the supermarket. That’s very individual. We like things that don’t have mayo, such as Spanish eggplant, matbucha, hummus, Turkish salad, eggplant liver, etc. More options include babaganoush, tehina, onion/jalapeno/pickle mayo dips…

Homemade Dips & Spreads

• Tomato dip – Make this in minutes in your food processor
• Garlic confit – try this herby tomato garlic confit for a kick or make an easy garlic confit in the oven.
• Fire roasted eggplant – This is a new favorite – the smoky flavor is incredible! I use stovetop drip trays to make cleanup easier. It’s always a hit with guests, and since it’s much better served warm, it’s perfect for Friday night.
• Roasted red pepper dip – I first made this for Passover and it’s begging to become a new go-to in our home.
• Olive Tapenade – My kids love olives and LOVE this dip. I can not keep up with their consumption!

Salads

I like having a few marinated or cooked vegetable salads, and salads that can sit in the fridge for a few days and be pulled out for multiple meals. Eating a tiny sampler of each with the challah and dips course lets us sample different flavors, giving a luxurious restaurant feel in honor of Shabbat, and is so wholesome.

Again, I make these usually when I have guests.

• Moroccan carrot salad – you can make a raw version using grated carrots, or a cooked version. The trick to getting the cooked version to be perfect: bring the water to a boil, add carrots, when boiling again set an 8 minute timer. It should be perfectly tender but not mushy at that point. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Beet salad – I use vacuum sealed beets to save time and season lightly with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Or, try this roasted beet salad recipe.
• Green beans drizzled with teriyaki and sprinkled with your favorite spice.
• Israeli salad – while I usually do this by day, there’s no reason it can’t be served for Shabbat dinner. We make it with cucumber, tomato, and pepper diced small. I sometimes split it in half. Add pickles to one half for a version that my kids like. Add bulgur, chickpeas, shallots, and a good lemony olive oil dressing to the other half.

There are of course leafy green salads – any one goes! Some favorites (these aren’t exact recipes, as any that I ‘ve used I tweaked a lot to suit my needs. I recommend googling one that works for you – this is just a starting point.)

• Beet arugula salad
• Spring Mix and roasted squash salad with seeds or nuts
• A simple light tossed salad with a Romaine base, avocados, and whichever vegetables I have handy
• Romaine with avocado, grape tomatoes, something crunchy and something sweet (such as candied nuts, crushed veggie chips and candied nuts…)

Soup appetizer course

I usually make a traditional Jewish chicken soup for this. Even when I do, I try to keep it to brothy soups, rather than blended soups with one exception on this list.

When it’s just us, we sometimes make a meat version to serve over couscous. I’m having a hard time finding a good recipe to link, so if you’re ready to wing it: Saute/soften onion, celery, squash, carrot, parsnip, or any other veggies you like. Brown beef stew meat, add. Add water, season well, simmer for a while.

We serve over real couscous – not what Americans call couscous but is really petitim. The tiny stuff. And we ditch the rest of the meal.

Another great soup option for Friday night is a sauteed veggie soup – using any vegetables you’d like! I use celery, onion, carrot, sometimes leek, parsnip or turnip, broccoli, zucchini – all cut as small as I can. I finish it off with water and seasoning and it’s so flavorful!

Blended chicken soup (or a parve cream of chicken soup) is delicious, and more filling. The recipe I based my process off of (which I can’t find, of course) says to cook a chicken breast in the soup, remove it before blending, and cube it and add it back before serving.

And if you’re feeling fancy, a beef onion soup is a real treat!

Main course

The main course can be the sole part of the meal, or skipped if you’re filling up on earlier courses. When mixing and matching elements, even if not cooking it as a single dish, think about what goes well together.

Chicken breast goes well shredded into rice. Meatballs, even if not saucy, work perfectly with any hot grain, such as rice or quinoa.

Main course one-dish or mixed dishes

• Chicken cooked over potatoes with broccoli
• Chicken cooked over rice with zucchini
• Orzo with roasted vegetables and sausage
• Stir fry: chicken or beef with broccoli, pepper, other veggies served over rice.
• Vegetable quiches (made parve usually with oat or nut milks)
• Stuffed Zucchini – or other vegetables
• Moussaka (make it dairy-free)

Main course main dishes (proteins)

• Chicken on the bone with spices
• Marinated chicken breast (grilled or baked high and fast to retain juices.)
• Shnitzel – cook as close to Shabbat as possible, and leave the lid of the pan a bit open while keeping it hot so that it retains crispiness until you eat it.
• Capons or boneless skinless chicken legs
• Corned beef
• Meatballs – I love cranberry chili sauce meatballs (I make the balls from scratch and do it in the oven).
• Pepper steak
• Any roast/brisket

Main course veggie sides

• There is a kugel for every veggie (almost)! I love this mixed vegetable kugel.
• Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, or eggplant.
• Cauliflower pastrami kugel
• More vegetable kugels: broccoli, spaghetti squash kugel, savory cabbage kugel
• Sweet chili string beans (from Dinner Done)

Main course starchy sides

• Rice – plain/lightly seasoned, Persian, rice with Mushrooms, fried rice, Spanish rice…
• Orzo – there are LOADS of recipes out there to dress up orzo, but one of my favorites is a simple burst cherry tomato sauce, minus the cheese.
• Potato kugel
• Potatoes: refer to your Passover menu for LOADS of ideas! Roasted is a favorite – just season generously with your favorite spices and herbs. I love it drizzled with a bit of hot honey, and roasted with leftover oil from the garlic confit.
• Sesame noodles or similar Asian-inspired pastas

Sample Shabbat Menus that we’ve actually done

I always try to include a few sample menus for you to refer to. These are tried and true menus HOWEVER I did remove a few items that were excessive so that you can have a better gauge for what to make!

Just us: 2 Adults, 3 Kids (+ eating baby)

• Challah and hummus, olive dip, eggplant dip
• Chicken soup and noodles
• Corn flakes crumb coated chicken with roasted potatoes and broccoli

Just us: 2 Adults, 3 Kids (+ eating baby) – Summer

• Challah and dips
• Chicken drumsticks with bbq sauce
• Gnocchi with vegetables

The kids have the chicken early and older kids join for Challah and dips as well. I usually chop up veggies for them to have with the chicken too.

Just us: 2 Adults, 3 Kids (+ eating baby)

• Challah and dips (sense a pattern here?)
• Mushroom rice
• Cranberry, Sweet chili meatballs
• Roasted Zucchini with shallots

Guests: 6 adults, 5 kids total (+ eating baby)

• Challah and WAY too many dips, Moroccan carrot salad
• Chicken soup with noodles
• Boneless rib roast
• Grilled capons
• Roasted potatoes with hot honey drizzled on
• Roasted broccoli with shallots
• Cauliflower pastrami kugel

Note: I also made a mixed orzo/veggie dish but it was almost untouched so I removed it from the menu.

Guests: 4 adults, 8 kids, 1 eating baby

• Challah and dips
• Chicken soup & noodles
• Broccoli Kugel 
• Honey roasted potatoes
• Duck sauce Chicken
• 1 pot kielbasa orzo (from Whisk by Ami magazine)
• Mushroom pastrami quiche (from Whisk by Ami magazine)
• Tossed salad

This menu was very generous, with lots of leftovers and 1-2 dishes can easily be nixed, but there was nothing that was really untouched.

Guests: 6 adults (1 gluten free), 3 kids + 2 toddlers

• Challah and dips
• Beef French onion soup
• Potato kugel with pastrami
• Stuffed zucchini
• Rice
• Salad – lettuce, pepper, avocado, veggie sticks salad topper
• Gnocchi w veggies, sausage
• Chicken drumsticks

Got any Shabbat dinner menus or ideas to add to the list? Comment below! Make sure to include what worked, what didn’t, and who it was designed to serve.

Need to whittle down your Shabbat cooking to much less time? Check out my tips for making an easy Shabbat in an hour! Yes, I’ve done it both ways!

Download the free printable Shabbat dinner menu helper!

This editable document can be uploaded to Google docs or used in any document editor to help you plan your menu.

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

The post Shabbat Dinner Menus – Free Printable Master List of Ideas appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I am very much a paper planner person (I actually use and love Happy Planner systems) and I’ve been trying to break through and offer some solutions for Jewish holidays.

I spent much of this season creating Pesach Planned and I wanted to offer a solution for those who want to just stick with their regular planner as usual.

I decided that planner stickers, like I might buy for everyday use, but to suit Pre-Pesach needs, would be a fabulous tool! So I lettered the words I wanted to include in three different styles, ditched one of them, and came up with this set of Pre-Pesach planner stickers. The perfectly complement the Jewish calendar sticker set.

While they totally for for everyday use, these Pesach planner stickers WERE designed with your pre-Passover needs in mind:

Pesach Planner Stickers Include (and how to use them)

Stickers Included

• Cook – for things you plan to cook
• Bake – for baking days
• Organize – while you don’t NEED to organize for Pesach (that’s more spring cleaning) and in fact, it’s heavily discouraged if you’re overwhelmed, I still needed this one as part of my Pesach prep planning. Part of my strategy is to organize areas ahead of time so that it’s easier to clean last minute. It’s also good for days you plan to work out your Pesach supplies – whether it’s loading the cabinets pre-Pesach or packing things away after.
• Clean – obviously, this is for cleaning days (use this for Kashering the kitchen day too).
• Menu – This is designed for spaces where you’re fleshing out a fuller menu
• Eat – And this is designed more for individual meals (for example, what are you eating in the days before Pesach).
• To do – For general to do lists by day.
• Pack – If you’re traveling, even just for part of Chag, you’ll need this.
• Shop – This is more to designate overall shopping days/destinations
• Buy – This is for more specific lists.

Formats Included

I always create a few options for you to use! First of all, there are two styles of sticker:

1. Outline – The outline sticker is designed either to slot out a day or time without making an actual list. You can also use it as a header in a ruled planner, and it’s perfect for when you want to make larger lists.

2. Square/rectangle – The square and rectangle stickers (depending on format) are designed to be written on in short lists. I recommend a “top 3 goals” style of list-planning, so while you may want to add more items (use more stickers, or the outline stickers) this is perfect for listing those top 3 goals of the day. After you finish those, you can refer to your master to do list.

Then, I created them in a few different printing formats:

• PDF / Avery 22805 Labels – 1.5 inch square labels 24/sheet
• PDF / Avery 94106 Labels – 1.5 inch square labels 20/sheet

• PNG – Use this to Print then cut on sticker paper using a Cricut (the Cricut cuts it, you’ll need a printer to print it), or to format your own labels in any design software so that you can make them the size you want them. If you’re doing this, simply print them on sticker paper and cut them out.

Download your Pesach planner stickers here!

I always have a conflict when I create a printable that’s more work intensive like this one. On the one hand, for a small demographic like the Jewish market, it’s not sustainable for me to offer everything for free. I like to offer a thorough product with multiple options, and don’t want to make less available because it’s free.

At the same time I also want to offer something that everyone can have available to them, because of the absence of good authentically Jewish resources online.

So I decided to split this one: you get the PDF Avery 94106 template free at the download form at the end of the post. And you get the full bundle: Avery 94106 PDF, Avery 22805 PDF, AND the zip folder with the PNG images to format as you’d like through my Etsy shop.

This also serves as a “donate” option to help keep this blog alive!

Get the full bundle of PDF & PNG labels

Your download includes: a 2-page PDF with the Avery 94106 labels in outline and square styles, a 2-page PDF with the Avery 22805 in outline and square styles, and a ZIP folder with 20 PNG files: ten outline style transparent PNG files with a white border, and ten rectangle files with a white writing space.

Get the free PDF

You get a 2-page PDF with the Avery 94106 style labels

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

The post Pesach Planner Stickers appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I am thrilled to share with you my newest Passover planner – Pesach Planned! When you’re done reading, go ahead and check out our tips for making Pesach for the first time. This post contains affiliate links.

Paper planner peeps – I’ve got your back, for this Pesach and going forward! I am so excited to share the launch of Pesach Planned, a dot grid Passover planner for you to print and assemble into a binder.

Having all your lists and ideas in one place, within a repeatable framework that you can reference and update from year to year is a game changer when it comes to pre-Pesach sanity.

Get Pesach Planned

Pesach Planned is available directly from me here, or via my Etsy shop here. Purchase it wherever you feel most comfortable!

You can reuse Pesach Planned from year to year, reprinting only the pages you need, however, you may not share it with a friend or forward the files directly – each owner should purchase it directly (much like music or other digital products).

What exactly is Pesach Planned

Every year, I have scattered lists, emails sent to myself, Keep notes, and all sorts of things I forgot to save. I have docs with recipes, I have menus in various places – some on paper and some in Google Docs, and for good measure, there are even a few things in Evernote. Because why not COMPLETELY overwhelm myself?

The truth is, I’m a paper planner person.

I get distracted while using a screen, and yes, I actually enjoy sitting down with a planner, some pretty pens, and a coffee when I’m breaking. So using a paper planner isn’t really WORK for me, but it does save me TONS of work.

I designed this Passover planner to be everything I need it to be. As time went on last Pesach season, I jotted down all the pages I wished I had. I organized it into different categories, added some I thought others might want, and called it Pesach Planned.

The idea is to build a binder – a framework, really – one year, and use that to keep everything in one spot. The pages can be printed one at a time as you need them, or all at once.

You then place it in the correct section to sort it (visible by color coding.)

Pages

If you want a real, in-depth look at Pesach Planned, this is the video for you, but I’ll write my tips below as well:

The planner features front and back covers that were digitally illustrated by me. Dividers feature the same pattern and the backgrounds feature and assortment of patterns in themed colors.

For example, everything in the menu section has the menu section color. You can, of course, switch things around as you’d like – it just won’t be themed anymore.

The Passover planner has 13 sections total, including: menus, seder, agenda, cleaning, shopping lists, pre-chag food, erev Pesach, budgets, Chol Hamoed, after Chag, recipes, notes, and archive.

Your download includes printable planner tabs as well, in both PDF and PNG format so you can hand cut or use your Cricut (if you have one) to Print then Cut.

Menu Section

Menu section includes: An idea dump page to write down and categorize your ideas before putting them into the actual menu. I find that working this way keeps the menu itself cleaner, and ensures I don’t overdo things on the menu.

Then you have first days and second days menu plan pages at-a-glance, so that you can mount it somewhere visible and not move it all chag. For Israel, you have a two meal spread (first day/last day).

There is also a Shabbat Chol Hamoed page, and a cooking schedule. The schedule is designed for you to plan when you’ll cook it all – have a checklist for it, so you don’t scribble all over your menu. You can do this in the Agenda section instead if you prefer. The single-page layout gives you space to write things like cooking temp and more, so you do things efficiently.

Seder Section

Seder pages allow you to plan seder-specific things, but not the menu. If you want, you can place the menu in the notes section.

The Afikoman gifts page is ideal for budgeters, those with large families, or grandparents who give gifts to multiple grandkids. We just buy whatever is negotiated seder night, so it’s not relevant to us, and I’ll be skipping that.

Agenda Section

Agenda pages feature a 2-month overview blank (undated) calendar, a weekly agenda with “cook” and “clean” sections, and daily agenda with cook, clean, eat sections.

The monthly is very valuable for mapping out Pesach cleaning, kashering, and cooking timelines. Don’t get stressed by the two-month layout: you’ll likely need it even if you’re a 2-week Pesach planner any time Pesach falls out earlier than April 14… And for those who need more time, just print more pages.

Cleaning Section

For cleaning, you have a checklist with a section for each room, a single-room page for in-depth cleans, and a page for kashering the kitchen.

These are BLANK pages – if you want one that is filled in, I also have available a master Pesach cleaning checklist you can download for free. It’s great to use alongside Pesach Planned.

Shopping Section

Shopping lists once again offers a single-page list, a list for groceries split into two for larger families, a non-food list, a by-store list, and a Chol Hamoed restock – so that you can pencil it in on that page as you create your initial list and work out your menu better.

Once again, these are blank lists. You can check out this master Pesach shopping list – another free printable that is fabulous to use alongside Pesach Planned.

Pre-Chag Food Section

The Pre-chag food section is my answer to “ma, there’s nothing to eat”. You have a Chametz inventory page with a pantry purge menu section on it, and then a separate 6-day pantry purge menu page. Even if you keep it simple (like frozen pizza simple), having a plan helps, and it’ll help you purge your freezer too!

There’s a more organized/dated pre-chag meal planner too if you prefer that, and it’s actually great for those days after you kasher before Pesach actually starts. Finally, there is Shabbat Hagadol menu planner, especially valuable this year, when Shabbat Hagadol is the day before Bedikat Chametz, requiring even most last minute people to be strategic with their menu.

Erev Pesach Section

Among the shorter section, the idea of this one is just to put those pages where you need them; you may choose to skip this section entirely, or combine the section with others.

This section includes a bedikat chametz page with space to write where the ten pieces of bread were hidden. It also includes a quick checklist. It also has an Erev Pesach page (which can be added to the agenda section if you prefer it there.)

Budget Section

Keeping track of expenses is a big deal Pesach time, when things tend to cost WAY more than they normally do – both because of the festive holiday meals, and because of all the new things that are often needed.

Grocery and non food budget pages can be printed as many times as you need to keep your finances in order. It’s organized so that you can mark how you paid for it (for example, using which credit card) so that you can stay on top of things.

Chol Hamoed Section

If you’re the type of family that can’t decide until noon what you’ll be doing on Chol Hamo’ed, the first page – a day trip idea dump page is perfect for you! List your ideas with all the pertinent details and work from there.

The day planner is the one I’ll be using, as my husband will likelybe working, so I’ll be planning at-home activities instead. It has space for meals too, as well as a to do/prep section (which is spot-on for years like this one, where Shabbat Chol Hamoed is smack in middle).

Finally, you have a Chol Hamo’ed meal planner. Even if you don’t usually meal plan, on Pesach, you’re less likely to have a good supply of what you need, and having a meal plan can prevent lots of crankiness down the line.

After Chag Section

Arguably the reason I created Pesach Planned was to have this reference from year to year. The After Chag pages are really valuable, both in saving time and money, and in eliminating stress.

First, you have a chametz restock shopping list. This is ideally filled out when you start pantry purging and referred to only after chag.

Then, the “reminders for next year” page includes things you’d like to buy for next year (as in, kitchenware you feel you need/broke, or just foods you were missing this year. It has space to write down quantities of things that you used (matzah, wine/grape juice, potato starch/matzah meal, etc), inventory (such as spices you are freezing for next year), times (when the seder started/ended, for example), and notes.

The inventory page gives you plenty of space to write a detailed inventory of everything you have for Pesach so that you can reference it even before you’re ready to unload your Pesach boxes.

Bonus Section

To complete this as a well-rounded Passover planner, I added a recipes section with blank recipe pages so that you can jot down your favorite Pesach recipes, and have them stored in one spot.

A notes section is simply a place to write any random notes – that’s all. It’s a notebook at the end. (Each section has a dedicated notes page as well).

And the archive section is just a divider – and a spot to dump previous years’ menus, cleaning lists, budgets, and more.

Features

I created Pesach Planned to really be the one and only Passover planner you might need. The pages are flexible, and the style is really cheerful, to bring some light into your Pesach prep endeavors.

Here are some key features:

• Dot grid: To keep things pretty, flexible, but still provide you guidance, all writing areas have a faint dot grid. This is a top choice among bullet journalists (and me) because it keeps the page visually clean, while still providing the benefits of a ruled paper.

• Divider pages: Even if the only thing you use is the divider pages, it’ll still help you organize! Since there are a LOT of lists involved in Pesach planning, having them in a convenient place to find what you need when you need it is so helpful.
• Divider tabs: while you can totally just use tabs from the office supply section of the store, I did provide both PNG (Print then cut) and PDF versions of tabs that you can fold over and place on your divider pages.

• Easy framework for organizing: Since the entire Passover planner is color coded, it’s easy to place things where they belong.
• Illustrated front and back covers– I digitally illustrated subtle and quirky Pesach images set on a bold and playful pattern that is meant to add a heavy dose of FUN to your Pesach prep.

• Page directory – part of the point of Pesach Planned is to help you with the lists you’d anyway create. A favorite way for ME to do this is to print list pages as I need them. So I provide a directory of pages so that you can choose to print pages individually as you need them.
• Each section has a notes page dedicated to it, so if I missed something, you can add a page that’ll fit right in and be easy to sort!

Assembling your Passover Planner

You can watch the video where I showcase how I assembled Pesach Planned, or scroll down for deets.

In a binder

My recommended way for you to set up your Passover planner is in a binder, with sheet protectors. This prevents oopsies, allows you to place pages back to back, rearrange them without compromising page quality, and more.

In fact, I bound mine using a disc-bound system (shared below) and already had one oopsie where I had to reprint pages.

You can either laminate your divider pages and add tabs, or add them to sheet protectors too and attach the divider tabs on top.

I printed my divider tabs on printable vinyl and cut them using my Cricut. You can also print the PDF file directly on sticker paper, on cardstock, or whatever you’d like, and cut them out by hand.

Or, get divider tabs and write in your sections.

Disc Bound

I used a disc bound system to assemble Pesach Planned. I enjoy using a disc-bound system for day-to-day planning (I am a Happy Planner user) and had leftover discs from old binders, as well as a disc hole punch.

The biggest advantage of using a disc-bound system to assemble your Passover planner is that it takes up much less space.

The drawback: your pages are unprotected. It’s also more work.

My advice: if you tend to use the pages as standalone pages and then organize them into the binder, a binder is better. If you keep your pages where they belong, a disc-bound system, or similar, might work well for you. Just make sure not to place it anywhere it may get wet.

Hard laminate your front and back covers to serve as functional covers.

I used cardstock for the divider pages, and added the tabs directly on them.

However you choose to assemble your Passover planner, I do recommend choosing a system where you can add and remove pages.

How Pesach Planned can help YOU

Still on the fence? Need a bit more to justify splurging on a Passover planner, and setting aside time at the most hectic period of the year? Here’s a list of ways Pesach Planned can help you.

Save time

• Knowing how much of quantities used saves you from extra grocery runs when you run out of matzah mid-way through Pesach.
• Recording how many cups are in a bag of potato starch (for example) will once again allow you to bake more efficiently and save you extra grocery runs.
• Having a more organized framework for menu planning, as well as a place to keep records, gives you a more realistic image of what you need to make. For example, you can store past menus in your archive both to reuse ideas from year to year, and to reference how the quantities of dishes you cooked worked out for the amount of guests you had. So if you always feel like you don’t have enough food, this can save you DAYS of cooking time.
• Working through how to clean your house most efficiently using various list orders.
• Keeping a list for Kashering the kitchen helps you remember what you need to do from year to year (make it with a Rabbi’s guidance the first year, and save it in the archive section to copy from in future years).
• Saving your master shopping list from year to year, and having an organized framework for it, can once again save you time spent running to the store because you forgot something.

Save money

• When it comes to saving money, there is a lot of overlap in the saving time – only it’s an issue when you buy too much of things. No more piles of leftover matzah, matzah meal, and Kosher for Passover ketchup. Knowing how much cheese you used last year, with how many people in the house, will help you gauge better and avoid overspending on pricey cheeses that no one will eat.
• In addition, with EFFICIENT menu planning, you avoid overdoing it. There’s nothing as budget-busting as throwing out expensive meat dishes because you thought you needed way more food (or forgot that no one is actually hungry by the time Shulchan Orech comes around seder night).
• OF course, the budgeting pages can give you a more realistic take on the impact it may be having on your wallet, and allow you to step back a bit and cut corners as needed.
• There were times when I “remembered” that I needed something for Pesach, but forgot that I had actually bought it Black Friday when I saw a sale… keeping an inventory is a wallet-saver. The inventory page included really helps, but even if you don’t use that, shopping only off your “buy next year” list and crossing things off as you get them can help.

Save sanity

• Having a clear cleaning and cooking timetable can really help you visualize when things need to get done, if you’re on the right track.
• Keeping lists of what you need, what you have, etc. can help you avoid digging through boxes before you’re ready.
• Just being able to find those things where you put them, remember the details from last year that will save your sanity…
• Did I mention not overdoing the menu? Can you guess what my personal weak spot is?!
• Having those meals that you tend to forget about planned out, a list of chametz, and more details that sometimes fall under the radar tended to saves loads of sanity.

Download your Passover Planner here if you haven’t yet!

The post Pesach Planned – Printable Passover Planner appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

My childhood memories of Pesach center around my mother’s lists. Her cleaning checklist was a staple and her shopping list was thorough.

The idea of having reusable lists from year to year is brilliant. It ensures that you start off with half the planning done.

A few years ago, I went and made her cleaning checklist universal so that others can use it as a master list as well. And now, I’ve taken her yearly Pesach shopping list and turned it into a universal master shopping list for Passover. My mother has decades of Pesach-making experience, which is why this is such a game changer. She’s updated it over the years, as diets, kids’ ages, and other needs changed.

My parents are careful with some extra stringencies so to make it more universal, I:

• Added some condiments staples
• Added pantry items like crackers and cereal
• Added some produce that is difficult to peel (they don’t use unpeeled produce)
• Included a crowdsourced Kitniyot section that you can delete too.

Did I mention this master shopping list for Passover is editable? You get it as a doc file, so that you can edit it in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

How to use the master shopping list for Passover

Either open the file in Word if you have a subscription.

Or, use Google docs. I recommend using docs since that what I used to create it. Formatting might change if you open it in Word.

For those who don’t know how (desktop instructions – if you open this on your phone it’ll probably give you the option to use Google docs automatically):

1. Open docs.google.com
2. Below the top grayed-out “start a document” area, right above your saved docs, there is a small folder icon off to the right. Click on that.
3. That gives you the “upload a file” dialog. Click on the tab that says “upload.”
4. You can now click browse to upload a file from your computer (or, if you have the folder with it open, drag and drop).

Some things just aren’t universal, so I added some notes to the top (which you can delete after using them.) The process for successfully and efficiently using a master list like this is as follows:

1. Go through it and keep everything you need. Delete what you don’t.
2. Go through your menus and check each ingredient. Make sure it’s on the list. Update quantities as needed.
3. If you’d like to, you can reorganize your list into grocery store departments. Since Passover tends to be organized differently, and you may shop at different stores, it didn’t make sense to share the list that way.

You can even copy/paste the content into new documents that you create based on store, errand run, or whatever works for you!

The real value in this is remembering those things you might not have thought of:

• Tapers for seder night (so the candles light through the seder). If you light using something else, replace with that!
• Yaknehaz candle for years it’s helpful (When Pesach falls out right after Shabbat, so you’re doing Havdalah seder night)
• New toothbrushes
• Toothpicks to put out at every single meal matzah is served…

It does NOT include a basic “what you need the first time you make Pesach” list. That is a different beast.

Download your free editable Pesach shopping list

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

I hope you enjoyed the master shopping list for Passover. Got anything to add to it? Comment below!

The post Master Shopping List for Passover appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

You worked really hard. And it feels really good.

But there’s nothing quite as satisfying as finishing off cleaning a room by slapping a sign on the door that reads “Kosher for Pesach”!

These Kosher for Passover labels are FREE for you to print and enjoy. I made them pretty rather than purely functional so that they’ll look nice in your house.

And I even made a Chametz version too – to label those areas that need to stay shut over Pesach.

I illustrated these on a particularly challenging day, when I couldn’t move or do anything else. You know how when you don’t have energy to create a menu and so you create the outline for your menu (as in literally just jot down the days that need menu-making) and feel like you did something? So it’s like that…

I loved how they came out and they gave me a bit of a boost. And they took quick , which means that they can be offered for free here instead of in my Etsy shop which made me happy. I like to offer free printables but I need to time cap them to an hour or two (for the designing process – the rest of the post creation takes a LONG time) so when it comes together so smoothly I am happy.

So enjoy these pretty Kosher for Passover labels – “hand” lettered digitally and turned into a fun printable for you.

How to use these Kosher for Passover Labels

The labels, available for download at the end of this post, are PNG images. That means that they are NOT formatted or sized (they were created to work up to a full size page width-wise).

This allows you to:

• Print then Cut it on a Cricut machine for a border edge (like I did)
• Format it to the size of that circle punch you own to make it easier to cut out
• Apply it to a circular label template of your choice
• Print it as you would photos using Windows – just right click, print, and choose your size, quantity, layout.
• Print multiple sizes.

Where to use the labels

The Chametz Labels

I designed these specifically as a “not for Passover” type sign that gets put in places that you usually lock up for Pesach. Print it smaller for cabinets, and as large as you can for full rooms (such as storage rooms or guest rooms that you might not be cleaning).

You can also use them on dishes and utensils that you don’t want to confuse (more advice on that below.)

I had actually hoped to print these on printable removable vinyl so that I can actually just stick it up on my cabinets, however, I did not find one that I can rely on not to remove the paint. So I’ll be using a low tack tape (painters or masking) to stick this up.

The Kosher for Passover labels

These were designed both to label those drawers that you are using for Passover and to label dishes. I will be printing a few on printable waterproof vinyl to stick onto some specific dishes.

It’s also a fabulous way to mark rooms that have been cleaned – the equivalent of “you’d better not bring Chametz into this room or else!!”

As signs, I printed them on cardstock to make them more stable. I also hang those with painters or masking tape.

Download the free printable kosher for Passover labels

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

Your download will arrive in a ZIP folder. For information on how to “unzip” see this article. If you’re having trouble with it, try again with a Gmail account, since some email providers block ZIP folders.

The post Kosher For Passover Labels – Free Printable appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

When asking readers what they wanted as I create Passover resources, the most common answer was: send help!

I can’t send cleaning fairies – I wish I had one myself – and I haven’t even made Pesach enough times to offer thorough advice as to making things better. In fact, I’m in slight panic mode because A, age 2, thinks that “mealtime” means:

• Cup of cereal eaten all over the house. OR
• Peanut butter sandwich in hand, eaten all over house, with crusts left wherever she chooses. OR
• Even pasta needs to be eaten from a cup all over the house.

I obviously clean up after her, but, you know, not the whole house.

My solution: clean last minute. But I’m only one person – or am I?

I recently organized my kids’ “stuff” with them and I was surprised at just how much they can do. My kids also help out a lot with chores on a daily basis.

The biggest challenge with kids getting involved in the Passover cleaning is that it might be new to them. And for kids with executive functioning challenge, the oversight required might make it just not worth your while.

So here, I am, recruiting your kids to help you clean with the help of some printable visual Passover cleaning aids – four of them in fact:

• An I Spy game
• A Bingo game
• A step-by-step visual binder for cleaning kids’ personal spaces (backpack, dresser, etc)
• A step-by-step visual binder for cleaning shared spaces around the home (dining chairs, coat closet, etc)

The I Spy game – is free. It operates as a rewards chart but with a twist. More on that soon.

Yes, you will need to be involved – even heavily – with these aids. And you’ll need to forget about any real organization. But your kids can do a lot and I truly hope this helps!

How to use the Passover cleaning guides as this year’s Cleaning Fairy

As a parent of a child with ADHD, I can tell you that incentives CAN help. So can timers. And visual aids are winners.

Kids need to have the whole shebang mapped out so that they can get what they’re doing. But then they also need it mapped out into tidbits that make sense.

The trick with having an incentive work is that it has to be really appealing. When M took three days to do a chore (cleaning up a few games from the family room) I offered to add music to his MP3 player. Suddenly the room got clean.

For the kid that loves sweets it can be candy.

For the kid that wants one-on-one time, it can be an outing. Think: a one-hour ice cream date – with all the hours you saved, you can now afford it! Plus, you’ll be making memories and creating positive associations with Passover cleaning.

Whatever you do, if you want your kids to help regularly with Passover cleaning, make sure to also incentivize in increments.

When readers asked for visual aids for kids, I wasn’t sure how to make it work for everyone. Each home and each child is different. I’m going to go into further detail for each one, however I’d like to summarize them as follows:

• For the two games (I Spy and Bingo) you can still “win” without getting them all.
• For the binder-style guides (Personal and Home) you can print the pages you need as needed.
• For the two games, anything you clean, use, or do is a score. Any Chametz you find is a score also.
• For the binders, each item that’s cleaned is broken into a very repetitive process of empty, purge, clean, refill. You’ll obviously need to guide the process.
• Bingo, Home binder, and Personal binders all come with parent guides. Personal binder also comes with a kids’ guide to purging.
• The binders can both be used year-round. You get Passover, Pesach, and generic versions of them too.
• I targeted ages 8-12 for these Passover cleaning guides, but it may be good for other ages as well.

Finally, I’d like to point out: Passover cleaning is not Spring cleaning. If you’re short on time, don’t bother with the sorting, purging, organizing process. You’ll still want to toss any trash – why put that back in? But when kids clean their own things independently, it’s very valuable to teach them that skill as they do it.

The Passover Cleaning Visual Guides

ALL of these are printables that you can print multiple copies of as needed for your kids. You may also use them for a single classroom.

The I Spy Game

Every time they do a cleaning action, use a cleaning tool, or find a chametz item, they color it in.

This one is best used as follows:

• Competition between siblings: who can score the most?
• Competition with self: can you beat yesterday’s record?
• You can even send this home with students and have a parent sign each item and send it back in to have a class-wide contest.
• You can print a new chart daily/weekly – whatever works!
• You can incentivize when they hit a certain number.
• You can set daily goals.

Download it for free:

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

The Passover Cleaning Bingo Game

The Bingo game serves as a rewards chart with a twist. You get five rearranged charts (there are a few duplicate items on the charts and they vary). Rules are the same as the I Spy – use, do, or find an item and color it in. But this one adds in objects that they can clean to score.

Yes, some chores will be “double dips” (or octuple dips) and that’s fine.

I recommend choosing small incentives for each row, etc. and a larger one if the chart is completed. If you do a full-chart incentive, you may want to exclude anything irrelevant.

This can be played as a competition or as an individual chart, and it comes with a “Guide for Grownups”.

The Kids’ “My Spaces” Visual Guide – Binder

The My Spaces visual aid is for kids to clean their own personal items.

As a personal-safety safeguard, my kids know that certain spaces are theirs. I never clean or purge these without them. This binder is designed to help them really be able to do it on their own. You can give it to them as a binder, or just hand them the page they’re working on. Use it in the way that’ll work best for them.

It comes with guides for parents, and a guide for kids to learn some purging skills. If you don’t agree with what I wrote, just don’t give them that page!

It has a total of seven spaces to clean, and a choice of covers: Passover, Pesach, or generic/year-round use.

The Kids’ “Our Home” Visual Guide – Binder

The home guide is designed for kids to help with assorted tasks around the house – not their own items.

Someone shared with me as I was crowdsourcing for this post that as a child, they were given the coat pockets to clean. Any loose change found was theirs to keep! You can do this or not, but either way, it’s a great chore for kids. And there tends to be loads of Chametz in pockets – especially in homes with kids.

I chose items around the home that kids ages 8-12 can more or less clean independently, and only included the steps that makes sense for them to do. You’ll need to help with any purging, and give guidance along the way.

For example: For something like kitchen cabinets or drawers: print a new page for each one that they clean. As they clean, you can instruct them NOT to put things back into the one or two that you might be using for Passover. Just draw an X over the final “refill” step.

It has a total of seven spaces to clean, and a choice of covers: Passover, Pesach, or generic/year-round use. And it comes with a parent’s guide too.

The Passover Cleaning Bundle

If you can’t decide or want them all, you can get them bundled at a steep discount, along with my full set of no Chometz sign door hangers.

Which of these Passover cleaning aids is your favorite? Got any tips for getting the kids to help out? Comment below!

The post 4 Passover Cleaning Visual Aids for Kids appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

As the meme states, the Jewish homemaker makes a “Thanksgiving every weekend”. For some families that’s an understatement and for some it may be a bit of an exaggeration.

Wherever you fall in that range, I’m sure you’ve had moments when you absolutely couldn’t think of that perfect dish for that Shabbat lunch, that post-fast feast, or that Shavuot appetizer.

And while your recipes may be organized – or not – you may not have them organized by your specifically Jewish needs.

A friend of mine recently suggested that I create a Jewish recipe binder, and little did I know what a lifesaver that idea would be for me. My clipped recipes have been dumped in a half-size binder, with no rhyme or reason. Digging out that sesame-free humus recipe each time I need it has been a nightmare. And while I’m normally a creative cook (no recipe required), creativity just won’t work for Mommy’s Perfect Pesach brownies!

Get the Jewish Recipe Binder

How to use the Jewish Recipe Binder

The idea of this binder is to help you sort your recipes in a way that:

1. Helps you find the correct recipe at the correct time and
2. Helps you menu plan more easily by sorting things into categories that make sense for you.

It’s designed for recipes you print from blogs, copy from your sister-in-law, or clips from your favorite magazine. And while you should definitely file it in the section you’re most likely to look for it, you can also file it in more than one – depending on your organizational style.

So for example, let’s say I clip this delicious crock pot mushroom barley soup recipe. I’ll print it three times. Once for the soups section, once for the Shabbat Lunch section and possibly also for the slow cooker section.

And gluten free cholent can go in Shabbat lunch, Special Diets (where I’ll look for ideas when my family members with Celiac come), as well as Pesach.

Not everything needs to be everywhere! The sesame free hummus and sunflower pesto don’t need to go in the special diet (allergy free) or Shabbat lunch sections. They’re good with the dips. I don’t use those to menu plan. I just need to be able to find the recipes easily when I’m ready to make them.

Start with a thick binder with heavy duty sheet protectors. This is a starting point to help you navigate this organizational task. You may want to add your own using the blank pages I included (more on that soon!).

Since there are 26 sections in this Jewish recipe binder, it’ll be thick. You don’t need to use all the sections! Just print the ones you need – and yes, I included a directory so you can choose the page numbers to print.

You can also do what I plan to do: split this into two separate binders.

• One will be a menu planner – organized by Jewish holiday/occasion.

• One will be a recipe book – organized by course.

If you do use a single binder with all the dividers, get a thick one.

What’s inside: the sections and more

The Jewish recipe binder includes 26 sections, based on Jewish dietary needs.

Cuisine-focused

These are also focused on Jewish dietary needs:

• Appetizers
• Bread & Grains
• Dairy
• Desserts & Snacks
• Dips
• Drinks
• Fish
• Mains
• Salads & Dressings
• Slow Cooker
• Soups
• Special Diets (gluten-free, nut-free, vegan – to help you plan for guests with specific needs)
• Starchy Sides
• Vegetable Sides

Jewish home focused

• Friday Night
• Shabbat Lunch – this is my favorite section, as Shabbat lunch requirements are specific and we like to switch it up!
• Parsha Treats
• Seudah Shlishit
• Rosh Hashanah
• Erev Yom Kippur
• After the Fast – if you like to cook specific things for then, store the recipes here!
• Sukkot
• Chanukah – for your favorite donuts!
• Purim
• Pesach – while you may want a separate binder for that, this is a great place to drop clippings throughout the year.
• Shavuot – for cheesecake and other fancy dairy dishes

Additional Pages

• 2 blanks! Because everyone has different needs. I made one for menu plans – where I can save the plans I made that were successful. I usually mark down who came and/or how many kids and adults. I also made one for easy dinners. Put anything here that you feel is missing from my binder (because I couldn’t possibly include it all!
• Divider tabs – Cut these out, fold in half, and glue it on to easily find your spot. If you have a Cricut, use the PNG image to “print then cut” (learn how here) If not, just print, cut out, glue. Instructions to follow.
• A cover – I kept this simple to keep things neutral and clean. You can also decorate your own cover.
• Instructions and directory – I also made a single page of instructions and a page-by-page directory. You can stick this in the pocket of your binder so that if you need to print off extra pages you can find the page number easily.

Still didn’t get it?

How to assemble your Kosher recipe binder

You need

• A binder
• Heavy duty sheet protectors
• Print on copy paper for the dividers and cover
• Print on cardstock, photo paper, glossy sticker paper, or regular paper + laminate for the tabs
• Double sided tape, glue lines, or a sticker maker
• The printable files

Assembly instructions

1. Print your pages.
2. Insert the cover into the clear pocket on your binder.
3. Place the sheet protectors in your binder. Start with the first page. Place your first divider page inside.
4. Skip a few and add subsequent divider pages.
5. Cut out the tabs by hand or using the PNG to print then cut on your Cricut.
6. Fold them in half on the center line.
7. Attach the correct tab on the correct sheet protector, placing each one a drop lower than the one before. You’ll be doing a few rounds, but since there are pages/spaces in between, you’ll be able to see the markings.
8. Fill with your recipe clippings!

Tips for assembling your Jewish recipe binder

1. To make the tabs very durable, you can laminate them. You’ll want to place another sheet back to back with it when running it through the laminator. That way, when you cut it out, it’ll only be laminated on the front.
2. Or, print it on glossy sticker paper – this will make assembly easier and color bleed less likely.
3. If you aren’t printing on sticker paper, you may find assembly easier if you run it through a sticker maker. That’s what I did!
4. If you’re a perfectionist, you can measure the placement of the tabs, placing each 1-1.25 inches lower than the one before.

The post Printable Jewish Recipe Binder appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I’m a big fan of paper planners. Actually, I’m a total planner snob.

I have to have a Happy Planner every year. That one year I tried going cheap with a different brand… I gave it away and went right back to my Happy Planner.

But there’s the small issue of celebrating completely different holidays than the rest of the world. And since things like Jewish holiday stickers are so hard to come by, I always just scribbled them in.

So instead of sitting and thinking “I wish there were more Jewish holiday stickers for my planner readily available” I decided to go ahead and make it more readily available.

I decided to offer these as a printable for a simple reason. For something that needs to be repurchased every year, that you sometimes make mistakes with (case in point, I placed my High Holiday stickers in August instead of September…) it’s nice to be able to print out new batches. And this way, you can buy it once and print it for your wall calendar, planner, your kids’ planners, your husband’s… and do it again next year.

And for those who keep 18 month planners, you no longer need to buy two sets! You’re welcome.

About these Jewish Holiday Calendar Stickers

I hand-lettered (digitally on my Surface Pro, but still drawing it out by hand!) each Jewish holiday in both Hebrew and English text.

I designed these to fit onto 1.5 inch square Avery labels using the template for this set.

If you’d like to resize it, or like to keep generic sticker paper handy, you can simply print it on sticker paper and cut it out by hand (although I recommend using a paper trimmer for neat edges. )

And of course, I also created Cricut Print then Cut versions (instructions included, however you can learn more about how to print then cut stickers on Cricut here)!

Since it’s a printable, that means I can offer you a free sample! This is a fully functional but streamlined PDF sample of my stickers in black and white. It includes single stickers of the main holidays with some Rosh Chodesh stickers so you don’t waste labels on the page.

Black and white can be left neutral, or color them on the page (so you don’t need to stick to the lines) and then add to your planner, to make things more colorful!

After you download, you’ll be redirected to a page with your freebie and an exclusive coupon code in case you want to buy the full color version!

If you prefer, you can scroll below the form for more details and for your purchase options.

Download the free printable sample of my Jewish holiday stickers

Enter your name and email address in the form below. Hit “Send it to me” and I’ll send it right to your inbox. You’ll also be directed to a page with the download, as well as your purchase options for the full bundle in case you want more, colors, Hebrew, or just to buy me a coffee 😉 .

You’ll be signed up for the free Jewish Moms & Crafters newsletter, which you can unsubscribe from at any time by hitting the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of every email.

The full Jewish planner stickers in full color!

I created more variations so that you can choose the one that suits you best! Click on the image below for the one you want.

Each of these Jewish Holiday stickers sets includes:

• Two styles: one with a colorful background and white lettering. And one with colorful lettering and a white background.
• PNG images formatted to print then cut with cutting machines: square and outline versions.
• All major and minor Jewish and Israel holidays. English stickers also have English pronunciation variations (Passover, Hanukkah) in addition to the Hebrew (Pesach, Chanukah.)

[show_boutique_widget id=”1113938″]

How to use these planner stickers

1. Open the file. Send it to your printer. If printing on Avery 1.5 inch labels, make sure you scale at 100% or print actual size to ensure it prints correctly.
2. Place stickers on the correct dates!
3. You can make it smaller to fit a smaller calendar. Just scale proportionately and print on sticker paper.
4. To use the Cricut Print then Cut (PNG files): Upload each PNG to design space. Make sure you choose complex and “print then cut” image.
5. Align all of them top and left.
6. Select all and resize to a max of 6.75×9.25 (which one works will depend on which set you’re using).
7. Load sticker paper into your printer. “Make it” and send to your printer. It’ll add a rectangle around it as “registration marks”.
8. Load it into your Cricut and watch it cut!

I hope you enjoyed your free printable Jewish holiday stickers! Find more cool Jewish holiday printables in my Etsy shop.

The post Jewish Holiday Stickers for Calendars & Planners appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

One of our goals in life is to become your one-stop-shop for everything Jewish crafting, decorating, and general pretty-making.

And Purim is such a creative holiday, yet so neglected when it comes to Purim ideas! There’s no intense cleaning to be done, there are so many opportunities to get fancy. Actually, Purim is the classic time when Jewish moms everywhere find their crafty side and I am in good company…

So here ya go – plenty of Purim ideas to tide you over for a while!

Purim craft ideas for kids & Adults:

There are so many opportunities for Purim crafts beyond mishloach manot packages and costumes! Do just-for-fun crafts, animate the Purim story, and create your own pretend pay hamantashen.

When planning Purim ideas for classroom crafts or at-home entertainment, think simple. Decorate, color and toss in a little cutting and  you have your Purim planned.

Decorate masks – a fun craft for classrooms, or to put out at a Purim party. The trick is to prep the masks in advance – and give plenty of options!

You can also print and color these fun color-in masks. There are styles for kids and grown-ups, making it one of the easiest crafts to put out at a shul party or even a family feast!

Or, feature the Purim characters in your mask making sessions with these fun masks!

Speaking of Purim characters, Purim puppets are the most popular Purim idea on the blog – possibly because they are engaging way to teach the story!

Make some cool Purim tags using basic materials! Paper stitching opens up so many new possibilities!

Craft your own Purim play set – or just use the very simple technique to make the hamantaschen and turn them into accessories, pins, or play food.

Try making a spin drum craft as your Gragger, or opt for paper:

Try making some cool Purim groggers – a craft for any age group! There are absolutely no limits to this one and there are plenty of ways to make it your own. There is even a more complex style dedicated to the big kids and grown ups!

Speaking of grown-ups…

Why do only kids get the coloring pages? These Purim adult coloring pages are great for all age groups (yes, even my preschooler helped me color it) but it was designed with the grown ups in mind. Have fun coloring your heart out while your family packages the Mishloach Manot this year!

There’s nothing like coloring to keep the youngest (or oldest) kids busy so enjoy two free printable coloring pages for kids with quirky Purim-related drawings.

Talk with them about the various Purim traditions as they color.

Enough candy – even juice can be fun! These Purim juice box wrappers are perfect for healthier class hand-outs and double as a coloring page. You can also add it as an extra in your own mishloach manot packages.

[show_boutique_widget id=”917553″]

Purim Decorations and Table decor:

I confess, this is one area that I really neglected, and I will be adding some more Purim decoration ideas this year.

Last year, I created a gorgeous tablescape for our Purim feast (and I plan to do the same this year…) I’m going to share some of the tutorials this year- meanwhile, can you spot the 4 DIY projects in this photo?

Check out some of the elements of last year’s Purim tablescape! You can learn how to make a gorgeous Purim decoration hamantaschen pennant banner out of cardstock too. Customize it to fit with your decor. You can make the Purim centerpieces too.

Meanwhile, I’ve created some table decorations and home decor for you to enjoy!

[show_boutique_widget id=”917554″]

You can also give this fun Happy Purim banner a go with the free PDF and SVG templates!

Purim Planners, Labels, and more:

Organize your Purim, label your packages, customize mishloach manot bags, plan your menu…

We love sharing the resources to make your holidays easier and Purim is no exception!

They need to know who it came from… which is why you’ll want gorgeous Purim labels on your mishloach manot packages! Grab these free printable Purim labels right here. I also created a new and improved version this year.

Get organized with Rochel’s free printable Purim planner – or get right to the food part with her Purim menu planner.

And if you love doing mishloach manot themes, Rochel also has lots of Purim ideas for how to do that on a budget!

[show_boutique_widget id=”917555″]

Purim Costumes and Costume Alternatives:

Of course, you can find ideas for Purim costumes anywhere (bye, Halloween) but if you want something you won’t find elsewhere, I have you covered. From Jewish-themed costumes, to real clothing costume alternatives, I always go for an artsy feel.

Want to dress up as something biblical? Craft a fake beard costume accessory – or print your own Choshen (priestly breast plate) for a Kohen Gadol costume!

Gag costumes and shirts can be classy too as you can see with these sweatshirts and tees!

Got a sensory kid or don’t want to spend much on throw-away costumes? Check out these easy costumes with normal clothes! We love using real clothing for costumes and always try to come up with Purim ideas that can be reused.

Find more of my DIY costumes from previous years!

[show_boutique_widget id=”917556″]

Purim Food Ideas:

Okay, these are basically hamantaschen ideas but of course those are the best, aren’t they? And no, I’m not talking about using felt as your main ingredient anymore.

Tip: you can learn how to make hamantaschen here and then you can sub it for premade frozen mini pizza dough rounds, and even wonton wrappers! You’re welcome!

Jelly belly hamantaschen came from my preschooler mishearing – “Morah said we need to put jelly bellies in the hamantaschen” (instead of jelly). And they’ve become a family favorite.

It even doubles as an educational color-sorting activity for preschoolers! Let them do the work while you man the oven of course.

I’ve also been making Rochel’s savory veggie hamantaschen for our family feast.

If you’re not really feeling all that wrapping and pinching try this cheat: make a purim cake instead in the shape of hamantaschen! What?

You hardly even need to know how to frost a cake to try this so give it a go!

Now, if this list was missing something, here’s your chance to drop a comment and let me know which types of Purim ideas you’re looking for that I didn’t share! Point me in the right direction, and you may just find a solution to your Purim probs here next year!

What are your favorite Purim ideas? Did you do anything before that you MUST share, repeat, and shout out to the world? Check out our 75% off Purim bundle and comment below!

The post The Motherlode of Purim Ideas: Crafts, Decorations, and more! appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

Purim is one of my most favorite times of the year. It’s a time when I like to allow my creative side to come through. I love getting all caught up in planning the costumes, the menu, the mishloach manos. I love when it coordinates to a theme. (Yes, I know, that’s not a halachic or non-halachic requirement. But it’s fun!)

This year is the first one that my children have decided to dress up as separate individuals, without a theme to tie it all together. And I’m totally okay with that. I always promised myself that I’d do a theme as long as my children were game. Now they’ve each requested to be different things (and they stuck to their requests for 3 straight months!) so my husband and I are ditching the costumes, planning a simple mishloach manos, and letting the kids party their way.

The Purim Planner I’ve designed is family oriented. You have 5 sections; one for costumes, one for mishloach manos, one for megillah, one to menu plan your Purim seuda, and one all important Things to Do section. If you’re invited out for the seuda (lucky you!) just cross that section out. As always, with all our printables, make it work for YOU.

You can download the Purim Planner below. (Donations are optional, just enter $0 as the price, but a small tip helps us run this blog and pay our hosting and other fees):

Do you love all the planning that Purim entails? How will this Purim Planner printable make it easier for you? Comment below!

The post Purim Planner – Free Printable appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.