THE JEWISH HOLIDAY of Sukkot celebrates the fall harvest, but it also celebrates nature and environment in general.
This Sukkot, get close to nature and the environment by sitting, eating, and sleeping inside a sukkah decorated with recycled and reused materials. It’s fun, it’s good for the Earth, and it presents the opportunity to be crafty!
GET ‘NATURALLY’ CREATIVE
Transform your sukkah into a unique place of meaning by turning plastic bottles into flowers or adorning with leaves and pinecones from the yard. Invite your children to use their imagination in reusing materials found in and around the home to create a one-of-a-kind sukkah.
Teach your children the meaning of sukkot as they decorate. Help them understand the importance of connecting with nature. Chag sameach, and happy decorating!
GREEN DECORATING IDEAS
To help inspire your sukkah’s ‘natural’ beautification project, here are handful of good (and green!) ideas:
- Create a Nature Collage
Use cardboard, sticks, and other materials found in nature to create a framed collage to hang in your sukkah.
- Hang Homemade Paper Chains
Salvage and reuse otherwise wasted paper to create a paper chain for hanging. As noted by Kveller.com writer Rachel Teichman in her piece “Decorating Your Sukkah, “paper chains are a traditional decoration.”
- String a Fabric Chain
Add some color to your sukkah by reusing fabric scraps. Follow the lead from blogger Malka Dubrawsky in her post “A Stitch in Color,” who provides light in her sukkah by stringing lights through a chain of recycled fabric.
- Make a Gourd Bird
Blogger “Maya” likes to make decorative, silly birds from gourds. Read her post “Gourd Birds: Fall Craft,” and turn the crooked neck of a gourd into a beautiful sukkah bird!
- Attach a Few Plastic Bottle Flowers
Who would have thought plastic bottles could make beautiful flowers? The Creative Jewish Mom, that’s who! Read the blogpost “Simple Plastic Bottle Flower Ornaments” for flower-making tips.
- Display Several Leaf Windows
As leaves change colors and fall to the ground, round them up and showcase them in a waxy frame. Read “Fall/Sukkah Holiday Child Craft” on the Deep Fried Kudzu for inspiration and crafting tips.
- Add Some Pine Cone Pizazz
Rake up and reuse those pine cones. The blog Scrumdilly-Do offers just a few ideas for decorating and hanging pinecones in the post “Pine Cone Pizazz” — but, of course, the possibilities are endless!