Tu B’Shevat is one of my family’s favorite holidays (although I guess I probably say that about all the holidays!). I’m so happy to share our 8 Easy Ways to Celebrate Tu B’Shevat With Your Kids!
This special holiday of Tu B’Shevat is a time to celebrate nature, which is a fun and pretty natural celebration for kids.
You get to encourage them to be outdoors (which they love to do already, if they are anything like my kids!) and model thanking G-d for all that he has provided.
You also traditionally celebrate by … yep, eating special foods!!! There’s not a Jewish holiday that can go by without involving ritual foods 🙂
As with most of the activities in our house, our kids like to dig in, and in this case, literally get their hands dirty, to create fun and meaningful Tu B’Shevat experiences.
Check out below for Eight Easy Ways to Celebrate Tu B’Shevat With Your Kids. Chag Sameach!
Quick Facts
Tu B’Shevat/Tu BiSh’vat, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the birthday of the trees, occurs on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat, sometime in late January or early February. Originally an agricultural festival, the main customs of this holiday are to taste some of the fruits and nuts of Israel and to plant trees. Tu B’Shevat is a time to give gratitude to G-d for all the fruits of the earth and everything that he gives us. It’s a wonderful holiday to experience with your children—good food to eat, fun activities to do together, and a natural segue to talking to your kids about the environment.
And now … the 8 Easy Ways to Celebrate Tu B’Shevat With Your Kids!
1. Eat Traditional Tu B’Shevat Food
On this holiday you are supposed to eat the seven species mentioned in the Torah (from Deuteronomy 8:8), some of the fruits and nuts of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Almonds and carobs have also become a traditional food eaten during this holiday. You can easily add some of these foods to a snack tray or to your dinner on the night of Tu B’Shevat. Some years that’s all we’ve managed–because hey, LIFE. If you put out some of fruit, olives and crackers there’s no cooking for you and you’re still sharing the 7 species with your kids 🙂
If you have the energy and inclination, a little more effort can get you …
When we’ve had a little more time and energy we like to cook different dishes that include one or more of the seven species. Using these dishes can easily spearhead the conversation of what the different foods represent for this holiday.
A true favorite in our house is Chocolate Covered Almonds. It’s a super quick and easy dessert and one that the kids can do themselves, giving them ownership of preparing something special for this holiday.
I often make Sautéed Green Beans with Almonds as part of our dinner on the night of Tu B’Shevat. It’s another fast option and one that’s healthy and enjoyed by kids and adults alike. It’s actually one of our potluck staples on Tu B’Shevat and throughout the year.
A little splurge that my husband and I have enjoyed in the past is broiled figs with gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar–yum! These little treats are often enjoyed while cuddling on the couch after the kids have gone to bed … the wild lives of parents!
Feeling like a party?
Tu B’Shevat Seders have become quite popular and can be a special way to celebrate with your family or friends. My Jewish Learning, PJ Library, and ReformJudaism.com all have wonderful resources on how to host a Tu B’Shevat seder. Having a family Tu B’Shevat seder is something my kids (and me too!) look forward to each year.
You could also have fun hosting a Tu B’Shevat Tasting Play Date, Parents’ Night, or a Sunday School Class Connection Gathering. Have your child’s friends over during the day for a snack tray filled with the seven species.
Do that plus wine or a Tu B’Shevat Seder for a religious school Parents’ Night out or with the whole family for a Sunday School Class Connection event.
If you want it to be super easy you can have the seven species in their raw form (except for the wheat and barley) on tasting trays, or have people sign up to bring a potluck items that cover all seven species (yay for signupgenius!).
Check out my pinterest Tu B’Shevat board–there are a ton of recipes that satisfy your hunger and your wish to fully sample the seven species!
And if you want a fun little game to do while you are having your Tu B’Shevat seder, this year we made these simple Taste the Foods of Tu B’Shevat Spinners to have a little fun while choosing which Tu B’Shevat foods to taste next!
Taking the Holiday Out and About
For Tu B’Shevat, or any time of the year, a fun family or grown-ups-only event is to host an olive oil tasting party at a local olive tasting room. Organized as a friends get together, Sunday School Class Connection event, something special for your Chavurah, or even a fundraiser!, the possibilities of combining one of the traditional Tu B’Shevat foods and some easy fun is totally doable.
In the greater Sacramento area, there are lots of options–choose your location of choice, contact your guests, and taste one of the seven species (even if these olives don’t come from Israel)! YUM!
2. Plant Something
From early Zionist times, there has been the tradition of planting trees on Tu B’Shevat. Our family has planted a lemon tree, a pomegranate tree, and chard (yes, I know this plant is not a tree but it is so easy to grow in California!) in past years.
We also always plant parsley seeds. These are a wonderful activity for children because the parsley grows so quickly—it will be ready for Passover so your kids can watch what they planted grow and be used from one holiday to the next.
Check out my post on how to put together an easy Parsley Planting Activity!
As I Always Like to Suggest, Make a Party Out of It!
A Tu B’Shevat Parsley Planting party is a really fun and engaging way to get your children, and their friends, interested in the holiday of Tu B’Shevat and in the act of planting. It can be large or small, the activity itself or paired with some seven species tasting and dishes.
Plant With Your Local Gardening/Tree Group
Our town has a local tree group that uses volunteers to plant trees around the City. They teach the volunteers the proper way to remove dead trees and how to plant new trees. My kids seem a little young to try this activity right now, but when they are a little older I think this would be a great mitzvah project for their Sunday School classes!
If your kids are too young for a group that targets adults, or if you don’t have a local group, perhaps you can gather your Chavurah or Sunday School class together to plant a tree on the synagogue campus or somewhere else in town that’s appropriate.
Purchase a Tree in Israel—Contribute to Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund always welcomes donations to plant a tree in Israel. If you make a donation to the JNF for this purpose, you can easily print out the acknowledgment and share with your children how your donation was to celebrate Tu B’Shevat and help Israel–always important topics for family discussions!
3. Make a Tu B’Shevat Craft
There are so many options for including a craft to have your children visually connect with Tu B’Shevat. In past years we’ve tried Handprint Tree Art, Tissue Paper Tree, and Toilet Paper Roll Trees.
This year we’ve been really into using the items we collect out in nature to make nature art. Using leaves, acorns, flowers, and sticks from outdoor adventures to create an art project is the perfect way to connect to Tu B’Shevat.
Check out the easy and fun Tu B’Shevat Sensory Bin my kids fell in love with this year!
4. Take a Walk in Nature
Tu B’Shevat is a great time to take a walk and notice the growth of nature around you. You can take an easy walk in your neighborhood, pointing out the different trees and plants that you know or that you like.
Are there still leaves on the trees? Which plants have changed color and which look dormant?
On these walks, it’s easy and timely to talk about how Jews live all over the world and experience the holiday of Tu B’Shevat a little differently. For example, in New York it’s likely snowing but in Israel spring has arrived and everything is blooming! And here in Northern California … well it can be either rainy or sunny, depending on the year 🙂
If you are feeling more adventurous, you can go for a family hike, to either a favorite place or someplace new. We are so lucky that we live in a region that has a ton of fun, kid-approved hikes, some even in our own town! We love using the All Trails app to check out local hikes and see if they will be kid-friendly. We’ve found so many that we enjoy!
5. Learn and Say the Blessings
Tu B’Shevat is a great time to learn and say some common Jewish blessings. Have your children repeat the blessings or watch them on you tube. BimBam has sweet and instructional videos for most blessings, including the Shehecheyanu which we say on Tu B’Shevat.
If it’s the first time you are eating one of the fruits for the season, you say the Shehecheyanu blessing. It thanks G-d for sustaining us and allowing us to celebrate this special occasion.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam,
shehecheyanu, v’kiy’manu, v’higianu laz’man hazeh.Our praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of all: for giving us life, sustaining us, and enabling us to reach this season.
* Transliteration & English translation from Reform Judaism.org
Before you eat any fruit, you also say the Ha’etz blessing, the blessing over fruit.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam borei p’ri ha’eitz.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
* Transliteration & English translation from My Jewish Learning
These blessings are easy to learn, especially if you model how to say them. They will soon become a tradition in your house and the kiddos will pick up on them in no time!
6. Read Tu B’Shevat Books
There are many fun Tu B’Shevat books out there. Are you members of PJ Library yet? Hopefully, because otherwise you are missing out on a great opportunity to fill your home with a Jewish library.
PJ Library sends a free book every month on a variety of topics—Jewish holidays, tikkun olam, mitzvot. Our children love ripping open their package (addressed to THEM, what fun!) and immediately curling up on the couch to read the new adventure.
7. Watch!
Please tell me you’ve discovered BimBam! They have all kinds of wonderful videos on a variety of Jewish topics. Check out the Bim Bam videos on Tu B’Shevat. My kids love singing the Tu B’Shevat song! It’s enjoyable as its own activity, or playing it while cooking or doing a Tu B’Shevat craft.
As I mentioned before, BimBam also has videos that teach many Jewish blessings, including the Shehecheyanu.
8. Talk About the Environment
Tu B’Shevat is also a great time to talk to your kids about the environment. Share with them that it is our sacred responsibility to care for our world and to share the fruits of the world with everyone.
The Reform Judaism website also has a wonderful Tu B’Shevat resource that focuses on social justice, the Reform Judaism Tu B’Shevat Social Justice Guide.
These 8 Easy Ways to Celebrate Tu B’Shevat With Your Kids are some of our favorite traditions, ways we’ve celebrated in the past, and a few are dreams for the future (olive oil tasting, you WILL happen someday!). Any way you celebrate will be a delightful memory for your children and a way to carry on this important holiday.
Chag Sameach!
Don’t miss our other Tu B’Shevat posts–we’ve had so much fun preparing for this holiday!
Tu B’Shevat Thank You to the Trees Challenge
Parsley Planting: A Tu B’Shevat Tradition
15 Minute Tu B’Shevat Lesson Plan
Taste the Foods of Tu B’Shevat Spinner Activity
How do you celebrate Tu B’Shevat? What season is it where you celebrate? Are you planting trees in the snow? Do you have a favorite seven species recipe you’d like to share? Your favorite hike? Your traditional tree that you plant? Share with us in the comments!
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link!*
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