10 Family-Friendly Passover Activities

Ten is a powerful number for Passover: plagues and commandments. But what about the fun activities? Here is a list that is sure to get your whole family involved, skipping the blood/boils and “Thou Shalls…”

1. Read a PJ Library Book

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PJ Library's Passover books

Reading Guide for Passover! (ages 6 months-2 years)

Reading Guide for Company’s Coming (ages 2-3 years)

Reading Guide for Too Many Cooks (ages 4-5 years)

Reading Guide for Let My People Go (ages: 6 to 7 Years, 7 to 8 Years)

2. Learn the Four Questions

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Watch this short video from the Shaboom team to learn the four questions (aka Ma Nishtanah) with your kids and practice saying the words together.

3. Use a Scavenger Hunt App

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Download Exodus: A Jewish Photo Scavenger Hunt App to help two kids pack up to leave Egypt in this simple photo scavenger hunt! Take pictures of everyday items with your phone or tablet that capture Jewish values. Listen closely as Ethan and Daria give you clues that will have you searching for that perfect item to photograph.

4. Experiment with Jewish LearningWorks’ Charoset Recipes

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Charoset recipes are just one of the many great resources you’ll find in Jewish LearningWorks Passover @Home Guide for families with young children! (Check out page 10!) The guide includes:

* A child-friendly version of the Passover story

* Engaging seder activities

* Traditions & rituals

* Passover recipes & tips

* Haggadah recommendations

Also explore some Passover-related yoga poses.

5. Play Passover Picture Bingo

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Print out these colorful Passover bingo boards and play with your friends and family. This set contains 12 bingo cards with a mix of pictures, including the plagues, items from the Seder table, and characters from the Haggadah. They’re cute and colorful and will help bring the Passover story to life. Thank you to Hilla Abel, our own East Bay mama who made this bingo game!

6. Play a Find-the-Afikomen Game

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Searching for the Afikomen is too fun to limit it to Seder night. Play “Hot and Cold” and other variations of finding the Afikomen with your children. Take turns being the finder and the searcher! Use the Afikomen bag, or any object (like an origami frog? See #8 below).

7. Listen to a Spotify Passover Playlist

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Songs about freedom, gratitude, and the Passover story.

Other tunes for you: Passover Melodies: Songs to Remember, Songs to Enjoy

8. Create Origami Frogs

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We said no plagues, but origami frogs are too good to pass-over (cue rimshot). Check out other crafty fun with legos and even a Matzah house.

9. Take a Holiday Hike

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Go to the wilderness. Okay, maybe there is no epic desert landscape or a red sea to cross, but the weather is starting to get warmer and heading to the park for a picnic or a child-friendly hike is a great way to spend the holiday outdoors. Visit the East Bay Parks website to start your own adventure. For families in Napa, visit Napa Outdoors.

10. Explore Your Personal Freedom

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Be free! Passover is the holiday of freedom. How do you celebrate freedom? Reclining on pillows or outsourcing housework? Think about what it means to be truly free and commit to doing that as a parent, as a family.