Little extras for a Simcha

TranquilityAndPeace

Thu, Mar 01 2012, 8:29 pm

My friend is making a Bar Mitzvah soon and asked me what kind of 'little extras' I did. Here is the email that I sent her. And please post your own ideas; I have another Bar mitzvah coming up in a year-and-a-half!

Licht table. The shul had a small high table they use for a menorah. I used my own tablecloth on it. Put the poem invitation to the Bar Mitzvah in Hebrew and English in a nice frame on a nice stand decorated with tefillin ribbons on that table. Pretty silver disposable shabbos tray with tea lights. Yehi ratzon and matches. A lot of people commented how pretty this little table was.

I brought 2 boxes of flushable wipes and static spray to the ladies bathroom. I made sure there were tons of boxes of good tissues (not just those tiny industrial squares) and tons of paper towels (which I refilled Shabbos afternoon) in the bathroom and at the washing station in the lobby. There are already a few chairs in there for nursing moms and a changing table.

Wine. I put all the wine for Friday night on its own round wine table so people could choose. It was good that I had that extra table because people brought candy and chocolate platters right before Shabbos, and we put those on that same table.

Clear tiny pillow boxes with DS' tefillin case photo and mints inside at each setting. Everyone loved them.

Hostess bags: Tons of sample sized toiletries. I don't know how many people really showered on Friday afternoon but everyone appreciated the thought that went into these bags. Mint breath spray from with a star-k. A bag of hard candies in an organza bag and a bag of chocolate tefillin squares from Blums. I didn't want to give anything with crumbs, or I'd have done rugelach. The schedule was printed on a blank invitation. A map with a key so people could figure out where everyone else was staying. I also wrote important numbers on the map, hatzalah and chaveirim. I showed shortcuts, etc. I wrote on the schedule "Thank you so much for joining in the Simcha!" I put a silver Mazel Tov tefillin sticker on the outside of the schedule and inside of map.

Pekelach for throwing. 2 types of soft taffies in silver organza bags. I put them in a huge wicker basket to pass around during shul and passed them to the ladies in the first row, and then through the mechitza to my son's friends in the back row of the men. If you can't pass it easily, bring 2 baskets. Put it in a good place where the kids won't take it Friday night and you'll be able to access it during shul!

The candy pops (different types of candies on a skewer in celephone bags tied with ribbons) were a major hit with the kids at the kiddush. I made over 100 and they were gone in seconds, and some nieces didn't get and asked me if I had more. I got the bags at Michael's. I'm making more for shaloch manos now.

Shabbos morning I gave out pekelach for kids right before we started the speeches, during the eggs and liver course. Cellophane bags with tefillins and silver ties. A bag of plain potato chips, a very thick lollypop, and 3 prizes/toys from the dollar store that cost 4 or 6 for a dollar. The kids LOVED these and stayed mildly quiet during the speeches due to the lollies.

Friday night in middle of the meal I took out 3 buckets of building toys- clicks, legos, and another thing. I got such brachos from all my SIL's. All the 2-6 year olds RAN to the corner of the room to play happily. Bring them in buckets so it's easy to clean up.

As a centerpiece on the woman's side of the kiddush, I had a photo collage of 10 photos from the Sunday dinner, which everyone loved.

I pushed the buffet cake tables from the kiddush to the side of the room when we got ready for lunch and left the cakes and cookies on them all day so the kids and adults could take snacks throughout the day.

I brought my clogs and changed into them after the Friday night meal to set up the tables for the kiddush, and also after the lunch meal to set up for shalosh seudos. I also walked in them. A lot of women asked me where they could put their walking shoes; we all put them under the licht table.

My SIL made up grammen that my BIL sang Friday night. And my FIL made up his own that he sang at lunch. All the grandsons age 6 and over sang that Sefer Torah song (I was made way back in 1842...) together during lunch; 2 of my kids had solos - everyone loved that, it was about 8 kids! Just so it wasn't speech after speech!

I borrowed silver and wood bencher holders to put in the middle of each table with the benchers in them; it looked very elegant.

I bought disposable challah covers in silver- one for each head of household for Friday night.

We brought our own challah board, knife, and cover for the huge seudah challah that DS cut.

Havdallah candle and divided cloves into 5 bags for besamim, in advance.

DH had a paper prepared for shul for aliyos and found out everyone's full name in advance.

I put DS's pshetl in a red folder on a high shelf in the shul kitchen; I almost forgot it!

I made sure DH would go to shul early with cash to pay the waiters.

When I told my guests their addresses a week in advance, I told them to think about where they want to light candles, so it's not a last minute shailah; most lit in shul; I lit very long lasting oil cups at home and then walked over.

The Friday lunch was really appreciated. Huge potato kugels on Sterno in chafing dishes. Egg salad. A few whole peeled eggs for picky kids like mine who only eat eggs whole but not egg salad. Tuna. Pasta salad. Corn salad. 2 big platters of raw veggies with dip in the middle. A bunch of pastries. Sodas. There's coffee and tea in the shul downstairs, so I didn't serve that as the kugel had been made in fleishig keilim.

I brought 2 vases in case anyone brought flowers, but nobody did; mostly chocolates and candy.