Non-candy things to give out on Simchas Torah?

Home List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Watched Topics Log in Join Now

| | | | | |

Non-candy things to give out on Simchas Torah?
1, 2 Next

Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Succos

Report offensive ad

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

4Sisters

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 2:13 am

Any ideas?! Last year, my dd's and I really livened up the women's section by giving out candies. b''H! Except I'm a health nut and hate giving out candy Smile

. Anyone have suggestions for other things to give out? If it weren't yontif, I'd give out cute pencils, erasers....Everything I'm thinking of is muktzah.....

amother

Goldenrod

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 2:30 am

- Flags
- Funny glasses or hats
- Ribbons on sticks to wave (makes dancing so much fun!)
- Feather boas
- Crowns/tiaras
- Necklaces
- Pom poms (cheerleader style)
- Frozen fruits or berries
- Nuts (if no allergies!)
- Handkerchiefs or silk scarves to wave
- Hugs and high fives!

I'd love to be at your shul!

4Sisters

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 7:33 am

Wow! What great ideas! (although I think frozen fruit would just end up making a mess). Thank you so much for taking the time to write those down.

zaq

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 3:45 pm

Not nuts, please, or anything else that can present a choking hazard to young children. Party stores and mail order houses carry lots of fun toys and favors. Please avoid noisemakers.

PS Kudos to you for wanting to distribute something other than candy.

nw11

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 3:49 pm

Bouncy balls
Tiny little toy cameras with pictures of animals to look at
Finger puppets (I think you can get them in Ikea)
mini keyrings

YoYo

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 4:55 pm

How about dried fruit? I've bought a big bag of dried apricots for this year. Kids and parents rly appreciate it!

SixOfWands

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 5:04 pm

My take ...

I hate the candy fest at Simchat Torah because its become more or less the Jewish answer to Halloween. "Sure, maideleh, you can't go house to house on October 31, but come to shul on Simchat Torah, same thing."

But at least there's some, tiny, connection with candy, to the sweetness of Torah. I'll even grant you tiny flags. But beyond that, its just Halloween, with little toys.

[I also would not give out anything not pre-wrapped. I don't know whose hands have been on it. My kids might have taken it, when they were little, but I would have thrown it out. In any case, if you're going that route, at least bring grapes, not dried fruit.]

amother

Red

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 5:40 pm

Someone once told me that in their shul, they decorate the Torahs with lots and lots of fancy scarves, on Simchat Torah.
Then they auction them off to the ladies.
The ladies that buy the scarves (those that don't use hair covers) make a hachlata to start covering their hair for candle lighting and some more.
Many, slowly started to cover their hair all Shabbat, and eventually all the time.

nw11

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 5:52 pm

amother wrote:

This is so beautiful. I wonder where this shul is.

MiracleMama

Tue, Oct 10 2017, 6:50 pm

zaq wrote:

Are nuts any more a choking hazard than candies?

How about mini boxes of raisins, or mini bags of chips or popcorn - still not health food but several steps up from candy I think.

Ruchel

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 7:15 am

My kids want candies.

Many things are a choking hazard, we cannot always obsess.

amother

Honeydew

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 8:14 am

I loved how our old shul gave out small treat bags with mini chocolate bars and a bag of chips instead of all the stickier things (most of which are choking hazards for toddlers). Much preferable to the lollipops and hard taffies I've seen elsewhere.

amother

Ruby

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 9:07 am

Growing up one of the mothers (now a Bubby!) used to bring beautiful, big (decorated) felt flags that the children used to dance with it. Each one was so stunning. This is one of my best Simchas Torah memories!

(Hello to all of the mommies from the same shul who remember this! Hug

)

Seas

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 11:10 am

Give candy. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Giving candy (or its simpler predecessors) is an ancient minhag, and we do it to teach our children the Torah is sweet. We want them to associate Torah with sweetness.

As to the poster who is so fargoiyisht that to her Simchas Torah and lehavdil the notzri choggeh are the same thing, I can only say one word: nebach.

cnc

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 1:19 pm

I've been to a shul where they give out a little prize at each Hakafah such as a slap bracelet, sunglasses, a slinky etc.

amother

Chocolate

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 1:25 pm

Seas wrote:

There's giving out candy, and then there is coming home with napsacks full of candy that last until Chanukah.
The amounts of candy is what is what is fargoinisht, not the poster who rightly compared it to the notzri chag.

Simchas Torah is supposed to be a Jewish Simcha, not a candy fest to support the doctors pharmacists and dentists in the Shuls.

SixOfWands

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 1:32 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks, I think.

When my parents were kids, they got apples on a flag.

When I was a kid, we got apples, then later candy apples, on a flag.

Now, kids bring bags to gather candy, and its unrelated to aliyot or hakafot.

simcha2

Wed, Oct 11 2017, 2:52 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

I was going to write about the apple on the flag. That is what we had growing up. Then on Simchat Torah day we got a small chocolate bar after kol hana'arim.

Loved it!

4Sisters

Fri, Oct 13 2017, 1:58 am

Thanks, everyone, for the help and input. b''H, it went great. We got candies or snack foods for every hakafot and also gave out flags, tiny hats (a HUGE hit. If I had known, I would have bought more. They had elastics on them, so fit over sheitels/wraps, too) and even cucumbers Smile

(the kids initially looked at me like I was nuts, but the moms took and, eventually, so did the kids and an entire tupperware of cucumbers got finished).

I loved the idea of scarves and ribbons to wave while dancing. While I wasn't able to find crepe paper before chag this year (maybe it's not an Israeli thing?! I never looked for it before...), I had a good and frugal idea for next year: take two strands of crepe paper, one about 6 inches and one about 8 inches, bend in half and secure with an elastic band. Then put the rest of the elastic band around a child's wrist. Presto (and for almost no money)--interpretive Torah dance ribbons Wink

.

Plans for next year: bring cut, sliced carrots as well (if I'm really feeling flush with both time and money, maybe bring fruit or vegs for each hakafa, to go along with/balance the candy my kids give out). Look throughout the year for goodies to give out (like the slap bracelets another poster mentioned. Most of what I found before chag was so cheap and such choking hazards that I didn't bother). Try to shop today and see if Simchas Torah flags are on sale!

My kids enjoyed chag, and, b''H, several women told me that we really helped make the women's section more leibedik! Baruch HaShem!

etky

Fri, Oct 13 2017, 4:36 am

We don't have any of this at our shul.
No one brings anything to hand out- to kids or otherwise.
We do have a big kiddush in the middle of davening, after the hakafot, during which the kids get pre-packaged goody bags that the shul purchases in advance.
Growing up in the States we had the candy apples on the flags.

1, 2 Next