Rosh Hashanah Ready — Little Miss Party

Rosh Hashanah is the the celebration of the New Year for us Jewish folks and this year, it happens to fall VERY early in September! I’ve never seen a Rosh Hashanah fall over Labor Day weekend! For me and my family, it works out really well because we can fly to NY for the weekend and spend the first night of Rosh Hashanah with Adam’s family. Then back to Florida to spend the second night with my sister and her family.

Every single year, since the day I was born, I have spent Rosh Hashanah with family members. I think that’s pretty special and I love how this tradition is being passed on to my children and how each year, we seem to spend the holidays with different family members and sometimes friends. What a great way to ring in the Jewish New Year and set the precedent for all Jewish holidays to follow each year.

Since the first night of Rosh Hashanah is this Monday, I thought I would share some tips for how to host the Jewish New Year…

Tablescape:
If you’re a long time follower of Little Miss Party than you know I don’t skimp when it comes to setting a table. For me, there are the following components to the perfect tablescape -
Let’s start with place cards + menus: I love getting creative with place cards and I LOVE avoiding the “where do I sit” from my family members. With place cards, everyone knows where to sit and you can mix things up and split up families and couples or keep families together, whatever you want! As for the place card itself, you can be as creative as you want to. You can keep it really simple with a note card or piece of card stock with each guests name on it or you could do like LMP and be super creative. One year, I spray painted apples (symbolic to the holiday which I’ll explain in this post when I talk menu…) and wrote each guests name on the white sprayed apple in gold. These looked so pretty! One year, I found mini jars of honey (goes with the apples - more on this coming), covered them each with a pretty little piece of fabric, tied ribbon around and attached a little card that said each guests name. I paired the jars of honey with honey dippers that my guests could take home.
I love to have a menu at each place setting when possible because this gives my guests the run down on what they will be eating for the night which is always a big feast! It also allows guest to figure out if there is anything that they cannot eat due to allergies or dietary restrictions.

Decor:
When setting the table for a dinner party I have a couple of musts -
1. Fresh flowers: The best thing about Rosh Hashanah (every year but this year HA!) is that it is normally in the fall when the flowers are deep, dark colors and you can find some real beauties like Dahlias. You don’t have to go crazy with a table runner like you see in many of my photos BUT if you do want to go all out, here’s how. You can see in one of my table settings photographed here, I only had 9 stems of flowers and they STILL made a huge impact on the table.
2. Candlelight: I just love the soft, calming glow of a candle. I think it’s so lovely during a dinner party and sets the tone for a enjoyable evening. If you don’t like fire on your dinner table because the evening can get hectic if you have a lot of people, try flameless, battery operated votives. They look great and there’s no fire hazard.

The menu: Food + Drink
This is arguably the most important part and where a lot of the Jewish traditions come in to play.
First, let’s talk bar and appetizers. When your guests arrive, mark my words, they will arrive HUNGRY. So you better have a nice spread ready and waiting….
What I serve as an appetizer is chicken chopped liver (a hit amongst many Jews), fruit, crackers and pickles. Maybe a weird sounding spread, but makes me think of my Bubbie (Grandmother).
For the main meal - there are many family recipes that I tap into year after year:
Apples + Honey: Most important item on the table. We dip apples in Honey to symbolize a sweet new year ahead.
Boobie’s Matzo Ball Soup
Boobie’s gefilte fish (I make this from scratch!)
Aunt Sandy’s Brisket
Grandma Shelly’s (and Campbell Soup’s) Green Bean Casserole
Garlic Mashed Potatoes

The Kids:
Oh right them…
HA!
Every single year of my childhood, I was seated at the “kids table”. Did that make me feel bad? NO! I friggin loved it! I got to scream, yell and play with all my cousins! We ate a few bites and then ran wild. So ya know all that Tablescape stuff above? It’s for ADULTS ONLY! The kids table…..? Set it with kraft paper, some markers, water bottles with each kids name on it so they know where to sit AND they don’t spread germs and boom you’re done.

Kids Crafts:
If you can put together stuff for the kids to do…BONUS!
One year, my crafty Aunti Marissa created The Rosh Hashanah Hope Tree. It was so cool! She found the perfect branch in my backyard, cut out leaves from construction paper and made Apple place cards that each guest could write their new year wish or hope onto and then hang on the tree! Unreal. Get the HOW TO for this Tree of Life here.

Whether you’re setting a stunning tablescape or just enjoying your darling family, I wish those who celebrate a Happy and Healthy New Year. L’Shana Tova.