Tip #48

Not Your Bubby’s Seder:
Fresh Ideas for Passover

One of the best Seders... we ever attended was also the least traditional. Our hostess decided just days before to round up friends (both Jewish and non). She asked everyone to bring something, but wasn’t very specific, resulting, of course, in four boxes of matzo, six quarts of deli matzo ball soup and ten bottles of wine. She made the Charoset, bought the parsley, egg and horseradish, and totally forgot about the shank bone (we drew a stand-in with markers). She didn’t have a dining room in her tiny Manhattan apartment, so she threw a tablecloth over the coffee table and had guests lounge on the couch and on oversize floor pillows. It was unlike any Seder we’d ever attended and that was the best part. We had a fabulous time, sharing Passover memories, drinking all of the wine and laughing into the night.

AVOID THE PITFALLS
We find of the biggest Passover pitfalls is to try to do everything too perfectly. It can be a daunting holiday to tackle — we’ve watched our grandmothers lovingly hand wash the Passover china and make perfect matzo balls from scratch using real chicken fat. Throwing your own Seder can feel like a pressure-riddled rite of passage, but once you let go of your notion of what a “grown up” Seder should look like, the planning becomes an easy-going endeavor.

FOCAL POINTS
Use your Seder plate to set the tone of your celebration and serve as the focal point of your dinner table. Forgo a staid white plate and opt for a platter that truly expresses your personal style. If flowers are your thing, our “Flower Garden” Seder platter is blooming with spring energy. Posy-shaped ramekins make for a stunning presentation and determine a vibrant theme and color palette for your table. Use our bud vase placecard holders to mark each place setting and our nasturtium platter to serve the brisket.

If hipster patterns are more your speed, use our “Dial” or “Multi-Dot” platter to make a Seder plate with groovy graphic punch. Complete the mod look with our tan micro-suede runner, bright red wicker baskets and “Arora” iron votive holder.

EDUCATIONAL AND FUN
Buy children’s Haggadahs for all of your guests (or just buy one and make color copies). With colorful illustrations and uncomplicated explanations, children’s versions are educational, fun and casual. Keep the mood light with our four questions finger puppets, bag of plagues and Star of David soap in the powder room. Take a 7th inning stretch during the meal and bat our inflatable matzo ball around until it touches the floor. Send guests home with macaroons in our mini gray Chinese takeout containers.

Our foolproof Passover philosophy? Don’t get too hung up on how Great Aunt Esther used to do it. Relax, do it your way and don’t worry about being perfect. After the 4th cup of wine, no one’s going to notice anyway! Who knows—you may find that you establish some yearly traditions of your own. Bubby would be proud.