When we see three stars on Saturday night, it’s time to say “goodbye” to Shabbat and start Havdalah. Your kiddos will love making these Havdalah stars that smell like cinnamon! It’s very easy to make the dough, which is an air-dry play dough, and it’s so fun to make lots and lots of stars with it. You can use them as decorations and also to smell when it’s time to smell the spices for Havdalah. Once they’re completely dry, they are a very pretty white; but you can paint them if you wish. Your whole family will surely have an extra sweet week with this delightful craft!

Your family will have an extra sweet start to each new week when you include a hand-painted spice box in your Havdalah ceremony! Havdalah is a short but very meaningful closing ritual to Shabbat on Saturday night. Once we see three stars in the sky, we light a braided candle, and then say blessings for grape juice, spices, and light. The blessing for spices is Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam borei minei vesamim (Blessed are you, Adonai, Source of the universe, creator of different scents). Saying this blessing and smelling the spices helps us bring some of the magic and sweetness of Shabbat into the new week. And when you smell the spices from a spice box made by your kiddos, your week will surely be all the more special! Shavua Tov!

On Friday night, we say “hello” to Shabbat, and on Saturday night, once we see three stars in the sky, we say “goodbye” to Shabbat. The Havdalah ceremony is our special farewell party for Shabbat, and we use all of our senses for that bittersweet “goodbye” — tasting the wine, touching and smelling the fragrant spices, watching the flames from the braided candle, and saying and hearing the blessings. Your kiddos will love this simple eco-friendly spice box craft! Just use any recycled jar, fill it with cinnamon sticks and cloves, and decorate the jar with stickers. Your kiddos and your whole family surely will have a SHAVUA TOV (a good week) after smelling the sweet fragrances from your own special spice boxes!