OT: Need advice from fellow DISers who have made a Sukkah before

[lisabarr]

This year our family is going to build a sukkah for the first time and we are all set with plans and know what we want to build, but I am stumped on how to find some inexpensive decorations for inside the sukkah...
I want some fake grape vines with plastic grapes, posters, more fake hanging fruit and then I kinda get stumped... Not sure what else to put in it, also how to do it on a budget... I have been searching the net and this stuff is pricey! I plan on having the kids help make pics and stuff and maybe some sort of chain.

The plans for the sukkah can be expensive not too mention the materials too build it with, sooooo if anyone has any ideas, I would love the advice!

 

[debbi801]

oooh, fun!!!

Let your kids go wild--mine color pictures, make paper chains out of construction paper, hang pine cones on yarn, etc.

Go visit your local dollar stores, you'll be amazed at what you'll find. Anything really goes, I've seen amazing stuff decorating the insides of sukkahs when we have gone sukkah hopping--tinsel, pumpkin lights, you name it.

Not sure about where you are, but here the local Home Depot has a sukkah building seminar each year. Also, various Judaica shops offer "kits" with everything you need to build it if you want to go that route--the PVC piping, tarps, etc.

HTH!

 

[disneysteve]

We started building our own about 6 or 7 years ago. I am not the handiest guy in the world, but I designed it myself and it cost under $100 as I recall. It is 8 foot by 8 foot. Actually, a couple of years ago, I expanded it to be 8 x 16, but I don't have to build the whole thing - I can do it either way.

Anyway, we've gradually accumulated decorations. Even at the dollar stores, they aren't cheap when you have a big area to cover. We would spend about $20/year buying new items and just add them to the stock of stuff from prior years.

One cheap thing that looks nice is the foil leaves. They come in a pack and don't cost much. We stapled them to the walls and just leave them there. We also save our Rosh Hashanah cards and laminate them and hang them in the Sukkah.

Some people buy corn stalks for the top. I just refrain from pruning the bushes for a month or so and then trim them all for the top.

Also, too late in the season for this, but we've also bought decorations at yard sales. Something to keep in mind for next year.

 

[mum4jenn]

What is that and what is its purpose?????????

 

[Cindy B]

I used to live next to two rabbis and they decorated thier sukkahs with dried wreathes, and they brought fruit in the sukkah after the built it.

I learned so much ( as a non Jew family) by watching the rabbis.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I'm not Jewish but grew up in a Hasidic community. Everytime I see a sukkah hut I think of fall and cool weather. (my fav time of year)

 

[NY Disney fan]

What is that and what is its purpose?????????

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkah

 

[lisabarr]

but here the local Home Depot has a sukkah building seminar each year

Ahhh would that it was so... we live in Tampa, Fl. I don't think they even know what that is!

Disney Steve, good idea about the dollar store, I will try that today! Do you happen to have the plans for the one you built? I was going to buy a kit from them sukkah project people, they were the most reasonable I could find but maybe you would be willing to share?

What is that and what is its purpose?????????

Simply, its a celebration of harvest time.

 

[mamaminnie]

Ahhh would that it was so... we live in Tampa, Fl. I don't think they even know what that is!

I'm in FL too, you should check with Home Depot, you may be surprised. My local store does them too. Also check with a local synagogue or JCC, they may have a setof plans you can borrow.

 

[disneysteve]

Do you happen to have the plans for the one you built? I was going to buy a kit from them sukkah project people, they were the most reasonable I could find but maybe you would be willing to share?

All of the kits I've seen, including the plans given by Home Depot, are way more costly than mine.

It is very simple and pretty foolproof. As long as you have a ladder and a power screwdriver, you'll be all set.

You need:
12 8-foot pieces of 2x2 wood
2 8-foot pieces of 1x3 wood
6 4x8 pieces of wooden lattice board
About 30 cable ties
8 Simpson Strong-Tie 3-way connectors. These are the secret to my method. You can buy them at Home Depot. It is a metal brace and you just lie in the 3 pieces and drive in the screws through the holes in the metal.

Basically, you build an 8x8x8 cube. Then fasten the 1x3 across the top to serve as a base to add your branches. Hang the lattice board on the sides as your walls using the cable ties.

I can put the whole thing up by myself in about an hour.

I'll dig out photos of our Sukkah and post them online.

 

[punkin]

It's a little late for this year, but last year I hit the Target after christmas clearance and picked up a lot of stuff. I have colored lights, tinsel hanging things and "snow covered grapes." All this stuff was 90% off when I bought it. I can't wait to see how it looks. Also, I like to hang gourds from the rafters of the sukkah. It makes it look so festive.

 

[headoflife]

My in-laws have built a sukkah for the last sveral years. They have printed pictures off the interner and laminated them for decoration. They also have done something unique, but not exactly related to Sukkot. They have all the grandchildren make hand prints (they do it on sign material but you could do it with contact paper I would imagine) and they mount them on the walls. It is really fun to see the number of hands increase (as more grandkids are born) and watch the little hands grow! All of this is on top of the typical vanes and plastic fruit.

 

[disneysteve]

One of our rabbis has an open house each year at their sukkah. They always take pictures and then make a poster with photos from each year. They hang the posters in the sukkah. It is fun to look at all the photos from past years. You could start the same tradition with your family sukkah.

 

[mum4jenn]

 

[Debbie]

Thank you for the discussion. I was , too, but did a google search. I pride myself on being a life-long learner, and today I did just that. While you are celebrating the harvest, so will we....in Canada, Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. I wouldn't want to be outside, though, since it is often c-o-l-d by that time. Or can the sukkah be totally enclosed (except for the roof)?

 

[JoiseyMom]

Sukkot is a Jewish Holiday. For more details go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkot

 

[mum4jenn]

Thanks. The second link finally gave me the info I have asked for to begin with. I was beginning to think that no one really knew what it was for but they just made these things because they were supposed to!!!! I am a Christian (so. Baptist) and there are only about 30 people that are members of the synagogue here so I am not exposed to things like this.

 

[lisabarr]

I wouldn't want to be outside, though, since it is often c-o-l-d by that time. Or can the sukkah be totally enclosed (except for the roof)?

I believe there are heavier materials you can use for the walls and also some do use plywood. Space heaters would help if used carefully. Not really a problem for us Floridians!