BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Judaism buying food for passover

I just spent $600 for passover food... and I'm about to have a heart attack.

I didn't even get the wine, the vegetables and some of the meat yet.

We're hosting two seders and tried to keep them small.... but this is certainly something to make one rethink "going all out".

Do you turn your kitchen over for Passover?
Do you buy only Kosher for Passover food?

Most Jews spend some time acknowledging Passover and/or going to a Seder, but there are still MANY different modes of expression. What do you do for Passover?

I don't do anything at my apartment since it is just my husband and myself, no kids......
My parents have the sedars and it is a lot of work. Yes, we only buy Kosher for Passover foods and all of the silverwear & dishes are all changed. My parents are going shopping again today. The first night is the hardest!

I have separate dishes, and buy only foods that are marked. It has gotten easier over the years as more companies have jumped on the bandwagon. I always promise myself that we will eat as close to normal as possible. I try to have more fruits and vegetables around the house. Salad as a meal. My kids are hoping to lose a few pounds...

But the costs... Yeah, it is prohibitive. It's a shame that the cost of koshering your house should be a burden, but that is what it has become! I am having 16 people, and I make a soup with flanken and chicken. The soup, alone, will cost over $100! That just seems ridiculous!

The most fun part for me is preparing "decorations". I have been making name cards for everyone, and this year I made some rubber stamped and scrapbooked cards. They came out great, but the guess list keeps changing! My son is in college and invited a few kids that didn't have a place to go. Not knowing their names I just put the school name on their cards.

While the cost of pulling this off has left me unable to buy any "extras" this week, I am enjoying part of the process.

I am a rubber-stamper and card maker too

I just bought potted flowers for the table. I know its early, but they were just sitting there looking pretty... I buy potted seasonal flower each year, and after the sedar plant them outside. This way, I don't mind filling the house up with more flowers than I normally would and it looks so pretty. One year I bought flowering hydrangeas and put them in a few corners for color. It is now a few years later and I remember the holidays when they bloom.

BillieCat, do you rubber stamp any of your decorations for the holidays? I am always looking for stamps related to Judaism. I have some Bar and Bat Mitzvah ones. The kids love the home crafted cards since they get so many duplicates of store bought ones.

The only Judaism related stamp I have is a menorah and I use it every year to make my Hanukkah cards. I see you live close to me - I got this stamp at AC Moore.
I do go to Michaels also, and there is a local craft store, but I haven't seen anything other Jewish-type stamp than my menorah.

I know how everyone loves getting these cards - I make them for all occasions. I will have to visit your site

If your interested in some Jewish related stamps, try this site:
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I love the flower idea, Carol... and planting them after the seder. I bought Passover By Design, a cookbook by Susie Fishbein that just came out this year... and she has a picture where they cleaned out the cans from the food that was prepared and stuck flowers in them. It looked really pretty.

BillieCat... do you have both seders at your parents house? Do you help prepare?

Thanks Carol:
I will share that with my cousin

Hi Lisa:

Yes to both

I always help prepare - the food/dishes. etc.
I make the matzo soup, charotse (spelling?),
and a lot of the meal.

I am very close to my parents and spend a lot of time at the house - it still feels like it is my home!

Hi Lisa. I keep kosher so I sympathize. I remember the years I would fill 2 or 3 wagons, often leaving the kids at the sitter till I unloaded. Now that they're all at school, I've been doing a little bit everyday. I'm not exactly ancient but I don't have the energy to do a marathon run anymore ;-)