Party planning from A to Z

By Rebecca Steinberger
Published on April 17, 2013

Preparing for a bar or bat mitzvah is hard work, involving years of intense study and the courage to lead an entire congregation in prayer. Organizing a party to celebrate this milestone — well, that’s no picnic either.

What happens to a Hebrew-School dropout?

Published on June 27, 2012

My 11-year-old son, Ari, is now a Hebrew-school dropout. I am aware that that's the name of a comedy act and a line of T-shirts. But, for me, the phrase is not a punch line, but a punch in the gut. I imagine my response was just like parents whose kids drop out of high school: disbelief, sadness and helplessness followed quickly by a healthy dose of Jewish guilt. "Where did I go wrong?" "What did I do to cause him to reject my contribution to his heritage?"

Snail mail or e-mail: How will your next invitation be sent?

Published on June 27, 2012

My bat mitzvah invitation had bright purple embossed text on a hot pink card with my name enlarged in decorative script at the top and daisies adorning the bottom. Twenty-plus years later, I remember eagerly waiting for my friends to receive the invitations and running home weeks later to check the mailbox for the return of the RSVP envelopes. Secured in a scrapbook, the invitation is a treasured memento.

Unique party planning isn’t chopped liver

By Michele Alperin
Published on March 13, 2008

Some things never change, or do they? Bar and bat mitzvah parties overwhelmingly follow a recipe that everyone assumes is written in stone, said Gail Greenberg, creator of mitzvahchic.com. The only room for creativity, people think, is to have a unique theme.

How to throw a great party for less than $3,000

By Anne Phyllis Pinzow
Published on March 13, 2008

We all wanted to give my nephew the bar mitzvah party to not just match but surpass all of the one's he'd been invited to during the year. Yet the family's fortunes were not equal to the task. All we could scrimp together was $3,000. It could only have been divine inspiration that led us to the conclusion that this actually made the job of putting together a bar mitzvah to remember a lot easier than it seemed.

It’s the mitzvah, not the bar, that counts

By Sharon Duke Estroff
Published on September 27, 2007

It's been said that when it comes to raising children, the days go slow and the years go fast. As I find myself in the thick of planning my second son's bar mitzvah, these words ring all too true.