6 easy last-minute Rosh Hashanah event ideas for the local community

The night’s are slowly drawing in, children are back at school, and there’s already a smattering of burnished orange leaves on the ground. It can only mean one thing – autumn is officially on its way. With it comes the joyous celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, where family and friends get together to feast, pray, reflect, and have lots of family fun.

Looking to bring in the new year with festivities for the community? You’re in the right place! Whether you’re raising money for charity or just want to organise something to get the locals together, these low-maintenance celebration ideas have got you covered. We’ve got a section below on how to sell tickets online to your community celebrations too 👇.

First – some logistics:

What are the dates of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in 2022?

The Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur dates for 2022 are:

• Rosh Hashanah – 25th-27th September
• Yom Kippur – 4th-5th October

Now, here are our lovely, last-minute Rosh Hashanah celebration ideas 🍂👇

🍎 Organise a kids’ apple picking event 

“Dip the apple in the honey, make a bracha [blessing] loud and clear. L’Shana Tova U’Metuka, have a happy sweet New Year.” So goes the sweet song taught to children at Jewish Sunday school…

Apples are synonymous with all things Fall and Rosh Hashanah – so why not get the community together for family apple picking event this festive season? 

🥧 Organise a Rosh Hashanah sweet treat bake sale or group bake

Rosh Hashanah wouldn’t be Rosh Hashanah without an abundance of delicious sweet treats – from glistening apples dipped in honey to buttery chocolate babka, sumptuously moist apple cake, and everything in-between. 

We’ve seen some lovely group bake ideas coming up on Ticket Tailor this season, like this Chai Choliday Challah Bake and this Ladies Challah Bake! 

Are you thinking what we’re thinking? With so many delicious cakes and bakes associated with the holiday, what could be better than getting family and friends together for a festive group bake or bake sale? Raise money for charity, or just do it for festive fun! 

✂️ Run a Rosh Hashanah greetings card craft workshop 

Craft workshops don’t have to be complicated to organise, and they can be great fun for kids and adults alike. 

All you need is some festive materials and a place to run the session, like a community hall. For materials, think: rich autumnal colours, dried fruits, cinnamon sticks and any other lovely seasonal bits and bobs you can get your hands on. 

🌳 Gather the community in a local park or nature spot to carry out a Tashlich ceremony

Gather your community at a peaceful lake or pond for Tashlich – a symbolic ceremony that involves throwing breadcrumbs into a body of water to symbolise casting off old grievances and regrets. 

Pack a picnic of sweet treats and hot drinks to make an event of it, and incorporate a few nice finishing touches like a poetry reading or a fun treasure hunt for the kids after the ceremony. 

If you live close to the sea or a natural beauty spot with a steam, river or lake, Talshlich is a lovely way to get people together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah while getting some autumnal fresh air. Bliss. 

💛 Organise a canned goods and old clothes donation event for Tikkun Olam 

Tikkun Olam is the act of ‘repairing the world’ through good deeds. The traditions of Rosh Hashanah are centred around spreading kindness – so why not organise a charity drive to bring in the holiday with some feel-good cheer?

You could organise a community clothes and canned goods donation event, or a community volunteering programme at your local food bank. 

Like the sound of the greetings card workshop above? How about combining it  with Tikkun Olam by sending out handmade cards to local retirement homes?

Whatever good deed you pick, organising a charitable community event around Rosh Hashanah is a great way to bring in the new year with authenticity and kindness. 

🍯 Organise a honey tasting event 

Dipping apples in honey is one of the most widely recognised traditions of Rosh Hashanah. The honey is symbolic of the excitement and sweetness of the coming year – making it the perfect subject for a festive tasting event! 

Get the local honey farms involved in setting up a day of honey tasting complete with other new year festivities, like sampling traditional Rosh Hashanah baked goods and blowing the Shofar. (That’s a trumpet made from a ram’s horn for those not in-the-know! It’s traditional to blow it on the first day of Rosh Hashanah to announce the start of holiday celebrations and prayers). 

How to sell tickets online to your Rosh Hashanah event using Ticket Tailor

To sell tickets online to your community Rosh Hashanah event, you’ll need to:

• Create a Ticket Tailor account – it’s free and just takes a few seconds!
• Create your box office page by filling out a few details about yourself and the kind of event/s you’ll be running.
• Add a new event – here’s where you’ll provide all the details that your attendees will see, like the time date, time, and location of your event. You can also customise your event page; we’d recommend including an atmospheric image that represents what your event is all about.
• Choose your ticket type and set your ticket price (you can give attendees the option to make donations, too).
• Once your event is set up, you can publish it and share the page so people can buy tickets or register for your free event.
• Head here for our full guide to selling tickets online with Ticket Tailor (there’s a handy YouTube video, too).

Thinking of turning your Rosh Hashanah celebration into an opportunity to fundraise for a good cause? Head here to find out how Ticket Tailor can help you run charity events >

We hope these easy celebration ideas have got you feeling inspired! Shana Tovah!