How to Celebrate Yom Teruah With Kids: Simple Family Ideas for the Feast of Trumpets
New to Yom Teruah? You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect celebration. Here’s how we’re making this biblical feast simple, meaningful, and fun for our kids. 🎺
If you’ve recently discovered the biblical Feasts of the Lord and how they all point us to Jesus, you may be wondering:
“Okay… but what do we actually DO?”
I know I did. 😂
When you first start learning about God’s appointed times, it can feel overwhelming. There are Hebrew names to learn, Scripture passages you’ve never noticed before, traditions you’ve never heard of, calendars to understand, foods to make, crafts to find…
And suddenly a simple biblical feast feels like another thing you’re supposed to figure out perfectly.
You don’t have to.
We’re still learning, too.
Our goal isn’t to recreate someone else’s traditions perfectly. We want to start with what Scripture actually says, and then find simple ways to make the day meaningful for our family.
So if you’re celebrating Yom Teruah for the first time—or you’re still pretty new to it—here are some ideas to get you started in celebrating the Feast of Trumpets for kids.
I’ve gathered all of the resources mentioned in this post here in one place so you don’t have to hunt them down.
Below you’ll find:
📖 Bible study resources
🎺 Shofar + trumpet ideas
📚 Fall Feast books
🍂 Fall decor
🥘 Menu inspiration
🎲 Family games
📝 Journals
👧 Kids’ activities…and more.
🎺 First: What Is Yom Teruah?
Yom Teruah is commonly called the Feast of Trumpets in English.
God commanded Israel:
“On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.”
Leviticus 23:24
Numbers 29:1 also describes it as a day of holy convocation and says:
“It is a day for you to blow the trumpets.”
So at its most basic level, we’re talking about:
📅 A specific appointed day
🛑 A Sabbath/rest day
🎺 Trumpet blasts
👥 A holy gathering
📖 A day established by God
And when you start following the trumpet theme through Scripture, you find some fascinating connections to gathering, alarms, God’s intervention, resurrection, the coming of Messiah, and the Kingdom.
If you want to dig into those connections first, start with:
Leviticus 23:23–25
Numbers 10:1–10
Joshua 6
Joel 2:1
Isaiah 27:13
Matthew 24:29–31
1 Corinthians 15:51–52
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
Revelation 10:7
Revelation 11:15
Don’t just take someone else’s word for it (not even mine!). Read them for yourself.
Now, here are some ideas for how to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets as a family with kids.
📖 1. Start With Scripture
Before the crafts, food, decorations, or activities…
Open the Bible.
Read Leviticus 23:23–25 with your kids.
Then, depending on their ages, follow some of the trumpet connections throughout Scripture.
You could even ask:
What were trumpets used for?
Who was supposed to hear them?
What did they announce?
When did God’s people gather?
What happens when the trumpet sounds?
What does Jesus say about trumpets?
What does Paul say?
What do we see in Revelation?
You don’t need to turn this into a three-hour Bible study.
With little kids, read a passage, ask a question, and let them draw a picture or tell you what they remember.
📚 Bible resources we love
Bible Pathway Adventure
This is a great option for younger children because it turns Bible learning into an actual adventure/activity rather than just asking kids to sit still while Mom teaches.
Gather ’Round
Whether you're a homeschool family or not, this can also be a great way to incorporate Bible study into your family learning.
🤍 Looking for a more guided Yom Teruah study?
I also created a FREE Yom Teruah Bible Study Guide with Scripture references and questions to help you dig into the feast yourself.
🎺 2. Make Some Trumpets!
This one is especially fun for younger kids.
And it does not need to be fancy.
Grab:
Paper towel rolls
Toilet paper rolls
Construction paper
Tape
Glue
Markers
Paint
Stickers
Ribbon
Whatever craft supplies you already have
You can make a super simple trumpet in five minutes…
or let your kids turn it into a full-blown craft project. 😂
Then read Joshua 6 together.
Seven priests.
Seven trumpets.
Seven days.
And on the seventh day, the trumpets sound, the people shout, and the walls of Jericho fall.
Let them make some noise!
🎺 Want to use a real shofar?
If you’d like to incorporate an actual shofar into your celebration, you can find reasonably priced ones online. (TIP: The bigger/longer, the better the sound will be! I learned from experience and bought a tiny one- ha!)
And if you’ve never blown one before…
YouTube is your friend. 😂
And remember: the point isn’t whether your shofar sounds beautiful.
It’s about helping your kids connect a real, tangible sound with what they’re reading in Scripture.
🍂 3. Decorate for Fall—NOT Halloween
You don’t have to decorate your home for Halloween to enjoy the beauty of fall.
Yom Teruah falls during the beginning of the seventh biblical month, which in the Northern Hemisphere happens during our fall season.
So lean into it!
Think:
🍎 Apples
🌾 Wheat
🍂 Leaves
🌻 Harvest elements
🧺 Baskets
🕯️Candles
🌿 Natural textures
🤎 Cozy fall colors
You can make your home feel festive and seasonal without making Halloween the focus.
And honestly?
Some leaves, apples, candles, and a pretty table can go a long way.
You don’t need to buy anything, though. Use what you have!
📚 4. Read Fall Feast Books Together
Books are one of my favorite ways to introduce big biblical concepts to little kids.
Look for books about:
Yom Teruah
The Feast of Trumpets
The biblical feasts
God’s appointed times
The Hebrew calendar
Sukkot and the Fall Feasts
You don’t have to read ten books.
Pick one or two and read them together.
I’ve put together a list of some of our favorite Fall Feast books and resources here:
🥘 5. Have a Fall Feast Dinner
It’s called a feast for a reason!
You don’t need an elaborate menu.
Make something your family loves and make it feel special. And don't eat foods that God doesn't call food (like pork and shellfish).
Our family loves things like:
🥘 Chili
🍲 Crockpot stew
🥖 Fresh-milled bread
🍎 Apples
🍯 Honey
🌴 Dates
🍇 Figs
❤️ Pomegranates
Some of these foods are simply seasonal favorites where we live, while others connect beautifully with foods found in Scripture and the land of Israel.
The goal isn’t to create a historically perfect ancient Israelite menu.
Make dinner special.
Put out the nice dishes.
Light a candle.
Let the kids help.
Eat slowly.
Talk about what you’ve been learning.
🍎 6. Make a Special Fall Dessert
This might be my kids’ favorite suggestion. 😂
Think:
🍎 Apple pie
🍎 Apple crisp
🎃 Pumpkin muffins
🍯 Honey cake
🌴 Date bars
❤️ Pomegranate desserts
Or keep it ridiculously simple.
You don’t need to become a professional baker for a holy day.
One special dessert is enough.
And if you’re a fresh-milled flour family like us, this is a great opportunity to make some homemade bread, muffins, or dessert.
🛑 7. My BIGGEST Tip: Prepare Ahead
This one is important.
Yom Teruah is a Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:24–25 says:
“You shall have a Sabbath rest…”
So don’t accidentally turn your Sabbath into a day where you’re cooking, cleaning, shopping, and running around trying to make your celebration happen.
Prepare ahead.
Make enough dinner for leftovers.
Make dessert ahead of time.
Prep breakfast.
Have easy lunch food ready.
One of our favorite Sabbath lunches is basically a kid-friendly snack board:
🧀 Cheese
🍎 Fruit
🥒 Veggies
🥖 Bread/crackers
🥩 Meat
🍇 Whatever else we have
And breakfast could be:
🍎 Apple muffins
🎃 Pumpkin bread
🥖 Fresh-milled bread
The goal isn’t to spend your holy day working in the kitchen.
The goal is to rest and enjoy it with your family.
🌙 8. Go Outside & Look Up
This one doesn’t cost anything.
After dinner, go outside.
Look at the sky.
Let the kids blow their trumpets.
Talk about the moon.
If you’re following a sighted-moon calendar, watching for the new moon can be a particularly meaningful part of the experience.
If you’re following another calendar approach, you can still make “looking up” a fun family tradition.
The point isn’t to make your children stand outside staring at the sky for hours. 😂
Just use the evening as an opportunity to talk about Scripture’s repeated call to watch and be ready.
Jesus said:
“Therefore, stay awake…”
Matthew 24:42
And Paul writes about the coming of the Lord:
“The Lord himself will descend from heaven… with the sound of the trumpet of God.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16
Sometimes the simplest moments become the memories our kids carry with them.
👨👩👧👦 9. Gather With Other Believers
Leviticus calls Yom Teruah a “holy convocation.”
A sacred gathering.
So if you have friends, family, or a local fellowship observing the feasts, celebrate together!
Eat together.
Study Scripture.
Let the kids play.
Blow trumpets.
Sing.
Talk.
Laugh.
You don’t have to have a giant organized event.
Sometimes two or three families around a table is enough.
And if you don’t have anyone nearby yet?
Don’t let that stop you from beginning.
🛋️ 10. Then… REST!
This may be the most countercultural part. 😂
After your feast…
Rest.
Play a board game.
Read books.
Take a nap.
Go outside.
Do a puzzle.
Let the kids play with their toys.
Watch something wholesome if that’s part of how your family rests.
You don’t have to fill every moment with a “Bible activity.”
Rest is part of the day.
Leviticus 23 doesn’t say:
“Make sure you have enough activities planned to keep everyone spiritually productive.”
It says:
Sabbath rest.
So rest.
🎲 11. Let the Kids Just Be Kids
A holy day doesn’t have to feel like homeschool.
Play a family game.
One of our favorites is:
Or pull out whatever your family already loves.
Board games.
Puzzles.
Building toys.
Cards.
Piano.
Books.
Outside play.
The goal is to create a day that feels different from an ordinary day while still being restful.
📖 12. Let Your Kids Journal
Yom Teruah isn’t the weekly Sabbath, but it is a holy appointed time.
So consider giving your kids a simple way to remember it.
They could draw:
🎺 The trumpet
🌙 The moon
📖 Something they learned
❤️ Something they’re thankful for
🙏 Something they’re praying about
Older kids can write:
What did I learn?
What Scripture stood out?
What is God teaching me?
What am I thankful for?
What do I want to remember next year?
And you can do the same.
I use a Sabbath Journal for my own Bible study, prayers, gratitude, and reflections.
And I have a kids' version, too:
❤️ 13. Use the Days Leading to Yom Kippur
Here’s another idea I love.
There are 10 calendar days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Scripture doesn’t command us to complete a 10-day devotional or memorize one commandment per day.
This is simply an idea for your family.
Use those days intentionally.
You could:
📖 Memorize the Ten Commandments — one per day
🙏 Talk about repentance
❤️ Practice apologizing and forgiving
🍇 Study the fruit of the Spirit
🪴 Talk about what it means to grow in righteousness
📖 Read a short devotional together
💬 Ask one meaningful question around the dinner table each day
For younger kids, you could make it incredibly simple:
“What is one way we can love God today?”
“Is there anyone we need to apologize to?”
“What does forgiveness look like?”
“What does obedience look like?”
You’re not trying to manufacture a new religious tradition.
You’re simply using the time between the appointed days to point your children’s hearts toward God.
🤍 You Don’t Have to Do It All
If this is your first Yom Teruah, please don’t read this list and think:
“OH NO. I HAVE TO DO ALL OF THAT.” 😂
You don’t.
Pick one, two, or three things.
Maybe:
📖 Read Leviticus 23 together
🎺 Make trumpets
🥘 Have a special dinner
That’s a beautiful first celebration.
Next year you might add a shofar.
Or a gathering.
Or a special dessert.
Or a 10-day devotional.
Let your family’s celebration grow naturally.
We’re still learning, too.
📖 Start With Why
This is probably the most important thing I can tell you.
We don’t want to do things simply because:
“That’s what Jewish people do.”
And we don’t want to reject something simply because:
“That’s Jewish.”
We want to ask:
“Why are we doing this?”
Is it commanded?
Is it a biblical pattern?
Is it a helpful family tradition?
Is it simply something fun?
Know the difference.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a beautiful meal, making a trumpet craft, decorating with fall leaves, or playing a game.
But we don’t need to pretend those things are commandments from God.
Instead, we can enjoy them while keeping Scripture at the center.
Because ultimately, we’re not trying to create the “perfect Yom Teruah experience.”
We’re trying to teach our children to know their Creator, love His Word, recognize His rhythms, and follow Jesus.
🎺 Want to Go Deeper?
If you want to start with the actual Bible study:
🎺 One Last Thing
You don’t have to know everything before you begin.
You don’t have to understand every calendar question.
You don’t have to know every Hebrew word.
You don’t have to have a perfect celebration.
Start with Scripture.
Read it.
Ask questions.
Study.
Teach your children what you’re learning.
And keep following the trail.
Because sometimes one little question—
“Why does God tell us to do this?”
—can open up an entire world of Scripture you never knew was there. 🤍📖🎺
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