Special Bar Bat Mitzvah Moments

Every Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebration is full of special moments.

Here are some party details that are fast becoming new traditions at many Bar and Bat Mitzvah events.

Incorporate some, or all of them, and add your own creativity to make your child’s celebration something your family and friends will remember for years to come.

GRAND ENTRANCES
Why not have the guest of honor enter the party in style, depending on your theme or budget? You can create a memorable entrance with a real red carpet, an arch of balloons or flowers or even a doorway decorated to look like a larger than life book so everyone steps into a fairy tale. Kids have entered their party on Segways, skateboards or held aloft on a surfboard. You can involve your child’s friends and other guests to form a welcoming crowd that showers them with confetti sticks or greets them with a colorful array of ribbon wands. Just make sure your child wants to be introduced with such fanfare or if they’d rather have something a little lower key.

See grand entrances here

UNIQUE ENTRANCE VIDEOS
These are all the rage as families create a video to start the party off. Some are stories of how the child got to this day or adventures in the big city ending with the Bar/Bat Mitzvah child entering the room as if they just stepped out of the screen or storyline. Some videos even place the child into his or her favorite movie or TV show or show celebrities sending congratulatory shout-outs.

See creative entrance videos here

CANDLE LIGHTING
The formal candle lighting ceremony has become a tradition at many parties as a way to honor all the relatives and friends who came to celebrate with you or have particular meaning to your child. But these days many people are going way beyond the standard 13 candles in a cake and finding alternative and creative ways to honor those most dear to them, giving a new spin on a traditional idea. So why not try something that fits with your theme, your child’s passions or just to be different from everyone else? Try floating candles, a “cooking” candle lighting where everyone comes up to add ingredients into a bowl to create the cake, or even 13 cupcakes. Or forgo the whole “candles” idea and do a video that honors each person or group with a tribute.

See creative candle lighting displays here

MONTAGE
For many families this is the highlight of the party and there’s often not a dry eye in the place as 13 years of memories are compressed into 10 minutes of screen time. You can make the montage funny or sentimental, or a little bit of both, complete with scanned photos, video clips, music and more. Add interviews with elderly grandparents and you have an instant family heirloom that will long be cherished! If you are hiring an expert to create a tribute for you, they’ll tell you how many photos you need and help you choose the music to tell your child’s story. If you are doing it yourself, the standard length is from 10 to 15 minutes; longer and you’ll lose people’s interest. Figure you’ll need about 100 to 150 photos. And be sure to start working on it at least six months in advance even if you are hiring an expert and your only job is to choose the photos; even that takes longer than you think.

ROCK THE RECEPTION
The Learning Channel’s “Rock the Reception” show has inspired many a family to add this as an extra treat at the party. This can involve anything from getting all your child’s friends to practice beforehand to learn a dance routine to be performed as a surprise for your guests. Or even a special father/daughter dance choreographed for the occasion. Or how about the Bar/Bat Mitzvah family doing a Gangnam Style routine! The sky’s the limit here. Ask your entertainment company if they can help or hire a local dance student to put the polish on your steps.