I never imagined that I'd have a sukkah in my own backyard. But, the year we got married (2009), Sam and I were sitting in Yom Kippur services at Temple, and after an announcement made by the rabbi about upcoming events in the Temple sukkah, Sam turned to me and said, "Let's build a sukkah this year." Haha, very funny, I thought. He said, "No, seriously, let's build a sukkah." I was still thinking he was joking, as we both are not that observant or religiously motivated to figure out how to construct anything like this. Neither of us grew up with a sukkah in our backyard or even observing Sukkot. We maybe went to the Temple sukkah during Sunday School classes, or maybe met our family for Temple events like a handful of times growing up, but it's like a blip in my memory. So, this idea of us having a sukkah was crazy. But, Sam was set in his decision and spent the next week shopping for materials, researching how to build a sukkah, and constructing one in our backyard. That first year, our sukkah leaned to one side. It fell over by the second or third night. I thought that was the end of our Sukkot adventures, but the following year, Sam was determined to get our sukkah back up and more stable. That year, it did stand up the whole week, but it still leaned a bit. We wised-up and learned to use our backyard fence as one of the walls one year, and that significantly helped while at the Darion house.
One night, when Banner was 3 and Quinn was 1, we made a Southern-style meal, and I just happened to call is "Southern Sukkah" in a FaceBook post. The following night, the Fire Department had open houses for Fire Prevention Week. We had plans to take the boys to our local fire house, so I made a meal that was fire-themed and called it our "Fire Sukkah." And, thus began the next several nights of "themes." I NEVER intended to continue Sukkot theme nights, but it kind of took on a life of its own after that. And, once the boys were old enough to remember the year before, they began getting excited to come up with themes and ideas with me. Now, it's a full-blown craziness that we start planning for in July. The boys will help add to our ever-growing list of ideas throughout the year, so we have plenty of theme nights to choose from.
Over the years, Sam perfected our sukkah. He doubled it in size, he got more efficient at quickly building it, even with little boys running around him, and he has added decoration, lights, and stability. At the same time, our themes have gotten crazier and more intense. As much as the sukkah shenanigans and the themes can get kind of crazy, I absolutely love the memories we are making with the boys and with our friends and family who join us each year.
A friend of mine told me a couple years ago that I should write a book about our Sukkot themes. Maybe I will one day, but in the meantime, I thought at least a blog post would help me reflect on all the sukkah themes we've had in the past. So here's a look back!
2014
SOUTHERN SUKKAH
Corn on the cob, fried chicken, watermelon, mashed potatoes.
FIRE SUKKAH
Yummy "stop, drop, and roll-em-up" hot dogs, pretzel matches, and "water" jello! Then, it was on to Open House at the Fire Station for Fire Prevention Week!
PI(E) SUKKAH
Sam made chicken pot pie; I made Oreo Pudding Pi(e). . . not the healthiest, but definitely yummy!
2015
OLDIES SUKKAH
Hamburgers, french fries, fruit, milkshakes, and Howdy Doody playing in the background.
MEXICAN SUKKAH
Yummy taco lasagna, rice, veggies, and chips
SHABBAT SUKKAH
CIRCLE SUKKAH
Personal pizzas and circle veggies - followed by scoops of ice cream and circle bananas!
CHINESE TAKE-OUT SUKKAH
MARIO SUKKAH
It's amazing how much cantaloupe a kid will eat when you call them "fire balls!" Pizza, fire power, and power mushrooms.
UNDER THE SEA SUKKAH
Had a lot of fun being creative with this theme: hot dog octopuses (or, "octopi," if you prefer), shell mac & cheese, crab crescent rolls, veggies, fruit, ocean jello and sand dollar cookies for dessert - followed by digging in the sand with our cousins!
2016
STAR WARS SUKKAH
This was Banner's idea, and it was one of my favorites! The boys had a blast with the theme. The lightsaber napkins were a hit. We ate Star Wars mac and cheese, "asteroid" dogs, fruit sabers, and Chewbacca cookies with our "Yoda soda" or "Space Juice."
BODY SUKKAH
We ate chicken fingers, angel hair pasta, pirate's booty, potato skins, ears of corn, (head of) lettuce, and brownie hearts for dessert. I have to say, this was the strangest meal, but it's the one I had the most fun coming up with!
TACO TUESDAY SUKKAH
We tried a new recipe: taco pockets, which were kind of like pop tart tacos.
BREAKFAST SUKKAH
We had purple pancakes (per Quinn's request to have "mommy's favorite color"), breakfast tacos, and "circle fries" for dinner.
ICE CREAM SUKKAH PLAY DATE
Quinn invited his preschool class over after school to have ice cream and/or ice cream sandwiches in the sukkah with him. Such a fun group!
TMNT SUKKAH
Pizza and green grapes made this meal easy and still kept with the theme. We had Ninja Turtle cookies for dessert.
A VERY HUNGRY (SHABBAT) SUKKAH
If it was in the book, it was probably on the table (or at least offered!), which made this meal quite a smorgasbord! We had pears, oranges, strawberries, Swiss cheese, salami, watermelon, cupcakes, lollipops, caterpillar grapes, caterpillar "cocoons" (hot dogs), and nice green leaves. There were cherry pie pockets and ice cream cones, too!
JUNGLE SUKKAH
We had animal crackers, ants on a log, grape spaghetti snakes, elephant biscuits, bananas, and zebra cakes for dessert!
2017
GOODNIGHT MOON SUKKAH
Bowl full of mush (baked potato soup), red balloons (cherries), quiet old lady who was whispering "hush" (hush puppies), stars (Puffs), cow jumping over the moon (gummy cows), cheddar bunnies, and goodnight moon pies helped us honor this favorite children's book of ours. Banner read to us, and then Knox did his rendition, mostly "shushing" and saying "nigh nigh" on every page.
BACKWARDS SUKKAH
Dessert was served first, followed by our main course, then an appetizer. We had fun with backwards names and backwards clothes, too! Mas, Rebma, Rennab, Nniuq, and Xonk loved having Hael, Nairda, Ayam, and Ira over for dinner!
TEAM UMIZOOMI SUKKAH
Quinn's special request! He's been a fan of this Nick Jr. show for years. It was a stretch, but we made it work with fettuccine "measuring tape," like Milli's hair, "super shape" carrots, "pattern power" fruit kabobs, and number garlic bread. We washed it down with "crazy shakes."
CAMP OUT SUKKAH
Tent sandwiches, hot dogs in a sleeping bag, ants on a log, corn on the cob, Aunt Mischelle's chicken fry fishing poles, and of course S'mores for dessert while we told ghost stories.
SOCCER SUKKAH
Had our favorite team mates over to enjoy pizza, Gatorade, soccer fruit cups, and soccer (zebra) cakes.
RAINBOW SUKKAH
Crazy, kid-friendly dinner of rainbow fruit kabobs, rainbow carrots, and rainbow grilled cheese - followed by rainbow cupcakes.
PIRATE SUKKAH
We had the easiest meal of gold nuggets, fish and chips, cannon balls (grapes and blueberries), Pirate's Booty, a treasure of gold and silver, and Chips Ahoy Matey!
2018
CELEBRITY SUKKAH
We enjoyed eating dinner with MEATLOAF, Jerry RICE, Snoop DOGG(s), CARROT Top, SHIRLEY TEMPLE, Fiona APPLE, John CANDY, "WHOOPI" (pie), Alyssa MILANO, Ariana GRANDE, Amy WINEhouse, and ICE CUBE. (OJ forgot to show up, and Kevin BACON thought he didn't fit in.) We were especially honored to dine with our friend and local celebrity,
Lorie Burch
, who was running for Congressional District 3, and her beautiful family.
S is for SHABBAT SUKKAH
In honor of Quinn's speech goals we started over the summer and have continued this semester, he wanted to have all foods that start with "s."
Sam
and I enjoyed soup, salad, steak, sandwiches, Sprite, sauce, strawberries, sweet potato fries, sherbet, and s'mores with our sweeties. We are ending the night watching silly Stuart Little. 
WIZARD OF OZ SUKKAH
Scarecrow stuffing (spaghetti/spaghetti squash), crystal (meat)balls, poppy(seed) muffins, Somewhere Over the Rainbow fruit, animal crackers, yellow brick road cheese cubes, Toto Tater Tots, melted Wicked Witch punch, & Tin Man Hershey hats and Ding Dongs for dessert. (We also had the movie on, although the kids had so much fun playing with friends, they didn't really "watch.")
TRUMP SUKKAH
White bread, bologna, Russian dressing, little wieners, Cheetos, mushrooms, BS (Bull Soup), a bucket of KFC, and an empty bowl of thoughts and prayers. My favorites were Lock Her Upside Down Cake, Impeach Cobbler, and a wall of carrots separating the avocados from the Ranch dressing. We read Don't Be Like Trump before bed.
OUT OF THIS WORLD SUKKAH
Fruit rockets, sun chips, little "dippers" (chips and dip), constellation pretzels and marshmallows, Star Wars mac & cheese, flying saucer sliders, planet mandarins/pineapple rings, moon pies, and a lunar landing cake.
PUPPY SUKKAH
We enjoyed pupperoni pizza, Pupsi, pawsta, "kibble" (Cocoa Puffs), dog bones (Scooby Snacks), Paw Patrol nuggets, and Jello water bowls.
YO GABBA GABBA SUKKAH
All of our boys have loved this show as toddlers, and Knox is especially enamored with it. So, this one was all for him! If you or your kids are Gabba fans, you'll know why we had green beans, carrots, Dazzleberry Lemonade, bananas, and pancakes & syrup along with Plex Mix, Toodee Fruity, Muno treats, and Oskie Bugs tonight. Loved hearing all the Gabba quotations throughout the evening: "Try it, you'll like it," "Don't stop, don't give up," and "Food...Not Food."
2019
JEWISH SUKKAH
I’d been looking forward to this theme... a potluck celebration of all the foods we eat around the Jewish calendar. Nearly every holiday was represented from Rosh Hashanah to Shavuot, including Israeli flag cups to represent Yom Ha’atzmaut. Latkes, matzah, kugel, nuts, hamantashen, gelt, apples and honey, challah, wine.... you name it, we enjoyed it! The food, the company, the Sukkah (thank you,
Sam
), the prayers (thank you, Avi
), and the special kid-made Torah desserts (thank you, Kira
) were all amazing! 
KARATE SUKKAH
These ninjas got a “kick” out of their favorite activity being tonight’s theme with our guests: Aunt 
Karen
, Aunt Mischelle
, Uncle Brock
, and cousins Caden, Mara, Brycen, Nami, and Hayla. Each aunt brought special props to complete the look, making the evening of fruit punch, chopped broccoli, chicken with a kick, Kung “pow” beef, “blue belt” ice cream, a cheese block, and more... even more special! 
FARM SUKKAH
For months, our little farmers had tended to our backyard garden, and this night we pulled our first carrots, so this theme was fitting! The drizzle kept us inside, but it didn’t keep us from having fun making animal balloons, eating delicious foods, and being silly with friends, Max and Havy!
STICK SUKKAH
From cheese and carrots to pretzels and fish, we ate all things sticks for dinner with the big boys’ best buds from school and their amazing families! Easiest Sukkah dinner yet! Kids and adults both loved wrapping up the meal with Drum Sticks and Pixy Stix in the most perfect temperature outside!
NURSERY RHYME SUKKAH
Mother Goose (and my own mother!) joined us for a night with favorite foods found throughout her lyrics. A smorgasbord of soup, sandwiches, spaghetti, and sides to represent some rhymes helped round out the celebration.
2020
WILLY WONKA SUKKAH
Bucket Family soup (they ate cabbage, we ate chicken noodle), bread that Charlie brings home to his family, three-course dinner gum, "You're turning violet, Violet" blueberries, lickable wallpaper (the schnozberries really taste like schnozberries!), golden eggs, Everlasting Gobstoppers, Fizzy Lifting Drink, a chocolate river, and edible teacups while watching the movie and wearing Wonkavision glasses and enjoying Candyman CANdle.
PLAYGROUND SUKKAH
All things playground: sliders, teeter totters, rings, trees, butterflies/bees/bugs, monkey (bread) bars, ice cream (truck), a sandbox, dirt, rocks, and hop(butter)scotch.
 |
| Silly faces |
ITALIAN SUKKAH
We enjoyed chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, grapes, Italian green beans, gelato, and spaghetti & meatball cupcakes! I found the cupcake idea online and loved how cute they are! Sam and I also showed the boys photos and videos from of our time in Italy during our honeymoon (over 10 years ago): our hike up Mt. Vesuvius, visiting Pompeii, learning about the Colosseum and the Vatican, tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain, the amazing food in Florence and Naples! Così tanto divertimento! 
TECHNOLOGY SUKKAH
While this dinner was not the most hearty, nor was it the most nutritious, we had fun being creative. It was also fitting that our guests joined us via Zoom tonight, even though we wish they could have been here in person. While apart, we still had some of the same foods to go with our theme: chicken “bytes,” bagel bites, “bug” juice, apples, microCHIPS, hash(tag) browns, a “firewall,” worms, kernels, pea PODcast, ants on a “blog,” and cookies.
CORONAVIRUS SUKKAH
While I do not “celebrate” this awful virus, we marked the moment in time by acknowledging the impact COVID-19 has had on us. We had two of our favorites, Jed & Cherie (and Avery FaceTimed in), for a socially-distanced dinner in the sukkah with PANdemic Pizza, Coronaviruses (meatballs), mask-a-Rona & cheese, uncharted waters, ICE-olation, and Corona. (And no, we did not actually drink or inject the bleach.)
G SUKKAH
Knox struggled to learn the letter G, so we decided to drill it in a little more with a tribute to all things G! It helps that our great buddies, favorite neighbors, and in-home learning friends are Graham and George, so Knox now knows both sounds a G makes. We loved having our “pod” over to eat Grilled cheese, Green beans, Grapes, Goldfish, Garlic bread, Graham crackers, Gummy bears, and Gingerbread on Green plates!
SPOOKY SUKKAH
Quinn came up with this theme. We ate mummy hotdogs, spider legs, carrot fingers, Dracula teeth, jack-o-lantern quesadillas, creepy punch, and graveyard cupcakes.
FORTNITE SUKKAH
We enjoyed one final evening with a shout out to the game that has taken over our household and that of our guests’ homes. If you’re like me and know nothing about Fortnite, most of this won’t mean anything to you. If, however, you are an addict like my two oldest sons, you will recognize our Durr Burgers, medkits, slurp juice, Fishstick, Agent Peely, Marshmello, Lil Whip, and why we ate Boogie Brownie Bombs, Salty Springs, Orange Justice, and potato “Skins.” Truth be told, I loved how excited they were all day for this evening and seeing their faces light up when their game came to our kitchen.
This year, we added a little something extra. We had all of our guests sign our sukkah somewhere. We also added in all the themes around the posts. I love that our sukkah gets better each year, and I love that it's a work of art and ever-changing.
As we wind down another Sukkot, it feels bittersweet. I'm always relieved when the week is over, but I will definitely miss just hanging out in the sukkah, the time with friends or family, and the memories we are making. It's a lot of craziness, a lot of prep and time and energy, and a lot of thought, but it's so worth it!
