12 Fun Sukkot Activities to Keep Kids Entertained in the Sukkah

Most years, it happens at some point during Sukkot. The family is sitting in the sukkah, the food is on the table, and just as everyone begins to settle in, you hear it: “Mommmm, I’m bored.”

Keeping children entertained throughout the holiday does not have to mean handing them a phone or tablet. With a little imagination and some advance preparation, the sukkah itself can become part of the fun.

Here are 12 simple activities that can turn time in the sukkah into something the kids genuinely look forward to.

Riddles and Brain Games

1. Treasure Among the Decorations

Write a few simple clues on slips of paper and hide them among the decorations in the sukkah. At the end, have a small “treasure” waiting, such as a treat, sticker, or even the right to choose dessert that evening.

The kids will search every corner of the sukkah without even realizing they have been happily entertained the entire time.

2. Twenty Questions About the Ushpizin

Choose one ushpiz (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, or David). One person knows the answer while everyone else asks yes-or-no questions until they figure out who it is.

You can choose a different ushpiz at each meal, giving children a fun way to learn about the ushpizin without making it feel like a lesson.

3. “Who Am I?” Quiz

Write the names of figures from the Tanakh or Sukkot-related objects, such as a lulav, etrog, or the Clouds of Glory, on slips of paper.

Place one on each child’s forehead without letting them see what it says. Each child then asks questions to figure out who or what they are.

Ushpizin Games

4. “Ushpiz of the Evening” Challenge

Each evening, choose one child to be the “ambassador” for that day’s ushpiz. Have them tell a short story about him, around two or three minutes long.

You can prepare the story together before the holiday or give the child a simple “help card” with a few facts, such as where he lived, what made him special, and what we can learn from him.

5. Improvised Ushpizin Costumes

A piece of fabric, a hat, and a stick are sometimes all it takes for a child to become Abraham or King David for a few minutes.

There is no need for a real costume. Let their imagination do the rest.

6. The Ushpiz Sends a Letter

Before the meal, write a short letter as though it came from that evening’s ushpiz. Include a sentence or two about something he might want to share with the family.

Place the letter on the table and let the youngest child who can read open it and read it aloud.

Decorations and Crafts

7. Make a Garland From Things You Have at Home

Colored paper, cardboard, old bottle caps, and other craft supplies you already have can become sukkah decorations.

It can be even more fun if each child is responsible for decorating one area, giving everyone a little corner of the sukkah to make their own.

8. Create a Holiday Mural

Hang a large sheet of paper on one of the sukkah walls and let the children add drawings to it throughout the holiday. Just make sure they draw on the paper rather than directly on the sukkah itself.

Add something new each day, and by the end of Sukkot, you will have a family artwork that can be taken down and kept at home.

Stories and Imagination

9. Tell a Continuing Story

Start one long story and tell just one part at each meal, always stopping at the most suspenseful moment.

What happens next? The children will have to wait until the next installment to find out.

10. Play “What Would Happen If...?”

Ask imaginative questions connected to the ushpizin. For example: “What would happen if Abraham came to visit our sukkah tonight? What do you think he would notice? What might he say to our family?”

There are no wrong answers. The goal is simply to get everyone talking and imagining together.

Give Everyone a Role

11. “My Job in the Sukkah”

Give each child a regular responsibility for the holiday. One can help set the table, another can arrange the cups, and another can be the official “door keeper,” welcoming guests into the sukkah and showing them where to sit.

Having a regular role can give children a sense of belonging while also reducing arguments over who gets to do what.

12. Make a Holiday Memory Box

Place an empty box in the sukkah. Each day, have every family member write down one moment they particularly enjoyed and place the note inside.

At the end of Sukkot, open the box together and read all the memories you collected.

The best Sukkot activities do not need to be elaborate or expensive. A few slips of paper, some imagination, and a little preparation can be enough to create moments children remember long after the decorations come down. More importantly, the sukkah becomes more than somewhere they are expected to sit. It becomes a place filled with stories, games, family traditions, and memories of their own.