The New Edition Mitzvah, Mazel Tov!

Zach receives his Bar Mitzvah date this year. I feel ancient. I only feel this way because I remember mine like it was yesterday. My Bat Mitzvah took place in 1988. It was a time of big hair, satin dresses, suits and bands. If you haven’t had your kids mitzvah yet OR if you haven’t been to one in the past five years, Oh how times have changed! In every way possible. I felt it was my duty to enlighten you on my findings as I started to do a little research into this event. Although Zach will have a Bar Mitzvah in Israel (which I will discuss in a month or two), I thought it would be fun to do some comparing and contrasting. Yes like in English Class but this is way more fun.  Remember the invitations from the 80’s? Here’s mine!

 

While there was once the Bar/Bat Mitzvah invitations (and there still are…hence my first  posting about this: Julie Maloof Designs). The invitations have now reached a whole new level. Instead of sending out million dollar invites, your child can create a YouTube video and send it out to their guests! Like this:

 

Sign-in Boards? This was mine….I thought I was going to be an actress, lol. I guess that didn’t work out!  Don’t you love my hair?  Um, didn’t anybody send my mom the memo to get your daughter a blowout!? Also MAKEUP? I do not think I have a stitch of makeup on my face…

 

The Sign-in boards have obviously changed dramatically in the past 20+ years because guess what exists now?? IPADS! Ready for this…No reason to pick up a pen and actually write anything because truthfully you can’t read half the messages anyway, right? Simon Elliot (who I am now fascinated with) has come up with probably the most unique concept in Sign-in boards to date! I need a drum roll for this….

Welcome to iSIGN! Boy version:

 (Courtesy of Mitzvah Market)

Girl version:

 (Courtesy of Mitzvah Market)

How does this work? Every 13-year-old knows how to use an Ipad so it is really quite simple. As pictured below, you walk up to the Kiosk, pick up the stylus, write your message and voila! The message appears on the screen, click save and you are done.

 (Courtesy of Mitzvah Market)

What happens to all the messages? This is the best part…a keepsake book is created and you can keep it forever!

 

Themes? I have seen everything in the past two years from the “camp theme”

 

 

to actually having it at camp:

 

To the Louis Vuitton Traveler:

 

Notice in the background there is a band? I did not think people even had them anymore! I keep hearing that there are only DJ’s and the DJ’s cost as much as the band! (Wait until you see the DJ in the first video below…holy hell!) But first I want to show you one more theme:

Skiing!

 

There wasn’t a detail missed! Doesn’t it really look like a ski lodge? Incredible! They decided to bring the dessert bar outdoors (or at least make it feel that way)

 

 

Okay now for my favorite part! You have seen My Super Sweet 16 on MTV and you have seen the Million Dollar Weddings. Well, here are the crazy extreme Mitzvah’s (just 2). If you have the funds, money is no object, sky is the limit…Here are a few options: sit back and don’t let your mouth fall too far on the ground! (By the way, the girls in the 10 inch heels and skin-tight dresses..WOW. How do they even walk in those shoes?) Sometimes I am happy to be a mother of two boys, LOL…that is until I have eight 10-year-old boys eating my entire fridge for lunch!

I am surprised PitBull wasn’t there! Also I have to tell you, I feel bad for the 13 year girls that got all decked for this party.  The Miami Heat dancers are pretty tough competition! Also did you notice all the kids received skateboards as favors?!

 

In preparation for the next video, I am warning you:  Do not show your son this video if he has not had his Bar Mitzvah yet. You may never hear the end of it… I am going to let you comment on this one. The peeps are from my town and I may never hear the end of it.

 

 

I hope I get invited to one of these off the wall shindigs one of these days! Now do you understand why Hollywood came out with the movie Keeping up with the Steins?

Need a way to make an entrance into the room? Well I have two versions for you! I have the 1992 version (this is the way we used to do it!!!) Remember how to STRIKE A POSE?

 

Did you just pee in your pants? I can’t believe I never saw that video before! I literally was on the floor when I watched it!

AND now we have the 2013 entrance!! SAM sure as hell knew how to make an entrance here….

 

How many Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s can your kids go to each weekend without them all starting to lose their luster? I keep hearing over and over that parents are constantly trying to come up with new ideas, tricks, bouncers, WHATEVER works to keep your kids occupied and busy!

Here are a few new tricks on the market!

Mitzvah Madness Basketball!!! (LOL – the names these people come up with, dying!)

 

This is the best part!! “Each player’s stats are tallied and saved enabling guests to keep track of their progress from past events and see where they stand on the current leader boards.” Meaning when Alex is at Josh’s Bar Mitzvah next weekend and the parents have decided to shell out some cash for this new game, Alex can try to beat his score from last weekend! Have you ever?  Alex can win prizes including gift cards and sports merchandise!

 

How about this one?

POPSTAR RECORDING BOOTH

Forget Karaoke!! Stand in a real live recording booth surrounded by plexi-glass. Pick a song, put on the Beats, sing until your heart’s content AND to top it off, take home your recording on custom printed CD’s or flash drives.

 

Is your kid a gamer?? I am telling you there is something for EVERY SINGLE KID out there! Ready for this one….Gaming has been taken to a whole different level! Now you can have a “virtual game arena”.  Guitar Hero is just one option out of the zillion games you can choose from to match the “theme” of your mitzvah! Two attendants are included in the gaming package!

 

How about Selfie’s? Step into the Selfie booth, take a picture with a wireless remote, pick your favorite picture and upload it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WHATEVAAA!

 

 

 

AND FAVORS!!!! (this Simon Elliot Events really has his finger on the pulse!)

Graffiti Iphone cases!!!

 

 

Not into cell phone cases – how about flip-flops or basketballs?

 

 

 

I LOVE this favor!!! Your kids can design their own their headphones and go home with their design in a custom box with the Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s kid pic on the case!  What will they come up with next?

 

Sweatshirts are still hot and so are the water bottles on the way out!

But Baked By Melissa takes the cake! (no pun intended).

 

You can rent this ginormous size “Cupcake Machine”, pick a cupcake from the Ipad,  slide in a token and out comes a mini Baked By Melissa Cupcake for your guests to take home! Clever as ever!

Before I wrap this up, I did want to point out a few things.

Clothing….

Guys – no more suits! You have a new uniform…jeans/khakis and some sort of button down/blazer! I mean you CAN wear a suit but it seems there is less and less of this going on.

Girls – the dresses are prettier than ever! I remember when I got my dress and I thought it was the chicest Bat  Mitzvah dress, ha! Now I can’t even believe what I wore…

Last but not least:

THE GIFT

I started asking around what is the deal with the gift. I wasn’t prepared for the answer. I am not cheap. I promise. It is actually one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. I am not a fan of cheap people. I cringe when I sit down at a dinner table and someone at the table asks how much each special costs when the waiter/waitress rattles them off. I want to hide under the table.  Anyway, this is the consensus:

1 Kid – $36 double Chai

2 Kids – $72 triple Chai

just the parents – $250-350

THE FAMILY of 4 – $350-500 (I was told more like $500) What if you are a family of 5 or 6? You are royally screwed!!

I am just putting it out there, after much consideration, please do not invite me. I am going to be FULLY broke the year my kid has his Bar Mitzvah. Not only will I be broke, I will be divorced. I can just imagine the fighting that will go on that year. SHIT! $500!!!! x how many? I can’t wait for somebody to ask me in 2017 why my house is for sale. I can’t wait to tell them well my kid had 100 Bar Mitzvah’s and we went to 30 of them and we can’t eat.

So good luck to all you peeps having your kids this year! Don’t be offended if I can’t come (jk). Hope you all enjoyed this little update in the world of the Bar & Bat Mitzvah’s. I, for one, am overwhelmed and astonished by how much has changed in the past 20 years.

Mazel Tov!