An Easy DIY Shivat HaMinim Garland for Your Sukkah (No Crafting Meltdown Required)

Every year, right around the time the Sukkah goes up, the same thought quietly creeps in: We should really decorate this thing. And every year, that thought is immediately followed by another one: But how much effort are we realistically willing to invest?

Good news. DIY Sukkah decorations don’t have to involve hot glue disasters, complicated crafts, or a week-long crafting marathon. With the right project, you can create something festive, meaningful, and genuinely pretty – without questioning your life choices halfway through.

Enter: the Shivat HaMinim (Seven Species) paper fruit garland. It’s colorful, flexible, scalable, and – most importantly – customizable to your energy level. Whether you’re feeling inspired, mildly motivated, or fully in “just get something on the walls” mode, this project meets you where you are.

Why the Shivat HaMinim Are Basically the Perfect Sukkah Decor

The Shivat HaMinim, or Seven Species, are the agricultural products that the Torah associates with the Land of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. They show up all over Jewish life, but they’re especially at home in the Sukkah – a space that’s meant to remind us of harvest, gratitude, and eating meals under leafy roofs.

Translation: they’re decorative and meaningful. Which is the holy grail of holiday décor.

Choose Your Own Crafting Adventure

One of the best things about this project is that it’s not all-or-nothing. Think of it as a “choose your level” DIY, depending on how much time, patience, and coffee you currently have.

Option 1: The Minimal-Effort Win

Print ready-made fruit designs. Cut them out. String them together. Hang.

That’s it. No layers. No complicated assembly. Just instant Sukkah vibes.

Option 2: The Color-It-Yourself Upgrade

Print an outlined version, hand it to kids (or adults who like coloring), let everyone fill in the designs, then cut and assemble into a garland. This option hits the sweet spot between “activity” and “decoration,” and it’s a great way to get everyone involved.

Option 3: The Layered Look (Without Losing a Weekend)

Print a layered version, cut out the individual layers, and glue them together for a more textured, dimensional look. This gives you something that feels more polished than a simple printout – but without the commitment of crafting each fruit from scratch.

Option 4: The ‘I Want This to Look Fancy’ Route

Use the templates as patterns and cut them from cardstock, felt, or vinyl. This is the most work – but also the most durable and upscale-looking option. Felt was actually the original plan here, until reality (and time constraints) intervened. If you’re feeling ambitious, go for it.

Materials: Use What You Have, Not What Instagram Has

You don’t need a fully stocked craft room to pull this off. At its simplest, all you really need is:

• The printable template

• White cardstock

• A decent color printer

• Glue (tacky glue, glue dots, or a glue pen all work)

• String or twine

• A little masking tape

If you do happen to have cardstock in a rainbow of colors, felt sheets, or vinyl lying around – great. If not, printing the layered designs means you don’t have to stress about color-matching at all.

And yes, Cricut users can absolutely bring their machines into the mix – but this project is just as doable with scissors and patience.

Cricut or Scissors? Both Are Valid Life Choices

Cutting by Hand

Print the layered PDF on cardstock and cut out the outer shapes first. Keep the smaller pieces grouped so nothing goes missing. Seeds can be fiddly – if they test your patience, you can either simplify them or leave them off entirely. The fruit will survive.

Cutting with a Cricut

Upload the images, select “Print Then Cut,” resize, and let the machine do the heavy lifting. A brayer helps everything stay put on the mat, and organizing pieces as you remove them will save you from later confusion.

This is one of those projects where preparation matters more than perfection.

Assembly Without Tears

Before gluing anything, lay out all your pieces. Use the reference page to figure out what goes where. For wheat and barley especially, it helps to assemble them directly on the mat or on contact paper so the order doesn’t get mixed up.

If tiny details like seeds are involved, tracing placement lightly with a pen or pencil can make life easier. Tweezers help too – assuming they haven’t mysteriously disappeared, as tweezers tend to do.

Once assembled, flip everything over, space the fruits evenly, tape string across the backs, and admire your work.

Making It Sukkah-Ready

Sukkot décor has one special challenge: weather.

If you’re hanging this in the Sukkah, consider laminating each fruit or using water-resistant materials like acrylic felt. That way, a little humidity or morning dew won’t undo all your hard work.

And don’t overthink placement. Walls, beams, Schach supports – it all counts. The Sukkah is forgiving.

The Bottom Line: Festive Without the Fuss

DIY Sukkah decorations don’t need to be complicated to be meaningful. A simple garland of the Seven Species checks every box: seasonal, symbolic, colorful, and customizable.

Whether you go all-in with layers and felt or keep it simple with printed paper and string, the end result is the same – a Sukkah that feels warm, lived-in, and thoughtfully decorated.

And really, that’s the whole point.

Happy crafting – and may your glue dry quickly and your scissors stay sharp.