magid

With thanks to my hosts both nights.

	Seder 1	Seder 2
Distance from home	~1 mile	~3 miles
People	10 adults, one 13-month-old	3 adults, one 3-year-old, one 5-year-old, one 7-year old
Haggadahs	all Artscroll (aka R. Arthur Scroll)	all different; I ended up with a facsimile copy of an old Venetian haggadah, with pictures and illustrated initial letters, plus commentary in Rashi script in two columns on either side of the main text
Props	four question finger puppets ten plagues finger puppets animal masks animal figurines ping-pong-ball hail black masks for the band of emissaries of evil (but no toy guitars) hats for different rabbis (including a sombrero for R. Jose/Yossi)	a bag of stuffed toy plagues
Karpas	parsley	tray 1 (traditional): parsley, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots tray 2 (modern): red pepper strips, green pepper strips, baby carrots, cucumbers (and likely some other fresh veggies I'm forgetting) tray 3 (fruit that are pri ha-adamah): strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple (which I'd always thought was eitz; learn something new...)
Approximate seder start time	7:15	8:45
Approximate seder end time	11:30	2
Misc. other	As requested, brought crocheted mask and top hat for the band of emissaries of evil (cues Bill and Ted-like mini-riff), also almond-raisin chocolate cluster things I'd made that people liked. Apparently in modern Greek, what the word "afikoman" has become is about going out partying, so perhaps the idea of nothing after the afikoman has also to do with onlygoing to one seder, no seder-hopping. Maximized singing of Hallel, both before and after the meal, also the songs at the end.	I learned that hand shmurah matza that tastes like cardboard can be made better by being warmed in the oven. Sudden chiddush (that may or may not be true, of course): perhaps the particular wording with the wicked son, about blunting his teeth, is about how this would make him unable to eat the meat of the korban Pesach (meat-eaters requiring pointier teeth than herbivores), which is appropriate if he is, in fact, separating himself from the community. More actual questions and examinations of the text, helped by having more people who are young and still new to the seder process. Much attention from the youngers while I (temporarily) had the afikoman.