Valinor (a group house in Berkeley) has been doing a weekly Friday night Shabbat for some years now. Here is a recent (June 2025) description of what they do from Alicorn:
we also do candles and a candleholder. people only get a wineglass if they want one and not everybody partakes of that or juice. we have landsailor lyric sheets but usually do not actually pass them out because we are bad at things.
landsailor is put on the ceiling speakers to call people to assemble for dinner, as soon as it’s done. we sing it and find seats and do some last-minute food presentation tasks simultaneously.
the most conveniently available jewish woman lights the candles and says the candle thing. scott blesses the wine/juice, the bread, and the children. if we’re really on the ball we all volunteer things we are proud of the children for that week.
the most conveniently available jewish woman lights the candles and says the candle thing. scott blesses the wine/juice, the bread, and the children. if we’re really on the ball we all volunteer things we are proud of the children for that week.
food is normally presented buffet style on the counter, guests are invited to get food first, sometimes native adults sneak in to get kids food while that’s happening, native adults get in line after the guests
we eat food and have completely undirected conversation while we do that
then we have Cleaning Time in which guests are forbidden to participate unless they’ve been over many times and ask really nicely
which consists of one of several cleaning time playlists emerging from the ceiling while all native adults fill the playlist time with any household tidying chores that present themselves
then dessert is served, at least for the kids even if there’s not a formal dessert for everybody
then everybody hangs out till the guests disperse of their own accord or are shooed
(cleaning time playlists are usually relevant in some way or ironic or we just like the songs - like there’s Happy Working Song from Enchanted in one, and Winter Wrap-Up in another, and there’s a playlist themed after Chelcon)
we have started making participating in cleaning time a dessert requirement for the elder children