Holiday gift ideas from JNS

DIANA BURMISTROVICH JNS

The story of Chanukah was about bravery, determination, and finding light in the darkest of times. These days, we certainly remember and celebrate the centuries-old victory of the Maccabees, but with a modern and material spin – with gifts. However, gifts can have a spiritual component as well. This year – or, more likely, next year, given the late date – consider bringing back the historic themes of the Festival of Lights through your purchases.

It is the Festival of Lights, after all.... The nine branches of the menorah have signified the Jewish people’s perseverance for more than 2,000 years since the Maccabees’ Chanukah triumph. Though the story stays the same, your menorah doesn’t have to. Bringing the holiday back to the future, the brushed metal menorah from etsy.com offers a contemporary take on tradition. Fashion lovers may not get a new pair of shoes for every night, but they can sure pretend with a Menorah Blahnik reinterpretation on moderntribe.com. Whether it is something themed or traditional, menorah.com, Squidoo.com and bargainjudaica.com all have wonderful options, too.

Chanukah headwear. If a dog is a man’s best friend, why shouldn’t he or she get a gift as well? Los Angeles-based Lena Pavia creates Chanukah hats to get your beloved pooch (or pussycat!) into the holiday spirit and sells them on etsy.com. Pavia’s kippot are handcrafted with a Star of David and peyot that are suited for any teacup-, small- and medium-sized pet.

Hands-on, with kitsch. Are you jealous of Bubbe’s latkes, sufganiyot and kugel? Strive to make Grandma proud with your own cooking this year, using the help of some of the newest Chanukah-themed cookbooks. Many traditional foods are heavy-handed on the oil to assure that we don’t forget what this holiday is really about. For those looking for a fresh and healthy alternative, Barbara Lori offers the Healthy Hanukkah Cookbook: Savory Jewish Holiday Recipes, available on Kindle. Amateurs and kids alike are sure to find something that hits the sweet spot in Ronne Randall’s Hanukkah Sweets and Treats.

So, you can use old family recipes or new interpretations to treat the family every night. Rather than buying gifts, you can whip up a different dessert for every night of the holiday and package it nicely with some blue and white ribbon. A lot of party stores also offer Star of David confetti and stickers to accent your DIY gift as well. Not only will it be delicious, but your own masterpiece is often more meaningful than anything you could buy.

However, even a seasoned pro in the kitchen can cook up some Chanukah spirit with an “Oy to the World” apron from cafepress.com, plates and serving platters from williams-sonoma.com or a seven-piece cookie cutter set from kitchenworksinc.com, including shofar, dreidel and Kiddush cup shapes for the kids.

Not just for goyim. Chanukah isn’t traditionally a gift-giving holiday, but everyone wants an excuse to give (OK, fine, receive) gifts when seeing their Christian counterparts drooling over this year’s new coolest thing during Christmas. We may envy their style, but Jews do a wonderful job recreating Christmas in their own way. Why buy candy canes when you can buy Chanukah canes from moderntribe.com to put out on the table? When you aren’t sucking down a meshugah mint, check out zazzle.com’s overwhelming amount of ornaments, apt to make any Chanukah bush a little more jovial. Spruce up that Chanukah bush even more with some themed string lights found at judaism.com.

Kidding around. Keep your kinder looking cool at this year’s family dinner with an organic glow-in-the-dark onesie or a fancy blue and white bib, both from moderntribe.com. Is your tyke a toddler? Outfit him in some sweet T-shirts from redbubble.com. Even local department stores are catching on, with stores like Walmart having affordable themed options this Chanukah season.

A gift of tzedekah. Perhaps you’re feeling more like a philanthropist this winter and want to give something more meaningful. There’s no better time to give your child his or her own personalized tzedakah box. There are plenty of handcrafted options available on etsy.com and your little car lover will both love and learn from their own train-shaped pushka from moderntribe.com.

High-tech holiday. Your tech-savvy teens will surely thank you for the hip Chanukah-themed iPad covers from zazzle.com or the iPhone cases from cafepress.com that are fun, festive and protective.

Happy shopping!

– Courtesy of JNS.org

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