Chinese Food, Movies, Friends and Family

What's a Jew to do on Christmas but spend some time with friends and family eating Chinese food and watching movies? This year we went to the Jewish Community Center of Central New Jersey for their "Chinese Food and a Movie" event.

Okay, so the kids didn't make it through the entire screening of "Finding Nemo." We had a great time, met some new people and even got to go swimming. Many thanks to the JCC for the free lunch and to the folks who went to work on Christmas to make it happen.

Menorah Art Projects for Hannukah

Every year my son's preschool has all of the kids go home and create a non-working menorah with their parents, then bring them in to share with the school. These families are so creative! Here are just a few of the homemade menorahs lining the halls:

This one's my favorite, of course, because it's the one Noah made with his daddy.

 That's Sammy Spider as a menorah, with 8 legs and a lollipop body for a shamash.

 

Happy Hannukah!

Hannukah Sukkah Sale!

It's that time of year again! A couple of months after Sukkot, the sukkah stores tend to offer their unsold wares at a discount, so it's a great time to get what you should have bought in the first place. Last January I bought our bamboo mat roof.

This month, The Sukkah Project is offering 10 percent off everything from this past sukkah season from now until the end of Hannukah. Plus they're offering discounts on other beautiful Judaica pieces that are perfect for Hannukah gifts. Enter the code SALE at checkout.

Tzedakah for Sandy

Noah is proud that he gave away two gently used backpacks from summer camp to kids who need them.

I've been a bit preoccupied during the last two weeks. You know--superstorm, power outages, internet outages, the gas shortage, no school ... And on top of that I was trying to keep the public informed as the Westfield editor of The Alternative Press.

Now that things are starting to feel a little less apocalyptic, our family is thinking about how lucky we are in all this. Friends of ours are out of their house because a huge tree fell through the top floor. Entire communities have been washed away.

We decided it's time to break open the tzedakah boxes. Noah has one we've been putting coins into since he was born, and we have two more that we add to every Shabbat. On top of that, there's a big coin bank on top of Eric's dresser full of loose change that we've decided should be a tzedakah box, as well. All told, we probably have about $150 in coins that we're going to take to the bank with the kids to be sent somewhere worthwhile.

The question is: Where should we send it?

Are We Talking About “The Holidays” Already?

Yesterday I got a catalog in the mail that said, “It’s not too late to get holiday gifts for everyone on your list!” I hope not. It’s October.

 Then today I saw this post by an acquaintance on Facebook:

So, good for him. And at least he isn’t assuming Hannukah is the Jewish Christmas. But I don’t really want to be wished a Merry Christmas. It always makes me feel so awkward. After all of these years, I still never know how to respond. I usually just mumble, “You, too.”

Am I wrong? Should I just "get over it" like this person says? And what's the right response? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment.

Second Annual Sunday Sukkah Hop

Welcome to my second annual virtual sukkah hop, brought to you by Temple Sholom's first annual actual sukkah hop, which took place yesterday.

We began at Temple Sholom's sukkah, where rabbi Abraham explained that it is a mitzvah to eat in the sukkah during Sukkot:

We all noshed on some pumpkin bread, then it was on to the Saltzman sukkah:

Rabbi Abraham helped Noah shake the lulav

Then we all hopped in our cars and drove to the Brenner sukkah:

Next up was Ellen Berman's sukkah:

And last, but not least, the Lieberman sukkah:

Sukkah Decorating

So far, our sukkah looks a lot like it did last year. But I love the ideas in this article by Temple Beth El Mekor Chayim in Cranford. I think it's time to take a trip to the crafts store!

Do you have some decorating ideas we should know about? Share them by leaving a comment!