Winter (break) is coming.
Having my kindergartner home for, as she keeps reminding me, sixteen days in a row is a daunting prospect. While I am excited for more time with her and a break from the daily schlep, keeping her suitably occupied is always a challenge. Even with family nearby and a husband who is – thankfully – also able to take time away from work, it typically doesn’t take long for boredom and crankiness to set in.
This year, though, the timing of Hanukkah adds an interesting angle to winter break. How often are Jewish parents forced to work our Hanukkah celebrations around busy school, sports and end-of-year schedules? My daughter’s public school (which has filled the last few weeks with, at best, thinly-veiled Christmas activities) has the entirety of Hanukkah off: a unique opportunity, I hope, to emphasize quality time together over the material aspect of Hanukkah. While this is something I’ve aspired to do in Hanukkahs past, without an actual plan in place, I’ve fallen back on gift-giving rather than meaning-making.
This year, though, will be different: I have a schedule, one that I’d like to share just in case you, too, dear reader, are a parent trying to hold onto sanity over the winter break and/or move away from gift-centric Hanukkah celebrations. Behold my day-by-day plan for Operation Great Hanukkah/Survive Winter Break. It is meant to be adaptable, low-cost and, if nothing else, a jumping-off point for activities that will work for your family.
Day 1 (Thursday): Go see a movie
Since my family has mixed traditions and also celebrates Christmas, we’ll be easing into Hanukkah by spending Thursday at the movies. Her “gift” on erev Hanukkah will be a wrapped-up set of pretend movie tickets and candy for her to sneak into the theater the next day. We’ll probably be seeing “Sonic 3,” which has a delightfully Jewish cast, but you do you.
Day 2 (Friday): Family free-for-all challah bake
For day two of Hanukkah, we’ll be making challah together, and this time, whatever my daughter says goes! If you’d like to include a gift, Rochie Pinson’s “The Kids Book of Challah” is an amazing book that will provide so much inspiration to you and your little ones. Other gift ideas could include a kid-sized mixing bowl or a chef’s hat. The key to making this special is that anything goes: stock up on sprinkles, food coloring, chocolate chips, fun toppings, and give the kids a hunk of dough – let them go to town. This is a great activity to include family and friends in, as well, in case you are hosting for Shabbat, and if you aren’t much of a baker, store-bought dough will work just as well as homemade.
Day 3 (Saturday): Leave the House
This is more of a choose-your-own-adventure day, but the key element is to LEAVE THE HOUSE. My family tends to hunker down at home all break, but this only speeds up our descent into madness. Plan an activity that is a little out of the ordinary – something special. Ice skating, manicures, hiking, indoor playgrounds, seeing a local holiday light display, a craft class… these are just a few possibilities! Pair your activity with a special lunch out and you’ve got yourself a day!
Day 4 (Sunday): Lazy Sunday with re-purposed toys
One of the main reasons I wanted to think of activities over toys is the vague feeling of disgust I often feel after the holidays when looking around at all the gifts my daughter gets. This year, I’m going to repurpose the toys she already has to make them feel exciting again. For instance, she loves Legos, so this year I’m going to set up a Lego station by hanging Lego baseplates on the wall of her playroom and gifting her a Legos Ideas book to inspire new playing with old toys.
Day 5 (Monday): Fifth Night Tikkun Olam
The past few years have seen a movement to make the fifth night of Hanukkah (which this year falls on Sunday night/Monday) about tikkun olam – repairing the brokenness of the world around us. This is a great opportunity to take a step back and do age-appropriate activities with your kids that will encourage them to think of others this season. Volunteering at an animal shelter, spending time visiting an elderly loved one or having your kids go through old toys to donate are all simple but effective ideas. If you are strapped for time and/or want to include a relevant gift for your kids, books like “It’s a Mitzvah” by Julie Merberg or “10 Things I Can do to Help My World” by Melanie Walsh are great. Bonus tip: Check out local Jewish organizations for Hanukkah-related community outreach programs in your community!
Day 6 (Tuesday): New Year’s Eve fun
While our family doesn’t typically do much for New Year’s Eve, this year I want to capture some of the festivity of having two holidays in one. I’m thinking of a Hanukkah pajama party, complete with sparkling grape juice, lots of snacks (hello, latke bar!) and menorah painting! Last year I found wooden menorahs on clearance, and will use those to keep my daughter busy – for a bit, at least. Have enough menorahs crowding your mantle? Most craft stores sell wooden or ceramic candle holders that can be painted as Shabbat candleholders! These also make cute gifts for loved ones. (Bonus: If you are inviting guests over, New Year’s Eve day is a great time to gather some low-cost decorations and let your kids decorate a designated space!).
Day 7 (Wednesday): New Year/Hanukkah Brunch
Who does brunch better than Jews? What better day to have a big family-friendly spread than New Year’s Day and the penultimate day of Hanukkah! Stock up on staples like bagels, cream cheese, lox and donuts (feeling brave? Try making homemade sufganiyot!) and settle in for a quiet morning. While this could easily be scaled up to invite family and friends over, it’s also a great time for your family to binge all the Hanukkah episodes of your kids’ favorite shows.
Day 8 (Thursday): Bittersweet last day
The last day of Hanukkah always seems a little sad to me. Much of the world will be rushing back to normal scheduling, but I see no reason to stop the fun. By this point, my daughter will have been home for 13 days and still have three more to go (not that I’ll be counting down the days until she goes back…). To ward off the end-of-Hanukkah blues, I think this will be a great day to pull out the Hanukkah-themed cookie cutters and make cookies. The sprinkles and other goodies from our challah bake will still be around, and the final product will sweeten the next few days. Have a budding chef? Gift ideas could include their own rolling pin, apron and kid-friendly cookbook, like “Cookies and Cupcakes for Kids.”
So, there you have it: Operation Great Hanukkah/Survive Winter Break. Will we follow this agenda to the letter? Most likely not (I’ve seen enough Hallmark movies to know that trying to orchestrate the “perfect” holiday can only backfire). Will there still be gifts? Of course. Will there be times of boredom and frustration? Yep. However, I hope that having a plan in advance will help us make the most of the season.
From my family to yours, Happy Hanukkah and Godspeed.
