Come Light the Menorah

In case you aren't too familiar with us, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. You see, my dad is Jewish, but my mom is not, so growing up, I celebrated both December holidays. Only naturally, I want my children to grow up experiencing these two holidays as well. Unfortunately, Hanukkah often times gets lost in the shuffle of Christmas, between Christmas trees, Christmas carols, and Christmas parties.

So, this year, I was happy to see that Nicholas is finally old enough to start asking questions about Hanukkah and to be excited about it as well. Each night Nicholas would tell me how many candles needed to be placed in the menorah and told me how HE was old enough to light his menorah all by himself. (Well, EXCUSE me!) He loved playing driedel with me and collecting all my gelt...he's really good! And he enjoyed hearing the story of Hanukkah and how the small amount of oil lasted 8 nights and was a miracle! As he (and Lexi) get older, I look forward to them learning and appreciating more about the Jewish holidays and their traditions, as these traditions will be a huge part of who N and L grow up to be...at least that's how it was for me! :)

Ready to attack the menorahs on the first night

Look at that concentration!

I'm a little too enthusiastic as Lexi "lights" the cloth menorah

The "laser" dreidel I bought at Target...it plays the Beverly Hills Cop theme...
no seriously, it does

As for presents, I did not grow up getting presents for all 8 nights of Hanukkah AND the haul at Christmas, and as the person responsible for forking over the money required to buy all presents, I now get why my parents didn't. So, Jeff and I decided that each year the kids would get one present for Hanukkah, to be given on the first night. Like I said, sometimes Hanukkah gets lost in the Christmas shuffle, and, likewise, so do presents. Our hope is by only doing one present they will enjoy that present and it will not just become another "thing" to throw in a pile. So, here are the kids' Hanukkah presents.

Lexi received an old school Fischer Price cash register. Jeff's parents have the same one from his childhood. Lexi loves it!

Okay, really, she is the cutest present...but I digress

Nicholas received General Greivous' double light saber from the Clone Wars. Yes, it's huge and I'm sure it will ultimately lead to the demise of a picture frame or other household knick-knack, but it brought the boy much joy

So, where are the big family pictures of Hanukkah? To come. We all decided to hold off on the 8th night of Hanukkah until the extended Herman family could get together and celebrate in style. Ironically, it will be held the day before Christmas Eve, so those three days will be filled with fun, family, and presents!