Hanukkah

Submitted by Jennifer A. Horowitz
email address: jah69@columbia.edu

My family created a new way to exchange gifts on Chanukah without blowing tons of money on too much commercial, ostentatious stuff. Yet everyone in the family still receives lots of presents to brighten up the holiday!

My family set a spending limit per gift, using the following guidelines:

1. You may not spend more than $20 per gift (although sales tax doesn't count, since not all of us shop in the same jurisdiction). Our limit the first year we did this was $10, but we later increased it so that things like compact disks could be purchased.

2. Each person must buy (or make) something for each other person - no buying things together as a couple, for example - this would not be fair to individuals who, having to get seperate gifts for the husband and wife, would end up giving more than they receive.

3. You don't have to use up the whole $20, but it is okay to get two (or more!)less expensive gifts for the same person that total $20.

The results:

1. Each of us gets almost as many gifts as there are days in the holiday! (You could, for example, open one each day, or open them all at a family gathering!).

2. Instead of trying to impress with an expensive gift, we all have to use a little more creativity, and the outcome has been a lot of fun: A music-minus-one (sing-along) CD for the family opera buff, gourmet tea leaves in a pretty container for the tea lover, an equestrian-print scarf for a champion horseback rider, etc. Other clever gifts can include funny coffee mugs, hobby supplies, interesting books, etc. In cases where the $20 are spent on 2 gifts, for example, it might be a book to read and a box of pretty Chanukah candles, a hand-crocheted kippah and a tape of Chanukah songs, etc.

3. With less major Chanukah gifts, it doesn't feel like we're trying to imitate Christmas gift giving. We reserve "big" gifts for birthdays and other more individual celebrations.

Of course, you may want to adapt the rules a bit, depending on such things as the total number of people involved (e.g., if it's a large group, you may want to limit the money more), ages involved (we haven't done this with little children - yet!), etc. You may even want to try a version of this at work or among friends, not just the family. As long as everyone agrees to participate and understands the guidelines (otherwise there could be confusion, hurt feelings, etc.), it can be a lot of fun!

Happy Chanukah -
and happy shopping!