Hanukkah

Hanukkah is only a few weeks away, so I thought I would share our family’s philosophy for celebrating the holiday.  

Hanukkah is all about spending 8 evenings together as a family to celebrate history and tradition and a miracle or two thrown in.

We used to buy Sam a gift for each night, but only something small because we also celebrate Christmas.  We also eat a piece of chocolate gilt and read a Hanukkah book or watch a movie.  A few years ago my sister found this website (http://www.pjvoice.com/v18/18801gifts.aspx ) that listed the top eight Hanukkah gifts and gave a significance behind each night. She adopted this list when giving Sam gifts and we loved the idea so much that we have adopted it since.

For the first night: A gift of Hanukkah - This is usually a book or movie or a Hanukkah related item that we need, like a new menorah.  This year we got him a menorah from Think Geek  http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/b25a/

For the second night: A gift of generosity - We usually make a donation to a charity in Sam’s name. This year we got Sam the Heart and Stroke Calendar lottery http://calendar.pdgmedia.com/

For the third night: A gift of togetherness - This is usually a movie or a game we can all watch or play together. This year we got Sam cards for a game he plays with his father and a Dr Who cartoon that he can watch with me.

For the fourth night: A gift of knowledge - This is usually a book or dictionary.  This year we got him 50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do from Think Geek again http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/3-7-years/d823/

For the fifth night: A gift of labor - This is something that usually helps with his chores around the house, in the past Sam has gotten a laundry basket, a Shark steam mop and a shovel.  This year I am still stumped on what to get him.

For the sixth night: A gift of comfort - We usually get Sam a blanket or a sweatshirt.  This year is a Bazinga Hoodie from you guessed it Think Geek  http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/hoodies/e5a4/

For the seventh night: A gift of choice Every year we get two gift cards and wrap them and Sam has to choose which one he wants and who he wants to give the other one to.

For the eighth night: A gift of being Jewish book -  This is most often a book like the one we just found at amazon, the Jewish Book of Why. http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Book-Why-Compass/dp/0142196193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290021113&sr=8-1

This has become a very special tradition in our house, that I am sure will continue for many years to come.

Wisdom Jar

For Hanukkah last hear my sister gave my son an old mason jar with little pieces of folded paper in it.


Each piece of paper held a saying, or short poem, or an inspirations quote, so every day Sam can reach into the jar and read something of value. Some he has kept because they meant something particular to him but most we throw out.

Every day though we have something to look forward to and reflect upon. We usually discuss the meaning behind a saying or the person who made the quote. This is a simple way for our family to keep communicating with one another.

I thought I would create my own online jar of sorts and share my favourite 365 quotes with you. I am also hoping to compile the list so that I can create wisdom jars as Christmas presents for friends this year. Our family has gained so much enjoyment out of this jar that I know others will as well.

So from now until the week before Christmas, there are 14 weeks, that mean I have to write down 26 quotes a week to have the 365 that I need.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
 

1. You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. - Anonymous
2. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity - Robert J. Hanlon
3. "You can complain because roses have thorns. Or you can rejoice that thorns have roses." - Ziggy
4. If you judge people, you have no time to love them. - Mother Teresa
5. Do or do not, there is no try - Yoda
6. Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it. Irving Berlin
7. A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore -  Yogi Berra
8. Health is the thing that makes you feel that now is the best time of the year. -Franklin Pierce Adams
9. Music is the space between the notes -Claude Debussy
10. Although human subtlety makes a variety of inventions by different means to the same end, it will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple, or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous -Leonardo DaVinci
11. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour. Mary Kay Ash
12. Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains Emilie Cady
13. "Fortune favors the bold."- Juvenal
14. I got a simple rule about everybody. If you don't treat me right -- shame on you! - Louis Armstrong
15. Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. -Confucius
16. There is nothing certain, but the uncertain. - Proverb
17. The future comes one day at a time. - Dean Acheson
18. Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box - Italian Proverb
19. Eighty percent of success is showing up. ~Woody Allen
20. Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power—William James.
21. Being defeated is often temporary, giving up makes it permanent. -Marilyn von Savant
22. Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back - John Mayer
23. All glory comes from daring to begin. - Anonymous
24. A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. - Muhammad Ali
25. Stumbling is not falling. - Proverb
26. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know - Groucho Marx