Thursday Three

Not perhaps the most appropriate to my faith (see below), but I will alter to suit my own holiday needs.

1. The ol’ Tannenbaum--fake or real? When does it go up? And when does it come down?

No Tannenbaum for us. I do use an olive oil Menorah as opposed to wax candles. The oil is considered the best way of commemorating the Menorah of the Temple, though the wax is legal as long as it lasts enough time.

On a related note, one of the funniest holiday cards I've ever seen had a guy on the front pulling a tree, with the words "Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum..." [open card] "put down that tree, you're Jewish."

2. Shopping--fake or real? Oh, wait, that’s the last question. Here we are--do you wait until the last minute or plan ahead? Do you give gift cards?

I wait until the wife has planned ahead. Older child is old enough to go through catalogs picking everything she sees. Wife cleverly found other, equally attractive gifts for this year's Chanukah, and Grandma & Grandpa provided multiple gifts.

3. And finally, where do you carry out your celebrating, of whatever sort it might be? At your house, at a relative’s house in the area, or out of town?

Chanukah being a bit more spread out, there's more options. The day to day candle lighting happens at home, of course. This year we had a Chanukah party at my brother's house, and he invited my cousins. Who brought all twenty or so of their kids with them. So it was a little noisy & crowded, but it was nice to see them all. Other people I know have set parties every year on the Sunday that falls out during Chanukah, but we're not that regular.