Hanukkah party is a fun way to teach children about the festival of lights. Read on for some exciting ideas for planning Chanukah Party.
Hanukkah Party
Hanukkah, the eight-day religious celebration dearly loved by Jewish families, begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, as per the Hebrew calendar. Families light candles each evening at sundown, while reciting blessings and eat traditional foods and give small gifts. The festival is, sometimes, misunderstood as Jewish Christmas by many. During this festival, Jewish families usually stay together, pray together and dine in each other's company. This year, light the candles, say the blessings, and celebrate the miracle of the holiday with exciting Hanukkah party blending traditions, both old and new. Here are some ideas for planning a memorable Hanukah party at your home.
Chanukah Party Ideas
- The first and foremost thing to do is to choose the perfect color scheme to set the theme for the party. For instance, white, blue and silver will elevate the mood of all the people, since it is the traditional color of Jews.
- Decide all the accessories, such as streamers, balloons, and table cloth, according to the theme. You can also display Hanukkah items like gelt and driedel of the same theme.
- Let the guests assemble and say the blessings together and sing Hanukkah songs. If the invitees are non-Jewish, they can be given the handouts of the prayers and songs to make them feel involved.
- You can also organize a Hanukkah quiz and give gifts to the guests for the right answer.
- The centerpiece of the menu is always potato latkes, fried in oil (symptomatic of the oil found in the temple); served along with applesauce and sour cream. In Israel, Jews feast on sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts).
- If you have organized the party in the middle of the 8 days of Hanukkah, give gifts to children for eight days, depending on your budget.
- Play driedel games in your Hanukkah party. Children simply love to spin this small four-sided top, which has a Hebrew letter on each side. If you'd rather take the gambling element out of this children's game, you could simply award each of them with a piece of gelt or small gift based on the letter they spin.
- You can be creative by inventing new party activities for guests. One such activity can be hiding Hanukkah related items in a room and then asking guests to hunt for them.
- You can also treat the guests with sugar cookies in the shape of driedel, menorahs, or the Star of David. Take liberty to alter the tradition a bit and fill a Hanukkah themed pinata with the gelt. Kids can get involved by frosting the cookies with blue and white icing.
- Hanukkah trees are becoming increasingly popular, as a part of the decoration and are normally adorned in the traditional colors, with a Star of David on top.
