Hanukkah Party Activities and Party Favors

Here are a few ideas to make your party special for your guests:

Along with the custom of centering conversation around ancient miracles, ask each guest to come prepared to share an inspiring story of their ancestors, or something that has touched them in a special way in the past year. Giving guests the opportunity to prepare will make this a very special activity - encourage them to bring photographs or any other props that would be appropriate to their story. You might even want to record the stories on video tape, or on a tape cassette recorder.

Play the traditional Hanukkah game played with a Dreidel, a spinning top. Purchase these from us and pass them out as favors for your guests to take home.

Instead of a “Cookie Exchange” have a latke exchange! Have everyone make their favorite latke recipe (enough for everyone that will be attending the party), and then share everyone’s favorite recipe!

Involve all your guests in singing all the traditional blessings. For a special treat, invite a Cantor into your home to sing for you. Two favorite Hanukkah songs are “My Dreidel” and “Hanukkah O Hanukkah”.

A Chanukah party is the perfect occasion for all manner of board and card games. Choose your favorites, and then set up several small card tables around a room, so that guests can rotate, and choose their favorites. It would be perfectly appropriate to award prizes and/or favors for the skilled or lucky in your group!

You may want to send your guests home with something small that speaks volumes about what they mean to you and how privileged you feel that they came to your gathering. Here are a couple of suggestions for great favors for your Hanukkah celebration:

There are Hanukkah mini candles that makes for terrific favors. They can also be used as a decoration on your table!

Bubbles are always a great favor and can be personalized just for your intimate celebration!

There’s a huge selection of glassware that can be personalized with your theme. These are always a very popular choice for favors at a holiday party! A personalized candy jar has the same effect only with a sweet twist!

Hanukkah Decorating Tips for a Beautiful Holiday

The traditional colors to use for your Hanukkah celebration are blue, white, and silver. You can use these colors when working with balloons to create a festive atmosphere at an inexpensive price! Another excellent choice for a huge impact at a reasonable price is gossamer which is a lightweight fabric that drapes beautifully! Here are some decorations to create using our blue and silver gossamer:

Creating Gossamer Bows
Use 19″ wide gossamer to make bows from 18″ wide to 24″ wide. Cut a 6′ length of 19″ wide gossamer. Fold it in half the long way to 9 1/2″ wide. Find the center of the gossamer (length). Fold the ends in to the center and overlap slightly. Staple the ends in place. Repeat the process with three more 6′ lengths of gossamer. Line up the lengths one on top of another. Twist the top three lengths slightly at a few degrees of angle to create a wider bow. Staple all the lengths together. Cut a short piece of 19″ wide gossamer, pleat and gather it to about 6″ wide. Wrap it around the center of the lengths, pull it tight and staple it together in the back of the bow.
• The same method can be used to make bows of any size, using 60″ wide or 107″ wide material.
• The gossamer holds its shape beautifully. The bows have the same type of fullness that can only be created with wired ribbon, at a fraction of the cost.

Covering Walls With Gossamer
Any type of wall surface can be covered with gossamer. Gossamer looks best if slightly stretched and pleated. Pleat each gossamer strip to 1/2 its original width. Fasten the gossamer to a wall or run a wire at the top and bottom of the wall. Attach the wires at each end with a screw eye.

Braiding Gossamer
One, two or three colors of gossamer can be braided together to create roping to swag from walls or ceilings. Use 19″ lengths of gossamer and gather them to approximately 2″ wide. Braid the lengths of gossamer using the standard method. Staple the braid at each end to keep the lengths of gossamer in place.
Gossamer Rope
An attractive, illuminated rope can be created by wrapping a strand of clear twinkle lights in a length of pleated gossamer. The pleated gossamer, with lights in the center, should be approximately 5″ in diameter.
• Tie the gossamer into sausage-like sections with curling ribbon pieces. Allow the ends of the knotted curling ribbon pieces to hang down several feet. Give extra curl to the ribbon lengths by pulling them over the open blade of a scissors.
• Hang the gossamer rope in swags from walls or ceilings.

Wrapping With Gossamer
Stretched, pleated gossamer can be effectively used to cover doors and columns, following the steps outlined for covering walls. Add gossamer bows or gossamer rope for easy-to-make accents.
Here are some other ideas that work great to create a wonderfully festive atmosphere for your Hanukkah get-together!
• Incorporate the Star of David into your decorations for a traditional touch. You could create your own out of silver corrugated paper and hang them around the room.
• There are some window decals that will dress up your front windows to greet your guests as they arrive.
• Last, but probably the most important, is the Menorah. You could have one or a collection of them for a beautiful flicker of light! They always make for a great centerpiece as well!

Table Decorations
For this holiday, it is especially important to set a beautiful table. Use your finest table linens and dishes and add some of the following for an extra special touch:
• Scatter Star of David confetti across the entire table.
• Use the Bright Dreidel Ensemble for a fun and festive look.
• Gelt is the chocolate money that comes in small mesh bags and is very popular during the Hanukkah season. Place one of these at each table setting and attach a placecard to it with a ribbon.
• If you choose to not go with the Bright Dreidel Ensemble, but you prefer a very subtle, elegant look, try covering your tables with blue linens and using silver metallic plates for your dinner.

Hanukkah Party Invitation Tips

Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday sometimes referred to as the Festival of Lights, is a wonderful celebration of family, faith, and traditions for the Jewish community. The history of this holiday dates back more than 2,000 years ago when the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and the Jewish people returned to rededicate their Temple. The miracle that is still celebrated today is that the small amount of oil found in the temple burned for eight days instead of only one. It is because of this that the celebration continues for eight days and is known as the Festival of Lights.

Many different types of celebrations are held during these eight days, and we offer some wonderful products that will help you throw a very memorable and significant gathering of friends and family.

For your invitations, there’s a bright and lively pattern called Bright Dreidel that is great for a party that includes guests of all ages.

If you wish to send a more formal, printed invitation, we have many to choose from but we suggest the Imperial Invitation in silver to prepare the guests for an elegant affair this holiday season!