Chanukah Gift Mini-Preview
Ideas for a Thoughtful Chanukah
How is it that no one consulted us when they decided to schedule Chanukah so early this year? With our November issue being released on Nov. 16 and our December issue scheduled for Dec. 14, there’s no place for Chanukah coverage. Therefore, we present this very early, somewhat out-of-the-mainstream Chanukah gift preview.
Chanukah By Design Ever thought of decorating your child’s room for Chanukah? Not only is it a great opportunity to spend time with your child, but it also increases the value and improves the appearance of your home, and it’s a gift that will last for years to come. Engaging your child in a decorating project provides a multitude of teachable moments, and involving your child in a project that touches on areas such as economics, art and design, organization, and compromise can be a great learning experience. One simple and relatively inexpensive home-decorating project to consider is a paint-by-numbers wall mural. “Elephant on the Wall,” a company started by Patti Newton, a former designer for Disney Imagineering, provides materials and directions for a goof-proof wall mural. Choose from a diverse selection of themes that will appeal to children with all sorts of interests. http://www.Elephantsonthewall.com.
The gift of giving feels so good Planning on giving your daughter (or son) a doll for Chanukah? While you’re at it, give her the thrill of sending a doll to a child living in a refugee camp. Visit The Hunger Site’s Greater Good online store for a good selection of children’s fair trade gifts. For $20, you can send fair trade dolls to two children living on the Indo-Burma and Thai-Burma border while also supporting local artisans who make the dolls. http://www.thehungersite. greatergood.com/store.
Divine and One of a kind How about a handmade one-of-a-kind gift for an elegant grown-up on your list? Over the past several years, Kendra Hebel has been exploring different applications for dye techniques, such as marbling and arashi shibori, a traditional Japanese technique. Hebel’s scarves will be on sale at Maryland Institute College of Art’s holiday gift market Dec. 5-8. http://www.mica.edu.
Support The Arts For the trend setter in the family, bag the department stores. Instead, try one-on-a kind handbags in recycled leather, fabric and accessories designed, sewn and finished by Ulric Joseph from CHILLIBIBBI, a wearable art company he founded. On sale at MICA’s holiday gift market Dec. 5-8 mica.edu.
Book Your Child in the pj library If you have children from 6 months to 6 1⁄2 years old and haven’t taken advantage of the PJ Library, enroll your child in this free program. The program, created to engage Jewish families by sending Jewish-themed books and music to their homes on a monthly basis, is the perfect Chanukah gift! To learn more, visit cjebaltimore.org.
New pet, anyone? Want to give a gift that will teach your child about tikkun olam but won’t leave him empty-handed at Chanukah time? Consider “adopting” an animal from an endangered species from the National Wildlife Federation. Your child will receive a certificate of adoption, a stuffed toy, a screen saver and, depending upon the amount of your donation, a blanket or backpack. nwf.org. Or keep it local by adopting an animal from the Maryland Zoo. For $67 your child will receive an adoption certificate, a photo of their adopted animal, a fun facts sheet, a plush toy and two tickets to the annual Adopter’s Recognition Day (held each spring). http://www.marylandzoo.org/support-the-zoo/adopt-an-animal/.
