Handling the InterFaith Holidays

If you are in a blended family, your own children may not want to visit the parents of their new step-mother or step-father for Christmas or Hanukkah, especially if this is not a holiday they have celebrated. If that is the case, it is probably not a good idea to force them.

Hanukkah safety tips

Place the Hanukkah menorah out of the reach of small children and curious pets.
The flames from lighted candles and oils can not only burn tots and pets, but can create a fire hazard threatening the safety of other members in the household. If you place a lighted menorah near a window, pull back draperies and remove other flammable objects.

Candle dripping

Hanukkah candles drip less when stored in the freezer.

Chanukkah Menu

A typical Chanukah menu sounds as though it were planned by the under-twelve crowd: potato pancakes, sweet cream cheese rugelach, strawberry-jam-filled doughnuts covered in powdered sugar, fried apple fritters, cheese-filled doughnuts fried in oil and dipped in honey, and cheese blintzes.

Hanukkah activities

Hanukkah comes with a long list of its own activities, and you can also develop your own. You can lead your toddlers through renditions of the dreidel song and have toddlers practice spinning the dreidel.

Make a Gelt Bank

Help reinforce giving- Put a slit in a can and decorate. Each day put gelt into the can at the end of Hannukkah donate money to charity.

Tea Light Menorah

Use LED tea lights to create a tot-safe menorah just in time for the Festival of Lights.

Electricity and kids

Do not leave children unsupervised around any kind of electrical lighting or open flame.

Holiday Hazards

Take an inventory of potential hazards you have in your home after decorating and pay special attention to electrical decorations. Christmas lights hung or strung across a wall or window are no exception. These may be low enough for a small child to grab before you can notice.

Holiday Spending Money for kids

Give your kids their own budget. Spending their own money on small, thoughtful gifts helps children to understand buying.

Swapping out DVD’s for the holidays

The holidays are a great time to introduce new DVD’s and CD’s to your toddlers. Yes, Elmo has a decent Christmas DVD. It’s a nice change to the other two Elmo movies they watch every day.

Hanukkah Safety Tip

Make sure to keep your Hanukkah menorah on a high surface, and not too close to the edge of a table. Never leave a child alone in a room with lit candles.

Hanukkah Tip

Frying latkes on the stove? Turn pan handles in, and don’t let your toddler get too close — hot oil can spatter.

The Hanukah Tradition

Traditionally the Hanukkiah (menorah for Hanukkah) was lit with oil, not candles, and the tradition of eating fried foods like latkes and sufganiyot comes from this celebration of oil. Lead your toddlers into their study of Hanukkah by talking about these familiar foods and the symbol of the Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Safety Tip

Don’t leave dreidles where children under age three can find them and choke on them. And make sure that any “gelt” you offer is safe for your children to eat.

Chocolate Gelt Hunt

Enjoy a Hanukkah game-Chocolate Gelt Hunt. Count & hide gelt (chocolate coins). If multiple children play, put color stickers on wrappers source