The following is a guest post by Jewish matchmaker Joy Veh.
Shalom Gefiltes! Hanukkah will be here soon, and I wanted to give you some of my favorite tips for getting the most out of the Festival of Lights!
1. Christmas Carols – They are everywhere! A Jew cannot escape the fa-la-la’s, if even if she was hard of hearing. I recommend changing the lyrics so that each song is about Judaism. It’s the only way to stay sane this time of year. For example, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Cantor…” or “Deck the Halls with Barbara Streisand.”
2. Do Something Good – I like to volunteer on Christmas Day. I mean, what else am I supposed to do, eat Chinese food and go to the movies? Last year I volunteered at my Aunt Trude’s house to taste the latkes. This year I was thinking of volunteering at Target or the airport, but only if I can get the free parking!
3. Dreidel – Calling all lushes and college students! Can’t think of a creative way to teach the goyim in your lives about our holiday traditions? What about strip-dreidel or drinking-dreidel? Don’t tell my friend Ethel, but — believe it or not — I have enjoyed a few rounds of those games myself. We also used to play Spin The Shamesh. The possibilities are endless!
4. Latkes – If you can get to McDonald’s before 10:30 am, they sell latkes. I usually stock-up before my annual Hanukkah party. However, be sure to call them “hash browns” when you pull up to the drive-through window.
5. Hanukkah Party – I am a firm believer of celebrating Hanukkah on all eight nights. That’s why that I like to have eight different parties, with a new theme each night. Some of my most popular parties in the past were: “Hanukkah in Harlem,” “Hanukkaraoke,” and “LOL Lights: A texting Hanukkah.”
6. Mega Menorah- Christmas trees seem to get all of the glory during this time of year, but menorahs also have lots of lights. Go to the Home Depot and build the biggest menorah possible in front of your house. No menorah is too big! My 100 foot menorah was the envy of everyone in the neighborhood last year.
7. Make your Brisket in Advance- When the weather turns colder, nothing tastes better than homemade Hanukkah brisket. A slow cooker will do wonders for you with this. I made my brisket for this year’s Hanukkah in July. It will be even better in December.
8. Holiday Entertainment- The Christians have The Christmas Carol and we have Joy Veh: All I Want for Christmas is Jew! This wonderful and highly professional show will be at the Bryant Lake Bowl on Nov 29, 30 and Dec 13th. Click here to buy tickets and have the Hanukkah time of your life!
Joy Veh (a Long Island native) is an international woman of love! She was last seen at Puerto Vallarta’s Palm Cabaret, Bryant Lake Bowl, and the Uptown VFW. Her mission in life is to set up every single guy and gal in the world. Learn more about Joy at Facebook.com/joyveh
