Kitschy and Tacky Hanukkah Gifts

Somehow throughout the course of writing (well, technically typing) all of these blog posts, I managed to survive without a pair of $50 "Shalom Y'all" socks from Neiman Marcus with Jewish stars emblazoned on them. That was not a typo! $50 socks! My grandmother, who is of sound mind at 93 (keinahora!), presented me with these tacky looking socks to wear at our annual family Hanukkah party.

The look on my face must have conveyed to her what I was thinking at the moment of said gift presentation, which was something to the effect of, "I wouldn't wear these socks if I were stuck in the freezing tundra and all my toes had frostbite; not to mention I can buy 20 pairs of socks at Costco for 50 bucks!"

She gave me the receipt from Neiman Marcus listing the purchase of the Arthur George by Robert Kardashian holiday star socks and told me I should feel free to exchange them if I wished. At that moment, I was thinking I couldn't get myself to the mall fast enough... but not before I blogged about these corny socks. And by the way, wasn't Robert Kardashian one of OJ Simpson's attorneys and I thought he died several years ago. That last part about Robert Kardashian I must have said aloud, because my grandmother (who incidentally stays quite current on pop culture) then began to explain that the socks were from designer Rob Karshashian, who is the son of OJ's deceased lawyer and the sister of the Kardashian sisters of reality TV fame. My head was already spinning by the time she mentioned something about the former Olympic star Bruce Jenner and Kanye West. Thanks Grandma!

Top Purim Videos for 2014

Purim is here! In preparing for my annual rundown of the top videos for Purim this year a few thoughts emerged: First, nothing really impressed me this year. Second, there wasn't a lot of creativity (did a memo go out limiting people to only use Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" and "Let It Go" -- the theme from the movie Frozen?). Third, where's this year's contribution from the Maccabeats? Maybe they're too busy touring around the world and appearing on TV with Katie Couric?

I'm hopeful that the creative geniuses out there will get working on next year's Purim spoofs and parodies and come up with some fun videos that are more creative than the t-shirt above. It's actually easier for me to choose the best Purim videos when there's more to choose from. While it was slim pickens this year, there are some fun ones below. So Happy Purim... and here are 2014's top Purim videos:

HAPPY Purim (by Pharrell)



The Haman Remembrance - Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan



Megillas Lester Official Trailer



Kinderlach - Purim Chagiga



Miracle - Gad Elbaz and Naftali Kalfa featuring Ari Lesser



"What Does Haman Say" by A.K.A. Pella



Star Wars Lego Movie Purim Trailer



Let it Go Frozen - It's a Purim Song



Michelle Citrin - Shake Your Grogger (A Purim Song)



Bob Dylan Purim Shpiel (Robert Zimmerman)



What Does Purim Say? (What Does the Fox Say?)



Everything Is Purim (from the Lego Movie)

Fun Passover Activities for the Seder and Beyond

Passover, which begins on March 25, is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Each year during the Passover seder, Jewish people attempt to integrate the old traditions of the holiday with innovations. Mostly, these innovations are meant to keep the children (and many of the adults too!) alert and engaged during the seder.

Innovations in the Haggadah are certainly valuable for keeping things fresh at the seder while still sticking to the centuries-old script. However, for young children it can be a frustrating and kvetchy experience as they watch each adult at the table take a turn reading the midrashic commentary of our ancestors' exodus from Egyptian slavery -- no matter how lovely the artwork is in the newly published Haggadah.

Rabbi Vicki Tuckman, on the ReformJudaism.org website, writes that the "most important thing in leading a Passover seder is feeling that you have the freedom (pun intended) to be as creative as possible." These days many families -- especially those with young children -- are scrapping the traditional seder symposium and opting for fun activities that keep everyone participating. Some families I spoke with pitch tents in their living room and tell the Passover story while pretending to be the Israelites camped out in the desert.

In the weeks leading up to Passover, which arrives quite early this year, I had the opportunity to review a few games and activities that I plan to use to keep my kids having fun at the seder this year. Some of them I've been using for years and others I've only discovered this year.