Hanukkah gifts with theme can be enjoyed together

Socks. Board games. Underwear. Movie tickets. Musical toothbrushes? They’re probably not the big presents most kids say they want for Hanukkah.

But with eight nights to celebrate, parents, especially these days, often don’t want to indulge their children with a standout gift each night. And they want the holiday to be about more than a pile of presents.

On Hanukkah theme nights, each child (and lucky adult) gets the same kind of present, like books, pajamas or a video game.

Themed gifts can tame sibling rivalry, and when they are enjoyed together on the evening they’re given, the celebration becomes more meaningful, parents say.

“It helps because if it’s movie night, we know we’re watching movies. If it’s book night, I know we’re snuggling in bed that night reading the book,” says Cindy Edelstein, 44, of Pelham, N.Y., whose daughter is 11. “It takes the present to a whole evening experience.”

Traditionally, Hanukkah gift-giving did not approach the level of present exchanges associated with Christmas. Though widely observed by American Jews, it’s less significant under Jewish law than several other holidays.

Hanukkah, which this year begins next Sunday, commemorates the miracle of a one-day supply of oil burning for eight days at the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple around 164 B.C.

The custom of a Hanukkah gift began hundreds of years ago as gelt, or money. Children were given coins to play dreidel, buy candy and to give as tzedakah, a contribution to those less fortunate, said Rabbi Joel Meyers, a leader of the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents rabbis in the Conservative Jewish movement.

It was in the last century, in this country, that gift-giving evolved into what it is today, as Jews were confronted with the big celebrations for Christmas, Meyers said. Some families these days give a gift only on the first night of Hanukkah, others on all eight.

Simple theme nights can feature gifts of winter staples like warm socks, hats and gloves, and underwear. More elaborate nights may include current kid favorites like American Girl dolls, Hannah Montana toys and the Nintendo Wii with games and accessories.

In Chicago, Lisa Curran has a night devoted to a family gift, like a vacation, and a pajama party, when her children – a 3-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son – will get new PJs, stuffed animals and a DVD to watch together. She also sets aside nights for gifts from relatives.

“It sets an expectation that she’s not getting eight gifts from every single person,” Curran says of her daughter. “She knows she’s not getting toys every night, not six toys every night.”

Mary Salke-Roth, of Irvington, N.Y., keeps up her mother’s tradition of toothbrush night with her 7-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, who loved the musical ones they got last year.

She also does underwear night, book night and music night. And there’s always one big present, which this year for each child will be Heelys, shoes with a detachable wheel.

“We’ve been working on appreciating how much we have,” says Salke-Roth, 44. “It’s important that they know that the things we take for granted every day are valuable and thus are good presents.”