{"id":5713,"date":"2014-12-17T09:14:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T14:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/?p=5713"},"modified":"2014-12-17T11:14:36","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T16:14:36","slug":"celebrating-eight-hanukkah-nights-kinder-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/celebrating-eight-hanukkah-nights-kinder-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Eight Hanukkah Nights with Kinder Surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"
Those of you familiar with my crazy holiday adventures know that I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas or Christmukah as we call it in my home. We feel that it’s the best of both worlds. I’m Jewish and my husband isn’t, so we don’t want our kids to miss out on the fun or to not celebrate our beloved holidays with our extended families. \u00a0While the focus is on Hanukkah, we have Christmas dinner and exchange gifts but there is no tree. Trust me when I tell you, our kids are not confused. \u00a0In fact, they know very well that they are about to receive twice as many gifts as their friends.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n The thing is,\u00a0living in Canada, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, your kids are going to call you out on it. They’re going to want the tree, the lights, the stockings, the Elf (on the shelf) and a lot of toys. \u00a0It’s up to me, as the parent, to explain to them why we don’t have all of those things but to also make Hanukkah just as exciting. We have the “lights” aspect of the holiday covered by lighting up the candelabra (known as the Chanukia) every night for eight days and while my kids won’t be receiving a toy every night for eight days, they will receive a few gifts over the week.<\/p>\n Since my boys are slightly obsessed with Kinder Surprise eggs (one loves them for the chocolate, the other for the surprise), I’ve decided to start a new tradition. \u00a0For those nights when they won’t be receiving a toy gift, our Mensch on the Bench (the Jewish answer to The Elf on the Shelf), lovingly called Mr. Shamash (the helper candle used to light the candelabra), will surprise them with a Kinder Surprise Egg. He’ll be our Jewish Santa, if there was such a thing. I’ll even be giving them a Kinder Hollow Santa and a Kinder Surprise Christmas egg. It’s the perfect coming together of the two holidays and a great transition into Christmas.<\/p>\n