From menurkeys to sweet potato latkes, there are many creative ways to celebrate this year’s rare overlap of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving. In an effort to move beyond kitsch, here are eight suggestions (sorry, I couldn’t resist) for blending Thanksgiving gratitude with the Hanukkah tradition of giving. This Thanksgivukkah can be a launch pad for learning, giving and values-based family activities.
1) During Thanksgiving dinner, take a “gratitude break.” Ask everyone to take a moment to think about the best gift they have ever received. (Was it a tangible gift? Was it an experience? Who gave it to you? What made it so special? Was a key lesson learned?) Then, ask for recollections of the best gift they’ve ever given. (To whom? Why did you give it?) Go around the table and share. You may learn that your daughter’s favorite gift was that quiet morning you spent snuggling together on the couch, and not the iPod Touch you got her last Hanukkah.
2) Make the tzedakah box the centerpiece on the table, and invite guests to give — a quarter, a dollar, or more — to a collective tzedakah pool. Over dessert, ask each guest to suggest an organization or cause to support and give a 60-second pitch explaining why it’s important. Then, talk about the issues raised, hold a straw vote, and decide which organization or organizations to support. Don’t focus on the amount of money (although you may be surprised at how generous people are). It’s about the discussion and the feeling of giving together as a family. Thanks to my own family for creating this Thanksgiving tradition.
3) Dedicate each night of Hanukkah to an organization that inspires you. After you light candles, share a bit about the organization’s work with your family. Visit the website together, read a brochure, describe an experience you had, then make a donation to support their efforts.
4) If your family tradition is to give your children gifts each night, set aside one night as a night to “give to others.” Go to a toy store together and pick out a toy to donate to a local drive. You can present your children with pre-loaded giving cards, such as the ones DonorsChoose.org and Jchoice.org offer, and let them decide which project they want to support. Another approach is to find an age-appropriate, meaningful volunteer opportunity to allow them to give their time and energy as well: DoSomething and VolunteenNation have great resources.
5) Pull out the crayons, stickers, scissors, and glue to make your own tzedakah boxes. For the artistically challenged, kits are available online. As you decorate, talk about tzedakah, what it means to give Jewishly and why it’s important. Drop the first coins in together as an opportunity to recite the Shehechiyanu blessing.
6) Another gift idea: Books! Read about giving, tzedakah and philanthropy. Check out tzedakah-related books from PJ Library.
7) Watch a movie with a philanthropic message, like “Pay it Forward” or “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and talk about its key messages.
8) Unlike Thanksgivukkah, giving should occur more than once in a blue moon. Use the holiday as a chance to make a long-term commitment by setting out a course for ongoing giving. Open up a donor-advised fund for your child through your local Jewish federation or community foundation. Encourage your teen to join a teen foundation board at your synagogue, JCC, federation, or summer camp. Establish a giving tradition that works for your family. (You could put money in the tzedakah box every week, or give a portion of an allowance to tzedakah, or make an annual gift alongside a family day of volunteering over winter break.)
Although Thanksgiving and Hanukkah won’t meet again in our lifetimes, each holiday on its own is a chance to think about the gifts we give and the gifts we’ve been given. Many of these ideas can be applied beyond the rare Thanksgivukkah occurrence.
Stefanie Zelkind is director of the Jewish Teen Funders Network, a community of teen philanthropy program professionals. This article first appeared on eJewishPhilanthropy.com.