Traditional toys are getting a Jewish twist for Chanukah this year. Those ubiquitous beanbag collectibles are now sporting kippot.
“They look like a snowman with a yarmulke,” says Jerry Derblich, co-owner of Afikomen in Berkeley, where they sell for $5.50. A co-worker thinks they’re more like “an Orthodox Pillsbury doughboy.”
“They’re taking traditional items and turning them Jewish,” says Derblich.
Take the popular game, hacky sack. You can work off those latkes playing Chanukah hacky sack with a blue-and- white hacky sack that says, “Happy Chanukah” ($1.45, Kingsport.)
In addition to their Chanukah video, the ever-popular Rugrats appear on colorful stickers that feature them playing dreidel and listening to a Chanukah story ($1.25, Nickelodeon).
For kids growing up in California, where a party just isn’t a party without a Mexican piñata, there’s one in the shape of a dreidel ($13.25, Junique).
With a musical plastic mat, children can play Chanukah songs by pushing numbers in the right order. Melodies include those old favorites, “Chanukah Oh Chanukah” and “The Dreidel Song.” The blue-and-yellow mat is dressed up with Chanukah graphics ($27.99).
“They took a basic toy that’s just an American toy and threw in a dreidel and menorah,” says Viviane Clausen, manager of Mazel Tov Books and Gifts in San Francisco.
“I’m seeing a trend towards more attractive toys for the Jewish kids,” she adds.
Says Alain Jachiet, an employee at Mazel Tov, “They take very secular, mainstream themes and convert it to Jewish themes. I think it’s really cool. You can like soccer and still keep your identity.”
Ina Brown, an African-American Christian, bought Jewish Picture Bingo for her grandchildren so they could learn about Judaism ($9.25, JET).
“Judaism is the basis for any Christian religion,” she says. “Anything Jewish, I’m trying to give to my grandchildren.”
For older kids, board games are getting a Jewish spin, too. There’s Torah, Slides & Ladders, which teaches negatives, cautioning against gossip, and mitzvot, such as honoring your parents ($14.98, Jewish Educational Toys).
Puzzles, too, have a Yiddishkeit flavor. Chanukah puzzlegrams ($2.58, JET) show children with a menorah. You can write a message on the back and mail it to a friend. When your friend puts the puzzle together, they can read your message.
Myra Brandwein, 23, bought “My Chanukah Coloring and Activity Book” for her four-year-old nephew because she thought it looked fun ($5.95, Modern Publishing).
Brandwein, who attends San Francisco’s Orthodox Congregation Chevra Thilim, also appreciated the traditional drawings in the coloring book, “Boys wearing yarmulkes, girls in skirts.”
Gumby’s Jewish dreidel-shaped cousin is paying a visit for Chanukah this year ($1.50 Amscam).
Stuffed animals are discovering their Jewish identities, too. There’s Judah MaccaBEE, a stuffed bee with wings, and a Mitzvah Mouse in a T-shirt and white kippah ($15-$20, Israel Giftware).
If your child desires less cuddly toys, you can get them a menorah robot.
That old-time Slinky has reinvented itself in the form of a rainbow Magen David ($3, Alef Judaica).
For the toddler in your house, there’s a wooden dreidel on wheels ($10.00) and the “Dreidel Bath Book,” a tub-proof book by Sol Scharfstein, art by Bill Giacalone ($5.50, KTAV publishing).
To keep everyone’s feet warm during the flu season, you can get Happy Chanukah socks from Mazel Toes ($8.25).
If all those Christmas decorations are getting you down, you can look at them through Jewish holographic glasses. Gemini Kaleidoscopes ($1.70) will superimpose dreidels or Magen Davids on your world.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Chanukah.