My favorite Hanukkah gift are the knitted gloves I got from Stacy Wolff Smart, [chief operating officer at the Jewish Light]. I wear them all the time and think of her whenever I do. They are also super helpful because after I had a heart attack my hands are always cold. Coming in second is the olive oil and pasta [Light Editor-in-Chief ] Ellen Futterman gave me last year. It was super tasty.
– Elaine Wernick, account executive
The only Hanukkah gift I clearly remember from my childhood were “silk” pajamas, which, in reality, were 100% polyester. I learned that the hard way when I decided to see how close I could hover the pajama top over the menorah flames without it catching fire. Spoiler alert: not very close.
In the Futterman household, “big gifts” were reserved for the first and last nights of Hanukkah. The other nights were for “little gifts”—socks, hair thingamajigs and the obligatory chocolate gelt that usually disappeared before the candles did.
As a kid, I probably found those smaller gifts underwhelming. But looking back, they’re the ones that stuck. My mom made them special—colorful barrettes she knew I’d love, socks with goofy patterns, things that said, I see you. Now, all these years later, I can’t recall what the big gifts were—but I can still feel the warmth of those small ones. Turns out, the best gifts really did come in small packages — preferably not flammable ones.
–Ellen Futterman, editor-in-chief
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My most memorable Hanukkah gift was my very first Cabbage Patch Doll. If you grew up in the early ’80s, I am sure that you remember the craze of parents lining up outside toy stores. Back then, I just loved that doll. Now, as a parent myself, I appreciate my parents’ dedication to snagging one during the holiday shopping rush.
– Stacey Wolff Smart, chief operating officer
The best Hanukkah gift I ever got was the original Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle and Scramble Van. I can still see myself in my grandparents’ house, setting Evel loose down the hallway and over the stairs until he crashed into the kitchen. It was pure joy.
Evel was huge back in 1975 or ’76, and I was about 7 or 8, totally captivated by him. My favorite gifts were always the awesome toys. They were part of a golden age of play. I still have most of my trucks and Playskool toys, worn smooth from use. These days, my gifts lean toward practicality — though I’d make an exception for a cocktail Keurig. Yes, they exist. And yes, I want one.
– Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content Officer
When my kids were little rather than give them a gift each night of Hanukkah, I reserved one night for an activity they would do together or with someone else in the community. One year when my kids were 3, 5 and 7, they worked together to make a drip mat that could go underneath my menorah and catch the wax. Initially they complained but all these years later — now they are 31, 29 and 27 — they still remember making the mat and I still use it.
– Lori Sheinbein, development associate
My favorite Hanukkah gift was my dachshund, Gunner — or as we liked to call him, Funny Gunny or Smushy Tushy. We had just lost our first doxie, Gretchen, and were heartbroken. I’d been trying to find a new puppy for the family, but nothing felt right, and breeders were just too expensive. My mom knew how much the kids and I were hurting, so on the first night of Hanukkah, she showed up with a tiny reddish dachshund puppy. We fell in love instantly, and he became my very best friend.
– Angie Rosenberg, Senior Account executive
I was about 8 or 9 years old, and my parents gave me a solid brass menorah for Hanukkah. The previous year, I got an HO gauge Lionel train set. The train is long gone, but I still have the menorah 65 years later. The truth is, it’s not particularly attractive and I doubt it has any collectible value. For some reason, the design evokes a seagoing vessel, with Yisrael emblazoned on the sail. I still light the candles on it every year.
-Bill Motchan, Contributing Writer
When I was 11, my parents gave my sister and I a shoebox on the last night of Hanukkah. We were bummed. How could my sister and I share one set of shoes?
For two minutes we had a tantrum until we opened the box. Inside were tickets to Disney World. My brain exploded. I had never thought the gift would be inside something else or that my parents might dupe me to get the biggest wow factor.
The trip was incredible — we still talk about it to this day. From then on, I started shaking every package at Hanukkah.
-Avi Holzman, Contributing Writer
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