Hanukkah Gifts

As newlyweds, or perhaps even before, we established a gift protocol along the lines of my in-laws family.  Parents, grandparents, and siblings would get one not too expensive gift from each other.  Spouses and children would arrange for one small gift each day.  Over time, we have become the senior generation.  Once we had kids, our siblings fell off the gift list.  Now we have our first new addition in a while, a fiancee, leaving me with 20 trinkets to acquire this year, eight for my wife and four each per child while my wife assumes a similar number.

Geographic realities made us experienced at shipping them on time.  Inflation, though, has only taken a minor toll.  We get less for our spending limit but there is no barrier to shopping at Goodwill where discounts override newness.  My son once got a skateboard within budget that way.

Add to that a December and a January birthday, with higher spending limits, and the amount of creativity needed to fulfill expectations can be challenging, though in a gratifying way.  It may be the only time when I must consider the uniqueness of each individual on the list. 

Needed to get away, I ventured out but came home mostly with ideas.  I had purchased two items previously at a crafts display.  If I see something that shouts Hanukkah, any time of the year, I acquire it and store it in a place easy to remember.  By far the most difficult purchase was always for my father who needed nothing, wanted nothing, and kept his interests obscure.  My nuclear family has many interests.  Some like a fondness for spirits maybe need acknowledgement in only the smallest way.  We have cats, we have Jewish, we have, sports teams.  There is always an edible, always one with kosher certifications.  Even when giving gifts to office staff, none of whom were Jewish, I would never give anyone food I would not eat myself, making an exception of a turkey drive for the needy if I qualified for a free bird from the supermarket.   Food in various forms remains readily available though seasonal specialties from gingerbread houses to hot sauces to drink enhancers no longer carry that desired OU.  Since the ladies can never have too many earrings, those work well.  Sized clothing doesn't work as well but it is generally light and unbreakable when shipped.  Eventually mugs and kitchen doodads create clutter.  Cosmetics have a way of accumulating too but are technically consumable.   Glass does not ship well, particularly when filled with liquid.

Give a few other stores a shot tomorrow.  Since the gifts are small, on-line shopping tends not to be cost effective for Hanukkah, probably the way to go for birthdays.