Hanukkah is here early this year. It's only the beginning of December and while the holiday does not officially start until the 4th, we've already started the Hanukkah festivities. My husband participated in Temple Micah's first ever Iron Chef Latke Cook-Off and was crowned one of the three winners. And while I know I'm biased because he is my husband, his latkes (fried potato pancakes) were pretty darn good with the homemade applesauce and shiitake mushroom filling. He's already excited to enter the contest again next year.

Sunday we ventured over to Rose Medical Center where they had two very large tents set up for a community Hanukkah celebration complete with food, entertainment and dozens of kids' activities to keep even the feistiest (a.k.a. my children) occupied. And now my children are getting into the holiday spirit as they pull out their instruments and sing an impromptu ditty whose only lyrics are "Happy Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah, Happy, Happy Hanukkah". It reminds me of that old SNL skit when Dana Carvey sings "Chopping Broccoli" over and over, except maybe Dana Carvey doesn't sound quite as tedious.

I made my pilgrimage to Target to purchase Hanukkah gifts for our kids, a tradition I started when our son was old enough to understand the whole gift thing. Now, my husband has officially labeled me a "Jewish Mother" because I've become practical about the gifts. After all, if we're giving a total of eight gifts over the course of eight nights, then the gifts need to be inexpensive and practical. Cruising through the aisles of Target, I seriously contemplate whether to give them new filters for their humidifiers as one of the eight gifts, but then think maybe that idea would be a little too practical and perhaps not very festive. Still. I ended up spending less than $20 on each child for seven of the eight gifts and when all is said and done, the Hanukkah gifts will allow for restocking our low supply of Play Doh and art supplies, and replacing some of our jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces. I did buy some humidifier filters, too, but promise not to give them as gifts.

I've been celebrating Hanukkah for twelve years now since my husband and I first started dating, yet I feel like this is one of the first years where I'm really starting to get it. We exchange gifts, eat our latkes, collect our Hanukkah gelt (chocolate coins covered in silver and gold foil) and sing "I have a little dreidel" with our kids. I've memorized most of the prayer we recite before lighting the candles on the menorah and our kids are starting to memorize it, too. And while Hanukkah is not as significant as other Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur or Passover, it's a way for Jews, especially Jews in America to celebrate their roots and to come together as a community. And shouldn't that be the joy of every holiday? Happy Hanukkah!