Who’s ready for Hanukkah?! You know I am

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Good Times with Jess

It’s that time of year when I drag the 3-foot metal Hanukkah sign out of our attic, along with many other Hanukkah bins.

I actually did it two weeks ago. I’m leaving tomorrow for Austria and I’m back in Boston on the 14th right when everyone will be lighting candles for the first night of Hanukkah.

And while my children seem unconcerned about me missing lighting candles, the concern for presents is real.

They are wrapped and ready in our library/office/gym/recycling catch-all room. They are covered in a large sheet. BB knows they’re there, but I didn’t tell RB because she’s RB.

RB wandered into that room to pick out a book for bedtime. She has plenty of books in her room, but it’s a brilliant excuse to go back downstairs.

She wound her way around the odd covered heap and said,

“Is that the wooden car all covered up?”

“I don’t know.” I really don’t know. What the heck is she talking about? Wooden car?

RB struggled to get access to the bookshelf she wanted. She groaned,

“GRRR! This wooden car is in the way! Can we uncover it?”

“No!”

She settled on a book and marched out. As she passed Captain she complained,

“That wooden car is in there all covered up and it’s in the way!”

I swear to you I have ZERO idea what she’s talking about, but obviously she has no idea those are the Hanukkah presents. May they still be unwrapped when I get home.

I have said I have enough Hanukkah tchotchkes, but that feeling only lasts until the next amazing Hanukkah sighting at Home Goods.

Two weeks ago I dropped the girls at Hebrew School, ran some errands and low and behold I found myself in the parking lot, with many other women, waiting for the doors of Home Goods to open at 9:30am.

It was before Thanksgiving, so I wasn’t sure if there would be a Hanukkah display yet, but always worth checking when I’m in the neighborhood.

There was! I went straight for the little, lone, blue table in a sea of red Christmas. And pink Christmas. And turquoise Christmas. Really any color Christmas.

There were two little pink Hanukkah houses. Ah I thought to myself, these are perfect for my traditional Hanukkah village that didn’t exist until last year.

Most of this repurposed Christmas stuff for Hanukkah didn’t exist at all ten years ago. I’m not oblivious to the fact that they’re just taking things and putting menorahs on them instead of Santa, but I’m here for it. Or in Home Goods for it.

As I perused the several pink Hanukkah houses, I felt someone beside me, another mom from Hebrew School!

I was so excited to see her! I have never had competition at the Hanukkah table before.

She sighed and said,

“I don’t decorate for any holidays. I don’t like tchotchkes.”

“You don’t like tchotchkes?” This store is a giant tchotchke.

“No, but my kids are begging for me to decorate.”

“You would die if you saw my house.”

I regard my shopping cart filled with more Hanukkah tchotchkes. Looks perfect.

You’ll be impressed to know that I popped into Home Goods again this week, saw a giant, pink, adorable, stuffed dreidel with legs so short and thin AND I DIDN’T BUY IT.

Also there are now TWO small Hanukkah tables in Home Goods. We’ll see if there’s anything worthwhile left when I get home.

Say a prayer for Tutu, Snowflurry and Menschie. Those are our elves on the shelves and our Mensch on the bench.

I’m not sure who believes what anymore and I have my doubts that they’re going to move when I’m away.

I mentioned this to BB, that they might not move and she looked horrified.

“Why wouldn’t they move?!”

“Oh I don’t know, they might be so busy they forget?”

She shakes her head.

The other day RB told me,

“I believe in reindeer, but I don’t believe in reindeer who fly.”

“I feel the same way.”

We also all still agree that everyone lives in the Land of Make Believe. So either everyone is suspending disbelief to believe in that guy from Israel and two gals from the North Pole, or I have no idea what’s going on.

BB and RB are running around making homes for them, writing them notes and feeding them. As BB reached for a bag of gummies to offer them, I joked,

“You should probably make sure those are kosher if you’re leaving them out for Menschie.”

“Kosher?”

“Does Menschie keep kosher? I don’t even know.”

BB started examining the bag, eyebrows knit in concern. Does she really think he’s real? It’s only last year he arrived after she asked me for him.

So will our magical cast of characters still be alive and well when I return or will they be hungry and stuck in the same corner all week? Only time will tell.

This morning they’re very happy in the Hanukkah village of yesteryear or actually of this week. It’s very new.

A friend from book club has expressed a desire to see my Hanukkah tchotchkes. I’ll be home Dec 14th and anyone is welcome to stop by. Hanukkah shoes optional, but I’ll be wearing mine.

One last thing about that guy from Israel

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Good Times with Jess

I know we’re well into January. The Happy-New-Year email from the school nurse announcing large amounts of norovirus, pneumonia, and strep, didn’t really need to start with “Happy New Year.”

And the last thing you need is another Hanukkah post, but considering Hanukkah made it into January this year, I get a pass.

I meant to include this last week, but my brain no longer functions as a massive rolodex of blog content. The thoughts come and go. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they’re gone forever.

On December 20th our Mensch on the Bench arrived. He landed in the vicinity of our elves. RB noticed him first,

“Look there’s a guy!”

BB came running,

“It’s a mensch on the bench!”

RB asks,

“Can we touch him?”

BB screams,

“NOOO you’ll ruin his magic!”

RB asks,

“Does he go to the North Pole?”

I feel woefully unprepared for a mensch on the bench, but this I’ve got covered thanks to my wonderful yoga buddy. I declare,

“I think he goes to Jerusalem.”

Both girls nod their heads. This makes sense. As much sense as anything can make when three magical dolls are sitting in your kitchen plant.

On Christmas Eve our elves returned to the North Pole, i.e. a nondescript box with all correspondence between them and BB. I stared at Mensch. He stared at me.

How could he abandon us the day before Hanukkah starts? So he stayed. And stayed.

Back at the beginning of December, when BB mentioned she’d like a mensch, and I ordered one, I didn’t think about having committed future Jessica to an additional nine days of finding new, novel locations for magical friends.

A little knot of dread welled up inside of me, but I reassured myself that Hanukkah will never be this late in the year again until who knows when, so I pushed through.

In mid-December, the first thing my kids did in the morning was rush around the house looking for our international friends. By the end of December, I wasn’t even sure I needed to move Mensch. Had they looked for him?

When I mentioned to a friend that Mensch goes back to Jerusalem every night, she asked,

“Is that safe?”

And the good news is it’s getting safer!

Way back in November, I committed to hosting book club January 9th. I told everyone my house may or may not still be decorated for Hanukkah. I didn’t want any pressure to clean up anything.

I ask BB,

“When does Mensch return to Jerusalem for the year?”

“Maybe when the Hanukkah decorations go away?”

I have never cleaned up so promptly. On January 2nd, still within the last official hours of Hanukkah, the decorations began to disappear.

But Mensch was already gone. He made a New Year’s departure. I can’t really be expected to continue this into January.

One late-December morning RB woke up, pounded downstairs and tromped past Mensch in a different kitchen plant. I have a plant problem. RB glanced at him and shouted to me,

“That guy from Israel is still here.”

Happy New Year! I resolve to keep blogging at very irregular intervals. I’d love to promise you more than that. Maybe next year

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Good Times with Jess

I can’t say I recommend pneumonia. It took me out.

It’s hard to say when I went from some virus my small children swiped up from somewhere to never getting better.

I had a cough at the beginning of December. At some point I added congestion. By the week before Christmakkuh I was in bed in the middle of the day.

I took myself to the doctor. In the NP’s visit notes I’m referred to as:

“A pleasant 42-year-old female who presents today for evaluation of cough.”

I’m not sure where they got that idea. I did not feel pleasant.

I had already tested negative for Covid. I then tested negative for the flu and strep. My lungs sounded fine except he said he might’ve heard something. Then I was sent home.

On one of the busiest weeks of the whole year, I cleared my schedule and aside from being up and about for necessities, coughing all over my whole family, I was in bed.

And aside from feeling like I was dying, it was kinda nice to peace out.

The NP sent me home, so I wasn’t in a rush to go back to the doctor. Might’ve been nice if I did.

My inclination is to tough things out and eventually I’ll get better. That didn’t work out for me.

I took two more COVID tests, both negative.

On the second day of Hanukkah, ten days after I had last been at urgent care, I went again. A different NP said my lungs sounded nice and clear. She also said the last guy wrote in his notes,

“If she comes back, get a chest x-ray.”

Wish I’d known that. I might’ve come back sooner and not spent the week in bed.

My nice and clear lungs got x-rayed and were actually both full of fluid and diagnosed with pneumonia.

Between multiple antibiotics and codeine, I felt like a new woman in no time.

It turned out to be one of the best Hanukkahs I’ve ever had. I can’t remember the last time Hanukkah was during school vacation week. It was so relaxing.

Usually Hanukkah is a rush of: school, activities, light candles, eat dinner, open presents, play for a minute, go to bed, repeat.

This year it was eight days of: sleep late, leisurely breakfast, open presents, play, play, play, relax, light candles, eat dinner, never take off Hanukkah jammies.

We left the house plenty of the days, but it did not necessitate taking off our jammies.

If anyone is considering Target’s dollhouse for American Girl dolls, I can confirm it’s massive. Any dollhouse that requires wall anchors to not kill small children, is no small addition to the toy collection.

Back in August I mentioned the house to Captain. I told him the dimensions. He said,

“WHAT?! NO WAY!”

Somewhere between then and now I won him over, as evidenced by the missing corner of our living room, where there is now a three story mansion my children can fit inside.

There were many shared gifts this year. One gift, two girls. That’s just how it’s going to be and a week of screaming be damned.

The girls vacillate between playing together for hours like a dream, to being out for blood.

The house was in the middle of both scenarios.

During one ferocious battle of who puts what where in the dollhouse, RB said,

“Maybe we need two houses.”

At which point I kicked both kids out of the living room. Dollhouse all to myself.

If anyone has reservations about a 5-year old lighting her own candles, we do too

And if anyone’s wondering what happens when you take post-pneumonia lungs to 9,000 feet above sea level in Quito, Ecuador, I will let you know next month!

Hanukkah Hustle, ’tis the season

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Good Times with Jess

Anyone else concerned about the container ships stranded at sea?

I’m not sure what all is on them, but to be on the safe side I panic bought all of BB and RB’s Hanukkah and Christmas presents three weeks ago.

Hanukkah IS early this year, so that’s not too crazy. It still feels a little crazy, especially considering BB’s favorite color is in flux and how long can RB be obsessed with Baby Shark? Don’t answer that. Through December would be enough.

I thought I had a decent mental tally of what I had gotten each of them and it felt equivalent in my head. I put it all out the other day. Not even close.

I remove a third of BB’s presents to return to Target along with a pair of pleather leggings that didn’t fit. Those were for me.

The Easter Bunny made this same mistake, except she didn’t realize it until she put the baskets out and even then she thought it was close enough. The first words out of BB’s mouth were,

“Why did the Easter Bunny give me more than RB?”

Second thing out of her mouth was,

“Why did the Easter Bunny give us so many bathing suits?”

Maybe the Easter Bunny knew BB was going to spend the summer at the beach and couldn’t help herself.

And I will not make this mistake again. For the first time, I’m embracing duplicate gifts. Not everything can be the same. RB’s put-things-in-her-mouth phase is lingering. She still eats crayons.

This is partially my fault because I only let her color when she’s strapped in her highchair.

Which is her fault, since she’s proven that given a crayon and free range, she will color on any and all surfaces.

What about their different interests you say? Screw that. Their number one interest is having whatever the other one has.

And even so, I’m sure there’s going to be fighting. I already removed several large toys from the living room after any attempts at sharing turned into full-on screaming,

“MINE! MINE! MINE!”

I’m about to donate everything. Let them fight over the sticks in the yard. Plenty of those. And they BOTH put those in their mouths. BB tells me,

“I’m in a phase.”

“Oh yeah?”

“A puppy phase.”

“I see that.”

“Is that what phase means?”

Yup. I guess it does.

Home Goods has proven time and again that it surpasses any other store for the most random, Hanukkah tchotchkes.

And as I continue to complain about having too much stuff, I set off on one of several annual, Hanukkah, tchotchke expeditions.

Home Goods did not disappoint. Giant gelt stuffies. I grab two and head for checkout.

I can count on Home Goods’ cashiers for commentary. She exclaims,

“Oh wow! I’ve never seen these before!”

And before I can say anything, she adds,

“Well I’m not Jewish.”

“Well I am Jewish and I’ve never seen them before either.”

BB and I went out again yesterday. We popped into TJ Maxx. We approach the counter with a coat, jammies and 2 pairs of slippers. The cashier asks,

“Did you find what you came for?”

“No! We came for Hanukkah stuff.”

BB asks,

“Do we have time for the two other stores?”

“If we hustle.”

We roll through Joann Fabrics. Random I know, but they’re good for wrapping paper and I’ve exhausted the internet. Hanukkah overalls from Target are sold out.

BB asks,

“Are we going to the last store? We really hustled.”

Who knows what else we’d own if the pandemic didn’t hamper my Home Goods outings

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Good Times with Jess

Pandemic Hanukkah was a success or so say my Hanukkah gnomes. Yes, we’ve jumped the shark.

A week ago, with an extra 15 minutes before BB’s school pick up, I pop into Home Goods. My thought was that I was going to grab Hanukkah wrapping paper and get out of there.

I was in a month ago and had already scoured their Hanukkah section. This time I couldn’t find it. I ask an employee,

“Is there still a Hanukkah section?”

She points behind me to a shelf surrounded by Christmas gnomes. I wander over. HANUKKAH GNOMES! WHAT?! I didn’t even know they existed and I don’t even have a shopping cart. I hold a couple in my arms and contemplate the check out line.

I don’t think I’m going to make it. I need to go get BB and these gnomes are ridiculous, unnecessary and the very definition of an impulse purchase. I put them down. I say goodbye to them. I linger. I stroke one of their beards.

I pick BB up from school. The beauty of school is that she always comes home ready to play independently. Off she goes. I put RB down for her afternoon nap.

Now I’m in a panic. I NEED those gnomes. What if someone bought them already? I throw on my coat about to rush out the door. BB exclaims,

“Where are you going? Please take me!”

A symptom of this pandemic is that she’s desperate to get out of the house for any reason. I sigh. Unprompted she says,

“I won’t ask for anything. I won’t touch anything. I’ll do what you say. I’ll stay right with you. I’ll wear my mask. I won’t talk.”

That last one sounds like a stretch, but I hear her desperation. I take her along.

We select several gnomes, a couple Hanukkah throws, a sign and some hand towels. So much for just the gnomes.

BB and I arrange them on the newly wrapped plywood air-conditioner cover. Looks meant to be.

BB runs to Captain excited to show him. The gnomes still have their tags on, as if I’d return them.

Captain studies the display. Half resigned, half smiling, because who can’t resist those adorable nose beard faces? He says,

“We’re in uncharted territory now.”