Celebration

Celebrating the Harlem Globetrotters

On this date, we can celebrate the birth of the Harlem Globetrotters, one of the most amazing basketball teams ever formed. This group of athletes display amazing feats of athleticism mixed with a comedy routine that for anyone who has ever witnessed their games, will tell you is second to none.

The Globetrotters are well-known throughout the basketball world. Despite their ability to entertain, they were initially a very serious competitive team. They would only begin to entertain the audience with their antics, only after they had taken the lead in a basketball game.

The organization started in the Negro American Legion League as the "Giles Post." Then in 1926 they   turned professional as the "Savoy Big Five". That year, promoter Abe Saperstein bought the team and named it the Harlem Globetrotters, after the most famous of all African American neighborhoods in America.

If you want to learn more about the organization and the players, this is the link to the team website.

Celebration of Chanukah (Part 2)

If you missed the first part of our introduction to Chanukah, which officially began on the evening of December 15, then you can quickly find part one through this link.

The Chanukah Menorah

Chanukah is a family feast that lasts eight days. The most important Chanukah tradition is the lighting of the menorah, known in Hebrew as the "hanukiya." A menorah is a candle-stand with nine branches. Eight candles, one for each day of Chanukah, are situated on each side of a taller candle in the middle. The taller candle, the shamash (“servant,”) is used to light the other candles.The menorah is lit after dusk, lighting the first candle on the right, then kindling an additional candle, moving from left to right each evening. As each candle is lit, special blessings are recited. Part of the Chanukah tradition also involves the giving small gifts each night of the festival.

The Dreidel

The Chanukah toy called a dreidel, has become a favorite toy of Jewish children. But throughout history, it used to have a very serious purpose. When the Syrians forbid the study of the Torah, the Jewish holy book, Jews who continued to study in secret, kept spinning tops called "sivivons," or dreidels. That way, if they were caught studying, they could quickly pretend that they had only been playing a game.

Outside of Israel, a dreidel has the Hebrew letters “nun,” “gimel,” “hay,” and “shin” on its four sides. These letters stand for “Nes gadol haya sham,” which means, “A great miracle happened there,” referring to Israel. An Israeli dreidel has the letter “pay” rather than “shin.” This stands for “poh,” meaning “here” .... “a great miracle happened here.”

The Hebrew letters also represent Yiddish words that tell how to play the dreidel game. Each player starts with the same amount of candies, chocolate coins called "gelt," (other tokens can be used,) and puts one token into a pot. Players take turns spinning the dreidel, waiting to see which letter lands face up.

Nun is for “nisht,” meaning, "nothing" ... "do nothing." Gimel is for “gants,” which means, "whole," .... "take the whole pot." Hay is for “halb,” which means, "half," .... "take half." Shin is for “shtel,” meaning, "to put in," .... "add to the pot." The game ends when a single player wins all the tokens.

Chanukah Foods

On of the most well-known of the Chanukah is the "latkes," or potato pancakes, that are cooked in oil. The serving of latkes during Chanukah is a custom that more than likely developed in Eastern Europe.  In Israel, the favorite Chanukah food is "sufganiya," a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil. In fact, many of the traditional foods served during Chanukah are cooked in oil, in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple.

Another Chanukah tradition is the eating of dairy products, especially cheese delicacies. This custom signifies the remembrance of the Jewish heroine Judith, who according to legend, saved her village from Syrian attackers by feeding  wine and cheese to the Syrian general Holofernes. According to the story, when the general became drunk, she killed him, which caused his troops to flee.

To Learn More About the History, Customs and Traditions of Chanukah

Visit what is called the world's largest Chanukah website. This site has games, stories, recipes, Kabbalah Insights, and a lot more of interest. Visit the Chanukah site through this link. 

Planning A Christmas Party (Part 3)

If you are still planning that Christmas party, or holiday party, you have probably made some decisions about just what the overall theme of the party will be. If you still don't have any ideas, take a look at our earlier discussion about themes for your party, Planning A Christmas Party (Part 2) where we offered a few suggestions.

Now all that is left to do in this pre-planning phase, is to come up with some ideas about games or activities for the Christmas party. As we both know, there's nothing worse than gathering a bunch of people together for a party and then finding everyone just sitting around waiting for something to happen! So, if you want to instantly skyrocket your status as a party planner, here are a few suggestions for some Christmas party activities that should get everyone involved in the festivities.

• Almost everyone enjoys Hershey's kisses. Divide your group into two teams and have two bowls of Hershey's kisses at the other end of the room. Give each team one set of oversized mittens or gloves. The first person in line runs to the bowl of kisses, and has to unwrap the kiss while wearing the oversized mittens/gloves and pop the kiss into their mouth. They run back, tag the next person in line, and exchange the mittens/gloves and the next person runs forward to get a chocolate kiss. The winning team is the one in which all members have enjoyed a kiss first.

• This next game is great for a smaller group of people who will appreciate a more subdued type of game. It's called, "Packing Santa's Bag." You start it off by saying, "I packed Santa's bag and in it I put pajamas." The next person continues with, "I packed Santa's bag and in it I put pajamas, and argyle socks." Each person continues, each time adding a new item, but also listing the items that were added before. You are out of the game when you miss an item on the list. Have someone in the room sit out this game and be in charge of keeping a list of all the items. That way if the list gets lengthy, you will know if someone misses an item.

• If you're having a Christmas party for adults, why not initiate a game that's fun and one that's   sure to remind your guests of a childhood favorite. Create a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt. Have folks divide into teams, 4 people per team. (Depending on the size of your party, you may want to have smaller or larger teams.) Then make a list of Christmas items they need to return with. This game works well in either a home or office setting and you can get as creative as you want when preparing your list of items to be found.

• If this is a group that's not afraid of looking silly, here's just the game. Provide a pair of pantyhose for each team and a total of 8 balloons. When the game begins, each team should begin blowing up the balloons. The inflated balloons have to be put into the legs of the pantyhose. To make this game fair, the teams should be of equal number and the pantyhose should be the largest size available. The game ends when one team manages to get all their balloons into the legs of the pantyhose, and each member of the team "wears" the antlers and sings a verse of "Jingle Bells". You'll want to have everyone finish the game, however, so you can get some great pictures of everyone in their pantyhose antlers!

• And of course, one of the ways to help add some Christmas spirit to your party is to have the secret Santa gift exchange. A secret Santa gift exchange is a simple process where everyone puts their name on a piece of paper and then all names are put into a bag. Each person draws out a name and will only buy a gift for that individual. A maximum spending limit is usually set so that every one is receiving a gift of about equal value. Then before the Christmas party, all gifts can be anonymously placed into a big bag to be distributed sometime during the party. One fun idea to use when opening the gifts, is to make all of the guests open their presents with oven mitts. This is sure to garner a lot of laughs as people struggle to unravel the tape and wrapping paper.

Whatever activities or games that you decide to incorporate in this year's Christmas party, be creative and enjoy the whole party planning process. People love games, not only because they remind them of childhood, but games help to break down social barriers and gives people a way to get to know other. Even in an office setting, games are appropriate to incorporate into your Christmas party because they can help to encourage people to work together, which can always be a lot of fun.

Feel free to add to the list if you have any other suggestions for Christmas party games.

Some Fun Halloween Party Ideas

Believe it or not, when it comes to the fun you can have at Halloween parties, the ideas are limitless! But over the last several years, Halloween has taken on an air of sophistication while becoming more of an adults-only type of celebration.

How about we return to the fun children had years ago with these basic but fun Halloween party ideas for adults and kids alike. Some of these activities are more suited for older kids but you be the judge of the age-appropriateness of the activities suggested below.

Apple Bobbing – Fill a large tub with water and apples. Let kids take turns bobbing for apples.

Costume Contest – Once all your guests arrive at the party, take a vote on the best and scariest costumes. Add as many categories to your list as you want and hand out a grand prize to the best costume over-all.

Pin the Nose on the Jack ‘O Lantern – This is a spin-off version of the all-time favorite game among children. Make a huge Jack ‘o Lantern, leaving off his nose. Let kids take turns being blindfolded and pin (or tape) the nose on Jack.

Pumpkin Carving Contest – Hold a pumpkin carving contest. See who can carve the funniest or silliest face into a pumpkin.

Pumpkin Painting Contest - Have a pumpkin face-painting contest. See who can paint the scariest face on a pumpkin.

Make a Mask – Give younger kids at your Halloween party construction paper, round-ended scissors, markers and glue. Let them make their own face masks for the party. Punch a hole in both sides of the mask and tie string or tiny elastic on the mask.

Guess How Many Seeds – Place counted pumpkin seeds in a large bowl or jar. Each party guest takes turns guessing how many pumpkin seeds there are. Whoever guesses closest to the correct numbers wins a prize.

Pumpkin Seed Spitting Contest – Cut the top off a large pumpkin and remove the inside meat and seeds. Give each kid five seeds and see how many seeds they can spit into the pumpkin from a distance.

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Have fun!