Need ideas | Imamother

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 12:55 am

Hi everyone. This year I have 0 budget for Chanuka presents. I need your ideas for fun activities to do at home with kids 4-14 in lieu of presents. TIA
P.S. if you know of any freebies being offered at any websites, I will appreciate a link!

Kugglegirl

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 1:55 am

One year I set up Chanuka with different "themes" each night & tied the "gifts" to the theme.

Some examples

Family awards night- you can think up fun & funny awards & give each kid a fancy certificate, or inexpensive "medal"-- Some of ours were "Best son" (we had only one son at the time), "Making our home a Makom Chessed" you could give silly ones, like "quietest eater" or "best retelling of dreams about school" --- Ima & Abba give the award with a speech & each kid gives an acceptance speech.

Scrap book night- get some scrap book pages & photos from the year & decorate for a family scrap book

boring necessities night- I remember one year my mother gave us wrapped tooth brushes for *one night of chanuka. I think that was a pretty lean year....

Gelt is fine- small gelt--nickles, quarters. I just got some dollar coins & am planning that for one night. Maybe you can get some coins from a different country ( my SIL collected a bunch of small change from her friends who travel to forigen lands as a gift for the kids & that was very exciting, even though it was not anything worth any real money (AFAIK)

Or chocolate gelt

Give them each a pack of M&M's or pareve lentils to play dreidle with. Have a serious dreidle competion.

Friendship bracelets night- possibly that they make for each other & extended family as gifts.

this one is so easy. I had a 5 yo. doing it by her self. Your 4yo may need more help.
http://dabblesandbabbles.com/tag/boys/

this one not too hard & nice for all
http://www.craftsunleashed.com.....lets/

Other crafts for other nights:
http://imaginationsoup.net/201.....dles/
http://aestheticoutburst.blogs......html
http://pinkandgreenmama.blogsp......html

Cookie baking & decorating-- possibly to take as gifts to someone

A visit to a pet store-- always a cheap thrill for my kids.

Star gazing-- if you can get out to somewhere dark.

Visit to nursing home? Possibly with gifts they have made?

* I want to add, that I am pretty sure that year, the other nights we only got a quarter, or something else really not too exciting & the exciting night was the family Chanuka party, when my grandparents & aunt gave us wrapped gifts. But we were also told not to expect anything & be gracious for what ever we were given. So it is OK to have a year-or many- where things are pretty quiet & unspectacular. & I do know that not every family gives something every night. It happens to be my family's custom, what few customs we have. With respect to everyone else's families & customs.

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 12:28 pm

Thank you Kugel Girl.
It's not our "minhag" to give/get presents every night of Chanuka. Other years I usually got a game everyone can play together or an arts and crafts project form Amazing Savings. This year I am looking for something FREE. I am sure there is something I am not thinking of... something fun to do at home as a family. Yes, we 're going to play dreidal with chocolate coins, but that is a given. I was looking for more ideas. Thank you.

Kugglegirl

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 5:09 pm

Free, inside your house, using no materials what so ever?

Is the assumption to be that you have no markers, crayons, paper, no craft materials what so ever, no baking materials that are not spoken for for basic needs?

& you do not wish to leave the house to attend any communal Chanukah activities which may be free, such as menorah lighting, or shul activities?

Are these the parameters for activities you are trying to think of?

I guess you can play 20 questions or Red Light- Green Light.

You can go on FreeCycle & see if anyone is giving away bags of craft materials, or children's toys or something.

You can dumpster dive & see what you can find, or be on the look out for things the night before garbage day. (I have done both of these when in need, and even now when not so needy, I am always looking. No shame in that.)

mummiedearest

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 5:30 pm

custom coupons:

the right to choose dinner for the family three times.

an hour alone with mommy/daddy to play the game(s) of your choice.

take a day off from school.

stay up a half hour late one night of your choice

a sleepover with three friends

etc.

Kugglegirl

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 6:12 pm

Call some of your other mom friends & arrange a game swap or toy swap so you will have some new & different things to play with/ games to do.

You can do it with the kids or just w. the moms before Chanuka so you are all ready.

zaq

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 7:12 pm

Make recycled paper one night, then use your homemade paper next night for cards or little scrapbooks or whatever. Collect all kinds of used paper. Tissue paper that is used to wrap and cushion things in boxes is ideal, as is crepe paper, the paper that wraps individual toilet paper rolls, and so on. Thick, rugged paper like brown kraft grocery bags is not so good for this. you want paper that will fall apart.

Shred the paper into small pieces and add enough water to make a "soup". If you can do this in a blender, that's best. If you have food coloring, feel free to add some. After it's all nice and slurried, throw in odds and ends of "inclusions:--bits of colored thread, tiny leaves, flower seeds, glitter, seed beads, sequins, whatever you have around--if you like. Put the whole mess in a container like a dish basin.

Now take a small window screen, immerse in the slurry, and lift it out so that the water drains through, leaving an even layer of paper pulp on the screen. Gently press the screen to squeeze out as much water as you can, then dab with an old towel to extract still more water. use a butter knife, palette knife, putty knife or plastic card to gently lift the edge of the sheet of paper, then carefully remove the whole sheet and put in a good place to dry. Repeat till all the pulp is used up.

Once the paper is dry, you can use it to make Chanuka cards or a handcrafted blank book (punch holes in the individual sheets and tie together with bits of colored string or ribbon or what have you.

If you don't have a small window screen, you could stretch an old pair of nylons or a piece of fine nylon net in an embroidery hoop and use that.

You could collect large pieces of cardboard, draw a picture on one side, cut it up in random shapes to make a puzzle. If every family member makes one, you could exchange puzzles and have a contest to see who can put the puzzle together fastest.

Have a Family Olympics. Set up a board across two stools for "gymnastics"--kid have to walk the length of the "balance beam" without falling off. Then put an old curtain rod or broomstick across the backs of two higher chairs as a limbo stick. and so on.

You know, there are shmillions of websites teeming with ideas for family fun--you'd be better off checking them out insead of getting dribs and drabs from imamother.

bubbebia

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 11:57 pm

We did give something every night, but it was usually something like socks, new toothbrush, etc. There might be a gift certificate to choose the Shabbos menu or something along those lines. Maybe their own batch of cookies, a bag of chocolate Chanukah gelt. Make your own "clusters" with craisins, nuts, chow mein noodles, and melted chocolate chips and give each kid a little bag of chocolates. Be creative!

amother

Mon, Nov 18 2013, 11:17 pm

thank you everyone, good ideas! I like the coupons idea and will try to look for websites. Keep it coming please.