We asked two of the Macks Jewish Connection Network’s multi-faith Community Connectors to share how they incorporate both holidays into their own family traditions:

Sam Kahan Strakes, Connector in the Finksburg/Reisterstown area, has two young daughters and celebrates both holidays with her husband, who is not Jewish:

We celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas and our family traditions are continually evolving each year! We love wearing matching pajamas for both holidays. For Chanukah, we get together with my family, celebrating each night and wearing cousins pjs. We celebrate Christmas with my husband’s family, where we decorate a tree and see Christmas lights. We enjoy reading both Chanukah and Christmas books, as well the few multi-faith books that exist. One of our favorites is Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus.

Jennifer Wolff is the non-Jewish Connector in the Parkville area. Her husband is Jewish, and they have a young son. Jenn shares how she incorporates both Chanukah and Christmas into her family’s traditions:

We try to ensure that Chanukah and Christmas traditions are celebrated equally. We love celebrating two holidays as a family over an extended period of time. Our traditions include a visit to 34th street in Hampden to admire the houses decorated for both Christmas and Chanukah. We bake Christmas cookies and challah with flavors like cinnamon raisin and “everything but the bagel” seasoning. On Christmas Eve, we order Chinese food and watch a Christmas movie. On Chanukah, we light the menorah and sing blessings. We either go to our families’ homes for a special dinner and gift giving or we stay at home and eat traditional Chanukah meals like latkes, matzoh ball soup, brisket or roasted chicken, rugelach, challah and sufganiyot.

For those of us who would like to be more intentional in making family traditions sparkle during the holiday season, here are four ways that you can encourage your kids to enjoy the joyous traditions:

1.    Share the Light: Invite over non-Jewish friends and neighbors for a festive Chanukah night. Share the Chanukah story, light the menorah together and enjoy latkes and sufganiyot. Inspire others to invite your family to their holiday celebrations too. Encourage everyone to wear festive holiday pajamas. This year, we’re celebrating my son’s birthday during Chanukah with a themed party, featuring cake, menorah lighting and a competitive dreidel game with neighbors.

2.    The More the Merrier: If your child goes to a secular school, encourage them to infuse Jewish traditions into their school’s holiday party. They could take part in organizing activities like dreidel games or latke tastings. When attending a friend or relative’s holiday gathering, ask if you could contribute a Jewish tradition. For example, I like incorporating songs, dreidel games, and latkes at my aunt-in-law’s Christmas celebration when Chanukah aligns with Christmas.

3.    Make Cookies with Sprinkles and Share Them: The PJ Library book Hanukkah Cookies with Sprinkles by David A Adler embraces the tradition of baking cookies during the holiday season. Who doesn’t love sprinkled sugar cookies? Make them Chanukah themed cookies by using menorah, dreidel or Star of David cutouts and add blue and white sprinkles. Share them with neighbors and friends.

4.    Give to Those in Need: Consider adding themes of tzedakah, charity, into your holiday celebration. Sort through your family’s toys and donate ones that are outgrown. Or, consider buying new toys to donate to community gift drive for families in need. In doing this act of tzedakah, you could also dedicate one or two nights of Chanukah to helping others share in the joy of gift receiving.

Whether you exclusively celebrate Chanukah or blend holiday traditions, it’s nice to find ways to engage with your children during the holidays that feel both joyful and inclusive.