Buying Hanukkah Gifts

This year, Hanukkah begins on December 4 and ends on December 12. If you haven't started your holiday shopping, then here are some steps to making Hanukkah shopping a little easier.

Unlike Christmas, Hanukkah extends over eight days, so the gift giving usually spans across the entire eight-day period. You do no have to give a large, expensive gift for each day of Hanukkah. In fact, purchasing eight large gifts for all your children, as well as your nieces, nephews and cousins can be quite overwhelming. Therefore, many parents buy eight smaller gifts like candies, dreidels or clothing accessories. Money is also a great gift idea.

Hanukkah shopping can be stressful. For that reason, it is wise to tackle the task all at once. Set your initial budget. If you want to avoid conflict, make sure the budgets are equal for each child. Then purchase all eight days' worth of gifts for each child during the same shopping session, whether you are shopping online or offline. This may be tiresome, but you will be grateful for doing the extra work once you get home and begin divvying up the offerings.

Keep in mind that you are not obligated to give multiple small gifts. If you want to splurge on some larger gifts for your children, then do so. Numerous Jewish parents give Christmas-style gifts to their children, and instead of practicing eight days of gift giving, they present the gifts either at the beginning or end of the observance period.