I really believe Adam Sandler got it right in his movie "Eight Crazy Nights". Hanukkah is INSANE. Sure, Christmas is one giant consumer cluster F*, but Hanukkah can be just as bad! We are luck in that we have 2 uncles who send gifts, 2 sets of grandparents, 1 set of parents (us) and 1 godmother. That covers 6 out of 8 nights. We usually have 1 family gift (this year was a Wii) and then something REALLY small (I have a set of pens hanging out, waiting for opening). We try not to go too crazy. 

This year, the "big" gift was either the Wii, or the knock off American Girl Dolls that I got them. Yes, I am too cheap to get the real American Girl Dolls, No I do not feel bad about it! I am a little annoyed that someone would come up with a way to profit off of stories that were to empower girls by putting them back in the state of "oooh how pretty can I look?" But I did give in on the requests for those sorts of dolls.

I have found that the concept of getting a present every night for 8 nights is really tough on the behavior of the girls. But then again, I think the concept of getting a boat load on one day is also tough on kids. Do you find this too?

I prefer to pick out little presents throughout the year and pass them on. I hate trying to figure out a gift for people in December, when my brain is at overload.

My favorite Holiday tradition, which I will do AFTER Christmas, is making cookies. Springerle cookies to be exact. These are little pillow like cookies that have a strong anise flavor. The rolling pin I have to make these is mostly Easter designs, but I still love them at Christmas. These were a staple of my German family side upbringing and I still love them.

Our new holiday tradition is our Hanukkah party. This year we were close to 40 people. We made so many latkes for about 2 hours, but then ran out! Maybe we will do them ahead of time next year! I love having this party…

What are your traditions? What do you love about the insanity?