It has been a tradition of mine every year to host a Chanukah party.  Chanukah has always been one of my favorite holidays and it was the only Jewish holiday I remember celebrating faithfully every single year as I was growing up.  The warmth of those glowing lights has stuck with me ever since.

When I moved to Miami, I decided I wanted to host a Chanukah party, but I didn’t want it to be just like every other person or organization’s Chanukah party.  I wanted something informal and fun to celebrate the holiday.  So I decided to do a cookie swap.  In a cookie swap, every person bakes a different type of cookie and brings it. Then everyone swaps, so that while you may have shown up with a plate of chocolate chip cookies, you’re leaving with a plate piled high with a wide variety of cookies! Yum!

The first two years I held my cookie swap, 2008 and 2009, I held it in Miami.  Last year, I wasn’t able to hold one because we were traveling in Jordan and India during Chanukah.  This year, although I haven’t been in Australia long, I decided to hold it here in Sydney.

The party was a stunning success! So many people showed up with cookies, sufganiyot, and even latkes!  Everyone mingled and chatted about different things, their lives, growth in Judaism, and the miracle of Chanukah.  When some close friends showed up with their week-old baby, we celebrated the miracle of life as we celebrated the miracle of the oil.  I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all had a fantastic time!

It was even more special because it was held on the holiday of X-mas.  We were able to celebrate our ability to be Jews and none of us felt even remotely that we were missing out on anything!  If you have kids clamoring to celebrate X-mas because their friends do, maybe you should consider having a fun Chanukah party instead!

Happy Chanukah, everyone!