Anyone else no parties

amother

Burlywood

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 8:39 pm

amother Oak wrote:

I have a sneaky suspicion that all these blowout parties are a result of the insidious infiltration of Christian culture. Chanukah is, in the grand scheme of things, a relatively minor Jewish holiday. It became a major one in the West, and especially in the US, as a result of exposure to the staggering Xmas-related festivities that made Jewish children feel deprived in comparison.

The parties are because its the easiest yom tov to have one.

amother

Papaya

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 8:56 pm

amother OP wrote:

To those asking who needs a party?def not me. But dc do. Even to just tell friends.
To those not understanding this concept,we are probably from different circles.

Do something else for boasting rights. DH took the teens to the shooting range on Chanukah vacation…..

amother

Burntblack

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 9:04 pm

My kids had none either. It did hurt for me to think about it, but their kids will have many iyh. They’ll have lovely cousins and loving grandparents

amother

Salmon

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 9:18 pm

If your family lives nearby why don’t you invite over for a party one night? Your teens can pitch in

amother

Goldenrod

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 9:22 pm

amother Salmon wrote:

If your family lives nearby why don’t you invite over for a party one night? Your teens can pitch in

This.

If you want a party, you can make one. If it doesn’t work for family, let your teens have a sleepover/party with friends.

amother

Burntblack

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 9:25 pm

amother Salmon wrote:

If your family lives nearby why don’t you invite over for a party one night? Your teens can pitch in

May you always be this blissfully naive. Not everyone has normal family. Not every family that lives nearby has a safe father/uncle to your kids…
Not every sibling talks to each other… just some examples

amother

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 11:19 pm

amother Burntblack wrote:

EXACTLY!

amother

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 11:20 pm

amother Papaya wrote:

Do something else for boasting rights. DH took the teens to the shooting range on Chanukah vacation…..

Love this idea thank you!

amother

Denim

Thu, Dec 14 2023, 11:23 pm

Next year, maybe find another family like you that has no party and invite them over for a party. A neighbor, friend, etc..

amother

Eggshell

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 12:27 am

just want to tell you that I feel for you. it is very frustrating!!

justforfun87

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 1:16 pm

I made 1 little party for just my mom and sister and our kids. We were still busy throughout the week attending community events. I prefer that over gifts. Does your community have public menorah lightings? Just about every organization in Baltimore seems to do something.

amother

Mint

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 1:20 pm

I grew up similar to this. My father is a BT and we had very few cousins on my mothers side. It was very lonely!
Bh, our family is now tremendous. On both sides, my kids have more cousins than they can name or even recognize! Iyh your children will have tons of parties like mine do bh!

mha3484

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 1:20 pm

No family parties this year. Most years we do something with my mother but shes recovering from surgery so not this year.

My oldest had a class party with just boys and a second one with their rebbe and so did my 9 year old.

Otherwise I try to make it fun at home.

I have work and they all have regular school so I'm happy not to have pressure to be out late every night.

writinggirl

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 1:51 pm

No family parties, though I had one at work. We went away for Chanukah and had a great time.

amother

Tan

Fri, Dec 15 2023, 2:25 pm

I don't have family or in-laws where we live. When the kids were little we took them to different Chanukah events, concerts etc and invited some friends for latkas.
They're late teens now so we just light and maybe have some doughnuts - then they usually go out and do their own things.
What you see on social media is not the norm.