Thanksgiving is over! That means it’s time for sleigh bells, Santa Claus, and mistletoes…I think. To be honest I had to look up how to spell Santa Claus; that’s how out of the whole Christmas loop I am.
While I love the holiday season and seeing all of the lights, I hardly know anything about Christmas or what half of the decorations are for (did Jesus kiss under a mistletoe once upon a time??).
Maybe it’s just ignorance, but as a Jew it’s difficult not to feel a smiddddggggeeee left out during the holiday season. But I’m not one to sit and mope. So without further ado, here’s how I get through the Christmas season.
1. Ugly Holiday Sweaters
You don’t even KNOW how many times I’ve shown up to a “tacky Christmas sweater” party feeling totally left out. Lucky for us Jews, Hanukkah sweaters have started coming about more and more. Sure, Santa chugging a beer or Rudolf dancing with penguins are cute sweater ideas, but no one can “get lit” like this guy.
Last year I decided to jump on the cute animal holiday sweater trend and I’ve never regretted it.
(Amazon, Target, and even Macy’s have tons of hilarious and trendy options if you’re looking!)
2. Decorations
Now I can’t speak for every Jew, but in my opinion there is no such thing as a “Hanukkah Bush” and I have never had the desire to decorate one. But just because there’s no Jewish mistletoe or “Hanukkah Harry” light up to stick in the front yard doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. I’m all about the blue and white lights, dreidels all over the apartment, and a DIY menorah garland to top off the look. Plus a little tinsel and white flowers never hurts to get in the Winter spirit!
(Looking for some pre-made Hanukkah decorations? Target has some fun ones!)
3. Movies and Music
I can’t deny that Elf is one of the greatest movies of all time. It’s just fact. But in the mist of Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas marathon, I like to indulge in some of my personal favorite holiday vids: 8 Crazy Nights, A Rugrats Hanukkah, and (my personal favorite) the Friends episodes “The One with the Holiday Armadillo.”
And after jamming to Mariah’s infamous “All I Want for Christmas is You” I throw on the Maccabeats’ album and jam out to “Candlelight” (a parody to Taio Cruz’ Dynamite). If you’ve never heard of the Maccabeats, you DEFINITELY need to check them out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJCSR4MuhU)
4. Society in general
No matter where you go there’s bound to be some sort of Christmas decorations hung up or music playing, or at the very least someone wishing you “Merry Christmas.” When I was younger this used to bug me, but I’ve learned to accept that Christmas is basically a national holiday. I throw a nice “Happy Holidays!” and pop my headphones in if the music gets to be too much.
5. Joining in
I’ll admit 100% that the holidays are one of the best times of the year, and I want to be just as merry and bright as anyone else. There’s tons of ways I get all my festivities in despite not celebrating Christmas. For instance, outdoor ice skating around a giant Christmas tree is never a bad time.
And it’s an annual tradition for me to gather a group of my friends and drive around our neighborhoods looking at the best light displays while blasting Justin Bieber’s Christmas album (fun fact: the first time I did this it was me and my Muslim friend).
I even decorated my first Christmas tree last year.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope this holiday season brings some smiles your way! And hey, worse comes to worse there’s always plenty of chocolate on sale to indulge in.