Al 's

Foreign Car Service

KIDS

Specialist in

T . Toyota • Volkswagen • Datsun
•Audi Fox • Honda Cars

Chanukah Grab Bag

CALL: 548-3926, 548-4160

1018 W. 9 Mile Rd.

FERNDALE,
MICH.

Between Livernois
& Pinecrest

Continued from Page 38

ACT-SAT Testing

Thinking about taking the ACT or SAT test? indi-
vidualized instruction is now available so you can
improve your score.

Call 398-0116 after 4 P.M.

Also tutoring in all subjects (your borne)

THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTED BY THE PUBLISHER

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MARKET STREET SHOPPES
ON NORTHWESTERN

Goldenberg Photography 350-2420 • Ristorante Di Modesta 358-0344 •
Accessories By Ann 356-3959 • Plantinum Blond 353-7270 •
Market Street Florist 357-5810 • All Your Travels 354-8000 •
• LaCache Boutique 352-5552 •

DISCOVER

• Colony Interiors • Kenneth Cole • Hansel 'N Gretel • Tres Chic
Petites • The Art Show • Nouveaute Fabulous Giftware • Travelers
World • Capelli Hair Colour Studio • Body Exercise Studio • Carmen's
Men's Clothing and Tailors • Signatures of W. Bloomfield • Raphael
Salon • Elkin Travel & Cruises Only! • Marilyn Brooks • Victoria
• Corporation Cortina • Kidz Kloz (Formerly Rainbow Lollipop)
• Bedroom Dreams •

HOLIDAY SHOPPING HOURS

Sundays — November 30-December 21: Noon-5 _
Weekdays — December 15-December 23: 10 a.m. 8 p.m. • Saturdays — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

-

40

Friday, December 5, 1986

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Orchard Lake Road.
Mile North of Maple.
West Bloomfield

fers a unique holiday gift.
"Making Memories: Eleanor
Roosevelt Hadassah Shares
Ideas for Celebrating Jewish
Life" is a three-by-five lucite
file box with over 200 cards
listing customs, traditions,
craft ideas and recipes.
"Those gifts are great," you
say, with toy circular in
hand. "But they aren't what
my children want."
Toys R Us general man-
ager Don Jordan knows a
good customer when he sees
one. "Kids want whatever
they see on TV," he says.
Toys R Us is ready for you.
They know that this season,
your children have their
heart set on electronic stuffed
animals and dolls like Teddy
Ruxpin, his friend Grubby,
and Cricket, a talking doll.
They know the .boys are aim-
ing for Laser guns and game
like Lazertag or Twin Phaser.
The stores are stocked full
of traditional best sellers, too.
Waiting to be taken home are
Barbie and all her friends,
accessories and equipment,
and new doll on the block,
Gem, an executive by day,
rock singer by night. Cab-
bage Patch dolls are sharing
the spotlight with their new
sibblings, Corn Silk Kids.
Centurions, Mask, G.I. Joe
and Rambo lie in ambush for
your kids.
"Little stuffed animals are
as popular as ever," says Jor-
dan. Your kids are sure to
want one or two furskins,
pound puppies or poppels.
(Just be sure they are
house-broken.)
In addition, Jordan pre-
dicts, "Bicycles and
skateboards with a high-tech
look are coming back into
popularity. Families are also
buying lots of VHS films,
games and educational cas-
settes."
Is this what Chanukah gift
giving is all about? "It's too
difficult for Americans to say
no," says Audrey Sobel.
Audrey and Jackie Sobel
grew up in South Africa and
lived in Israel for eight years
while their three children
were young. Chanukah has
always been a joyous holiday
shared with family and
friends, full of traditional
songs and foods.
"As a youngster in South
Africa," Audrey recalls, "the
tradition wasn't in gift giv-
ing. It was in celebrating the
Chanukah story, lighting
candles, singing the
blessings, playing dreidel and
going to synagogue. Some-
times, on the first night, we
were given chocolate gelt."
She fondly remembers
Chanukah in Israel. "The
country makes a big deal
about Chanukah. Every
night, on TV, we would
watch the candle lighting
ceremony at the Wall. On the
last night, special people
would light each candle.
Every family has its own re-
cipe for soofaniyot (traditional
Sephardic donuts) and a

different foolproof method for
getting the jelly inside. Each
year, we bought a new sevi-
von (dreidel) for each child."
"I was horrified when we
first came to the States and I
was confronted with the
American tradition of
Chanukah gift-giving," Au-
drey recalls. "At that time
our children were attending a
Jewish day school in the
Philadelphia area. Lauren
was 9, Ryan, 7, and Adam, 2.
The first night of Chanukah,
we gave Lauren and Ryan
each $1. They thought the
wealth of heavens had de-
scended on them!"
The next day, Lauren came
home from school upset. Her
teacher had asked each child
to recite what he had re-
ceived as a gift. Several of
the children had received
enormous gifts: televisions,
telephones, a ski holiday. All
Lauren could say was,
"Thank heavens the bell rang
before she could ask me!"
"Even now, ten years later,
we don't compromise our tra-
ditional Chanukah. It has not
become an American holi-
day."
For Eva Krause, a native
of Trutnov, Czechoslovakia,
her husband Gerry and their
children, David and
Shoshana, Chanukah's em-
phasis is on family and tradi-
tional foods. "We exchange
very small gifts and some
gelt, but never a big
Christmas-type exchange,"
says Eva.
She remembers Chanukah
in Trutnoy, after the war.
"We had only three Jewish
families and three half-
Jewish families. On Purim
and Chanukah, the six
families got together one
night for a party. Each child
showed off and performed a
song or recited poems. Some-
times we were given oranges
or chocolate as very special
treats."
Ahuva Newman, born and
raised in Israel, recalls her
family's traditional celebra-
tion. "We had candles, sang
Maoz Tzur, and soofganiyot.
Our special treat was the gelt
my parents gave us to put in
our 'Dan Hashan' (Dan the
saver) pushkeh. This was a
special children's saving plan.
Married to Detroiter David
Newman, Ahuvah has
blended their two cultures.
"We give our children, Ari
and Michal, small, reason-
able, useful gifts," Ahuvah
says.
Gift-giving can also take a
non-commercial form. Paul
Levine of Oak Park suggests
a variety of gifts. "Gifts made
to charity in honor of friends
or family, homemade gifts,
gifts offering your services or
time, these are always ap-
preciated."
He also recommends mak-
ing an audio or video tape of
grandparents' memories or
arranging for grandparents to
take grandchildren on a tour
of the old neighborhood. ❑