sTNGife

What to give,
what to give?

her just another pretty scarf or sweater
set. Instead, some family members
pitched in and assembled a book of
memories.
With each family member responsi-
ble for a one-page letter and a photo-
graph or other memento, the creators
mounted the contributions in a book
and presented it during a party held in
her honor.
While this is geared more toward
significant birthdays and anniversaries,
it can be tailored toward Chanukah as
well.
3. A trip down memory lane, Part 2.
Also on her birthday, Minnie Broner
and her family members boarded a
chartered bus and toured all of the sites
of her life. The stops included her girl-
hood home, the synagogue at which
she was married, the places she and her
family lived and her old school. The
evening was capped with a dinner at
her favorite restaurant, Joe Muer's
Steakhouse in Detroit.
4. Send others on a trip. When
David Hermelin turned 60, his friends
were perplexed. And why shouldn't
they have been? They had the challenge
of finding a suitable present for one of
the area's wealthiest and most generous
men.
Gathering their wits and their cash
reserves, the friends raised $80,000 and
sent a group of college students on an
archeological dig at the Zippori excava-
tion site. The trip, in honor of David
Hermelin, took University of Michigan
students to Israel's central Galilee
region for a five-week educational expe-
rience that carried a minimal cost and
the bonus of college credits.
"[The project] incorporated all the
things David cares about: young peo-
ple, Israel, the University of Michigan,"
said Penny Blumenstein, a friend of
Hermelin's and organizer of the gift
collection.
5. Roll the dice. Plan a night of fun
during the festival of lights, casino
lights that is. Grab a gaggle of friends,
take up a collection and whisk the
offender off for a night of fun in
Windsor, Las Vegas, or — shucks, if
you can do it — Monte Carlo to gam-
ble the night away. Any money that is
left over can be donated to the gift
recipient's favorite charity.
6. Start them collecting. My moth-
er-in-law can confound even the most

I l lustration by Kathryn Adams

-

Twelve ideas for
the people who
have everything.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR

Special to The Jewish News

11/28
1997

G12

o you have one of those peo-
ple on your gift list who has

everything?
They own every cool
accessory ever created by the very best
designers. They never wait for sales and
they have baubles that compete with
Liz Taylor's collection. When you ask
what they want for Chanukah or their
birthday, they smile sweetly and say,
"Only your presence at dinner/ party/
soiree."
You secretly hate them for this, don't
you?
The following are 12 gift suggestions
for those kind of people:
1. For kids who have it all. The
Allied Jewish Campaign is boasting a
new project this year to encourage
tzedakah. Parents, grandparents
and friends now may choose to make a

donation to the campaign in
place of giving their favorite child a
gift.
The upside for the kid? They get to
choose which of a handful of organiza-
tions in the Unite States, the former
Soviet Union or Israel will get the cash.
They also get their name on the Jewish
community's scroll of honor in June, a
certificate and a key chain bearing a
Chanukah logo to commemorate the
event.
The minimum contribution is $18
or chai and goes up in increments of
chai. The deadline for applications and
donations is Dec. 5. For more informa-
tion, call Tanya Mazor-Posner at (248)
203-1456.
2. A trip down memory lane, Part 1.
When Minnie Broner turned 80 this
past May, her family didn't want to get