8 New Spins on Hanukkah Style With Dreidels and Gelt
Add a touch of the handmade to your holiday tabletop, mantel and gift packages with these traditional symbols
In many Jewish households, parents and grandparents give children gelt, or gold coins made of plastic or filled with chocolate, during Hanukkah. "The actual money value is not important; the point is to educate the kids about how the material can be used to nurture our spiritual selves," says Israeli blogger and stylist Sarit Novak. Novak's family also hangs a giant dreidel from the ceiling at the beginning of the holiday. "Each night after lighting the menorah candles we drop the dreidel top, open it, and inside there are small gifts for children. Other Jewish families spin the dreidel for a game of chance."
Novak thinks the holidays are a great opportunity to showcase everyday materials, made special with a few precious tokens and accessories. Get easy ideas for your own table, mantel and gift packaging here.
Novak thinks the holidays are a great opportunity to showcase everyday materials, made special with a few precious tokens and accessories. Get easy ideas for your own table, mantel and gift packaging here.
Precious gelt pail. Novak uses a silver-tone pail lined with petite pom-pom trim for gelt. "I like the sweet style of the pom-poms," she says. "They also add some movement and whimsy to a very simple setup. Fill the pail with gelt and sprinkle a handful around it, and you add so much sheen to the table."
Or skip the pom-poms for a sleeker look that's both kid and adult friendly.
Organic gelt sack. Seasonal vegetables and fruit, and jute from your local fabric store, add an organic, rustic touch to the holiday table.
Novak puts a few gelt coins inside a jute sack and ties the bag together with a peach satin ribbon.
Novak puts a few gelt coins inside a jute sack and ties the bag together with a peach satin ribbon.
Gelt garland. Stylist, blogger and author of Jewish Holiday Style Rita Brownstein dresses up her mantel with a gelt garland. The coins are from a local party store.
Gelt tags. Brownstein adds a pop of color to her tabletop with a blue favor package. She fills a small box with blue jellybeans and ties it all together with thin rope and chocolate gelt. "The gelt coin makes a perfect tag, and you'll likely have a lot around the house anyway," she says.
Gelt to go. For the simplest gelt favor packaging, find takeout boxes in your preferred colors. "Tie a small bow around the handle; it shows just a touch of the handmade," Novak says. "I love packaging," she adds. "The packaging is as important as the gift it contains."
A dreidel-filled flower vase. For her Hanukkah table, Brownstein fills a flower vase with four bags of gold dreidels.
Dreidel gift packages. Brownstein also perks up a nearby shelf with small dreidel-shaped gift packages she made with scrapbook paper.
Organic dreidel sack. Novak adds her signature handmade touch with this jute sack. "It makes a great gift box from inside the giant dreidel," she says. "The kids have a great time untying the satin ribbon and finding out what's inside of the sack."
More:
50 Ways to Wrap Holiday Gifts in Style
More:
50 Ways to Wrap Holiday Gifts in Style