Start a New Tradition in 2012
This is our last news wrap up of 2011. As we prepare to celebrate the holidays with our friends and loved ones, we thought we’d share a few stories about the traditions that pop up this time of year.
Wednesday marked the first day of Chanukah. In honor of the holiday, we found a story about how some Jewish toymakers in Brooklyn, New York are making sure that children of their faith can enjoy more traditional versions of secular toys. Some of these toys include twists on some favorite games, like Guess Who? Instead of only featuring people with hard hats or baseball caps, Mitzvah Family toy brand created “Who Is It?” which features characters with payot - or side curls - and women with covered heads. We think these toys are wonderful and we want to wish all of our Jewish friends a magical holiday. Mazel tov.
Some families have traditions that are a little wacky. One popular TV show family certainly fits that category. Tonight on CBS, The Late Show with David Letterman will take aim at the meatball (not a star) on top of the studio Christmas tree. This tradition started back in 1998 when then New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde was a guest and Dave had him try and knock the meatball off with a football. The QB couldn’t get it done, but comedian Jay Thomas, who was also a guest that night took aim and scored. Thomas has been invited back every year since to try and repeat his feat. Whatever you decide to put on top of your tree, we hope there is a lot of love and laughter happening beneath its branches.
For some, the holidays and the traditions that come with it can be a bit overwhelming. And as USAToday reported some people are just saying “no” to Christmas this year. We find that very sad. Instead of throwing out the joy of the holiday with all of the stress and commercialism, we have better idea. Next year, we encourage you to start a new tradition with your families: Buy once and, give twice. Try doing some shopping for the people on your list with us so you can feel good about getting gifts and giving back to charities in need of your support.
One last thing… We wanted to make sure you had seen our holiday video card. We hope this fun way of wishing you the best this season becomes a tradition for us!