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Growing up, I so envied my friends who got to celebrate Christmas. As a kid, nothing sounds better than waking up to a floor completely covered in perfectly-wrapped presents. Once I heard Adam Sandler croon, “instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights” for the first time, I changed my tune and realized, hey, maybe eight days of presents isn’t so bad.
Of course, Hanukkah is about more than just gifts, but gifts are exactly what I’m here to talk about. When it comes to Christmas gifting, things seem obvious: gifts go under the tree. Hanukkah, on the other hand, is a bit more free-wheeling. There isn’t one “way” to give, or spread out, your Hanukkah gifts. Open all of the gifts on the first night if you wish or go from smallest to largest box, or vice versa. There’s no right or wrong way to do Hanukkah gifting, but we thought it would be fun to give it a try.
Below, find gift ideas and inspiration for what to give on each night of Hanukkah. Whether you’re a young adult celebrating the holiday for the first time on your own or a new parent ready to start setting holiday traditions with your own family, consider this a blueprint.
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Night 1: A Good Book
No matter age, interests, or passions, I’m of the mind that a book always makes a great gift. With an endless array of options to choose from, you can pick a read that feels completely catered to them. Whether it’s a self-development book to help them progress in their career or a fictional novel for their mind to get lost in, a book is the perfect way to start the celebrations.
I love shopping for books on Bookshop.org, which makes it easy to support Indie bookstores all over the country!
Night 2: Undergarments & Accessories
Now’s the time to pull out the funky socks, the mittens, the headbands– you get the gist. Go for small items they’ll use often, but just don’t have yet or ones they do have, but need upgraded. Because we’re looking at small products here, you can splurge without breaking the bank, like with a pair of fancy socks or touch-screen gloves.
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Night 3: Beauty & Grooming Gifts
I can’t think of anyone that doesn’t have at least a few grooming products they love, which is what makes this a great jumping-off point for gift ideas. Grooming gifts come at a variety of different pricepoints too, so you can splurge for a luxury fragrance or go for something a bit more modest, like a body lotion or lip balm. Whether it’s new makeup to experiment with or a fresh bottle of their favorite body wash, you can’t go wrong gifting everyone on your Hanukkah list one, or a few, of their favorite haircare, skincare, bodycare, and beauty products.
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Night 4: Good Eats
By now, you might be experiencing a bout of gift-unwrapping fatigue. Is that even a thing? Either way, break things up with a gift that’s more of an experience: a night of good eats. A huge part of Hanukkah is food, so what better way to celebrate than with a delicious meal that everyone you love can share. This can manifest in many ways. You could have a nice dinner out as a family. You could order in a surprise meal for your friends from Goldbelly or a favorite local restaurant. You could even make your own latkes and set up a dinner party at home with fancy fixings like caviar. The options are endless, and sure to be delicious.
Night 5: Passion Projects
When it comes to gifting like an expert, take clues from their passions. If they already spend a great deal of time doing an activity, chances are they’ll appreciate any gift that improves that experience. Whether they love to spend their free time playing pickleball, baking, watercolor painting, or urban foraging, a present for their passions will be well-received.
Distilling this category down into a few products was so difficult, as there are so many different activities and passions to pluck ideas from, so I also want to share some of our pre-existing gift guides built around different passions such a food (eating it, making it, everything in between), traveling, cannabis, and more.
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Night 6: Comfy and Cozy Things
The holiday season is pretty much synonymous with coziness. So on Night 6, celebrate the warmth of the holidays with all things cozy and comfy. Blankets to cuddle under for movie marathons, slippers to keep their feet toasty, or plush hats they’ll wear all winter long– cozy gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and all will be equally loved.
Night 7: The Gift of Giving
The holidays are a time to be indulgent, but they’re also a nice reminder to give back to our communities and causes we care about. You can do that by donating directly to a charity they support or by buying products that donate a portion of proceeds to charity.
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Night 8: The Big Ticket
Maybe saving the best for last is predictable. Maybe it’s something I probably wouldn’t even have the patience to wait for myself, but here we are. There’s no better way to close out the holiday gift-giving spectacle than with something verging on jaw-dropping. You may already have some hints here, either something they mentioned in passing or marked as #1 on their holiday wishlist. The big ticket gift looks different for everyone, but the common thread is something splurge-worthy that they probably wouldn’t splurge on for themselves. Think jewelry, tech, designer clothing, kitchen gadgets, and the like.
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We hope this guide has equipped you with some inspiration to help you get started on your holiday gifting. For even more gift ideas, you can take a peek at all of our gift guides here.
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