Daughter: Paperback book of Twilight *that book is very popular with teenage girls.*, nail polish set, cute clothes, CD (at Walmart they are very cheap), cute pajama pants, iTunes giftcard (15 dollars, but it can be the last night), a warm blanket, cheap build-a-bear, “spa day” buy some ****** stuff and paint your nails and spend quailty time with her, if she likes Starbucks, 10 dollar gift card, gel pens, fuzzy slippers, *walmart*, books.
Hope I helped! Walmart is very good for Holiday shopping, and it is cheap. Good Luck and Happy Hanukkah!

I can’t imagine Hanukkah without fried potato pancakes (latkas in Yiddish and livivot in Hebrew). We eat latkas on Hanukkah to remind us of the oil which miraculously burned for eight days when the Maccabees purified and rededicated the holy Temple in Jerusalem. But latkas are so tastey that they can be eaten the other 357 days of the year too.
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes
1 medium onion
1 large egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
vegetable oil (for frying)
Preparation:
1. Grate potatoes and onion. Transfer to colander and squeeze mixture to press out as much liquid as possible.
2. In a large bowl, mix egg, salt, pepper, flour and baking powder. Add potato and onions, and mix well.
3. Heat oil in a deep, heavy skillet.
4. Drop about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into the pan for each pancake. Flatten with back of spoon so each pancake is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter.
5. Fry over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. Turn carefully with 2 spatulas so oil does not splatter. 6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Before frying each new batch, stir potato mixture. If all the oil is absorbed, add a little more to the pan.
8. Serve hot with applesauce, or sour cream, or sugar.

Message me for more ideas!
-Z

My parents always got us one present that was fairly valuable (probably about 25 – 30 worth in today’s market) or something for the family, and then a box of chocolate maccabbees (what would that cost, about 3 ‘ 5?) some gelt, and a dreidle, and maybe a pair of socks that Mom was going to give us anyway, but made an extra package to open. We opened it all the first night. After that, it was all about lighting the candles, and having some family time, but no more presents. You might want to consider something like that for this year, and the next few, if this economy doesn’t lighten up quickly!

And, no. yahoo doesn’t block anyone except those who try to keep it honest around here.

Try going to someplace like Borders…they have tons of great stuff under $10. Or, you could get one present that is a bit more, and give it for a few days’ worth…Borders, I know carries nice, inexpensive dreidles, and has a nice selection of chanukah themed things. They usually put up a nice display in ours, and ours is a tiny store!

Food is another idea…just something to open, not terribly expensive, but something simple…the maccabees, or those chocolate oranges that you smash and eat…those are fun (and, like, 2 – 3).

On one night, we have gelt of course. With that, we’ll get some cool novelty candies, like last year we got “Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans” and these adorable gummy dreidels we found online. We also got some Jones soda…last year they had a Hanukkah pack and it was pretty cool. We spent the evening sampling scary jelly beans and potato flavored soda, and playing dreidel…it cost us about $20-$25 for both kids that night.

Another night, instead of a gift, we go somewhere. Maybe we’ll go to dinner, maybe a movie or whatever, but it is good family time and it doesn’t really cost that much per person.

We also have one night that we have a family gift. Usually it is a board game or two, or a video game. That can be pretty inexpensive too, depending on what you buy.

Some other stuff for kids the ages of yours would be:

Girls: art supplies, jewelry (Walmart has some really cute stuff for girls), stationary, books, CDs, craft kits, and accessories (scarves, hats, that sort of thing) You can get all this kind of stuff for right around $10 if you’re creative about it.

Boys: Action Figures/Transformers, books, CDs, science experiment kits, sports equipment, cars, etc…

Don’t forget: you don’t HAVE to have gifts every night. The important thing is to take that time and make it something special for your family. You can do this pretty inexpensively if you are creative. Take them ice skating, bake cookies together, take a drive and look at all the lights.

Try shopping at some of the 99 cent stores or Tuesday Morning for unusual, fun, inexpensive gifts that retail for much more.
Remember, your time with them is valuable. When money is tight, do something together and they will remember that for years to come.

Don’t forget you can take them ice skating for an afternoon at Pershing Square!

$6/session, $2/skate rental