By Lisa Popik Coll *** Home-made Gift Night - We can give each other a little something, but only if it is handmade by the giver. The kids have traditionally made Hanukkah decorations and drawn pictures. *** Entertainment Night - The kids have to perform for us and we for them, either a skit or a song they have practiced. My eldest does stand-up. Guests participate, as well. *** Family Game Night - We make a point of sitting down as a family and playing games - card games or board games. *** Book Night - We know the grandparents are going to want to give gifts. We ask for books - preferably ones with Jewish themes. We traditionally read Patricia Polacco's Trees of the Dancing Goats this night. This is a wonderful Hanukkah story that even my high-schooler still enjoys hearing. I dare you to read it without a box of tissues nearby. *** Dreydel Night - We have a lovely collection of dreydels - wood, metal, plastic, even a few that light up. We get a ton of chocolate coins and play. It is a really fun game! *** Movie Night - We get a video with a Jewish theme. When the children were little, the video was usually Shalom Sesame, but lately we have been using the Jewish film festival as a resource. Two amazing films that are appropriate for older kids (upper schoolers) are Paper Clips and Praying with Lior. *** Tzedakah Night - This is actually everyone's favorite. On this night, we give our kids money, which they must donate to the charity of their choice. We give them a lot of options - social services, environmental, educational (which includes the Schechter scholarship fund), Jewish, non-Jewish, here and in Israel. They decide how much they want to donate, if they want to donate all their money to one charity or divide it up, whether or not they want to pool it. There is much discussion involved. This has provided great lessons in both philanthropy and financial resource allocation.