To the dollar store! There’s so much fun to be had there. A few ideas:

1 Secret Gift Exchange: Gift-giving doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun. Everybody picks a name of another family member for whom they’ll buy a secret gift. The gift is chosen based on the meaning of the person’s name. For example, Sara might get a princess crown, Binyamin might get a wolf mask. Each gift is presented, and everyone guesses who it belongs to.

2 The Right and Left Story Game: This one takes some preparation, but is lots of fun for all ages. Buy a bunch of funny, silly, and wacky items and wrap them. I like using a combination of noisemakers and silly accessories. Make sure you buy enough gifts so that there’s one per person.

Now, get pencil and paper and write the Chanukah story, using the words “right” and “left” many times. For example: Alexander the Great got right off his horse and left it right behind him… etc. Everyone takes a wrapped package in hand as you dramatically read the story. Upon hearing the word “right,” everyone passes his gift to the right. Upon hearing the word “left,” everyone passes his gift to the left. And finally, upon hearing “The End,” everyone opens his package. Get ready for lots of laughter.

Getting crafty…

Love the look of those professional “Kiddush” cookies? Have fun making them with your family for your Chanukah party. For the uninitiated:

Make sugar cookies, cut them into Chanukah shapes, and bake them. Roll out fondant (sold in your kosher grocery) into thin circles. Use the cookie cutters to cut the fondant into the same shapes as the cookies. Wet the cookies with a little water or corn syrup, and stick the fondant shapes on top. (Turn the cookies upside down if you want a flatter surface.)

Some decorating ideas:

1 Roll your uncut fondant over a bumpy texture for a nice design. Specialty baking shops sell plastic textured sheets for this purpose, but first take a look around your home. You’ll be surprised at the textured surfaces you’ll find.

2 Add edible pearls. Poke holes in the fondant, put a drop of water in each hole and stick the pearls in.

3 Decorate the fondant with royal icing, or use icing instead of fondant. Use a squeeze tube to outline the cookie with icing. Then put some icing in a bowl and add water, until it’s a paint-like consistency. Use the watered-down icing to fill in the middle of the cookie. Allow the cookies to dry overnight at room temperature.

Let’s play…

Any budding actors/actresses in your home? Let’s rev up those acting skills with some family improv (from the word improvise) time.

A few sample exercises:

1. Stop and Go: Two actors begin building a scene, using a lot of movement and hand gestures. The moderator screams “Stop” when the two actors are in an interesting position. The actors must freeze in that position. When the moderator yells “Go,” the actors must immediately continue, but with a completely new scene to match their frozen position. Keep it going until the team is stuck without any new ideas.