My older sisters were all still doing the pizza bar and kumzitz. It might have been simple but there was nothing like good old-fashioned fun

“Y

our quinoa salad looks divine,” Bella gushed. “And so healthy! Nothing like my fully loaded pastrami roll.”

“It tastes better than it looks,” I replied, opening the lid of my salad container and starting to eat. “I’m saving all the calories for next week.”

“Don’t talk about Chanukah food and calories in the same conversation,” Hadassa chimed in. “My mouth is watering for some heavenly fried stuff already.”

“Speaking of Chanukah,” I said between mouthfuls. “We need to talk about the party. We’re actually going away for Shabbos Chanukah this year, so Sunday doesn’t work, but I’m happy to host it on Wednesday if that’s what everyone wants. Unless someone else wants to host it a different day.”

Our class may have been small, but it still wasn’t easy to get everyone to agree most of the time. Regarding the Chanukah party, everyone was happy for me to play hostess and just like that, with one announcement, our annual class Chanukah party was sorted. Our basement had hosted numerous parties over the years — too many to count. I was the sixth sister in a string of girls and considering the fact that we had a huge basement and a chilled mother who didn’t mind the noise or mess of teenage girls, our basement had become the preferred location over the years.

The Chanukah parties always followed the same schedule. I would collect a small amount of money from everyone and supply pizza dough, cheese, and tons of toppings. I also provided the pizza maker we used to make DIY pizzas. Everyone brought along some nosh which we set out on a table for dessert, and one or two pairs of girls would offer to make a game, or I would take an idea from one of my sisters. The highlight was the kumzitz at the end. We would turn off the lights, put some tea lights on a low coffee table, bring out the throw cushions and rugs, and then regardless of anyone’s musical abilities, we would sing the night away.

We lived in a small, out of town community and although this year was our first year in high school, nothing much had changed. It was still the same motley bunch of classmates that had been together since elementary school. I didn’t see any reason to deviate from the usual schedule. My older sisters were all still doing the pizza bar and kumzitz. It might have been simple but there was nothing like good old-fashioned fun.