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Dec 14, 2022·edited Dec 14, 2022Liked by Liz Gumbinner

OMG, I love this so much. Thalia is a genius. We have nothing close to this awesome in our family, but my brother and I always did enjoy rearranging the creche my parents put out at Christmas when we were kids -- sticking the donkey in the manger, putting the wise men in compromising positions with Mary, etc. If I were still Christian, I'd definitley be headed for hell.

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I think there’s something so delightful about kids innocently making sacred traditions less sacred. Not in the religious sense, but… Actually, maybe in the religious sense!

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Dec 14, 2022Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Thank you so very much for sharing your funny, artful holiday tradition! I wish we could offer something as creative (because - as you know - it is hard enough to synthesize something when the parents have two different religious backgrounds). It is even harder when all the kids are grown up. I'm just happy to let Gareth put up his tree and Christmas stuff while I get out the menorah and candles. Our big thing is Christmas crackers, which are Gareth's tradition from Wales (and used to be harder to get than they are now). This year, between the overlap and the fact that my sister's kids are spread out in three different cities, it's a little weird. But we will still have a Chanukah dinner with our daughter and the niece who lives here (and her boyfriend), followed by a Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day with just our daughter. And we'll probably crack the crackers at all three.

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I think that sounds just perfect!  We should also talk about the new traditions that we all games from some of the pandemic holidays because I know we have a few there.

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I love this! I think you know I'm a Christmas-y Hanukkah celebrator. I love ornaments and trees, but it's all blue and white and snowflake-themed. Santa drops by because it's fun, and we order Chinese takeout every December 25th. I also have an impressive collection of LEGO Winter Village sets which I drag out every year. If we get it together, we make latkes with our neighbors. Let's see what happens this year. :)))

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Dec 14, 2022·edited Dec 15, 2022Author

Lego Winter Village sets are next level! I know you have to grab them early or they sell out, so that’s like a whole cult of Lego right there! I can’t wait to hear more about what you’re doing. Especially in this new stage of life where everything feels so different and ready to be remolded.

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Dec 14, 2022Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Love this! We also bought our menorahsaurus from Lisa’s Etsy shop in 2015 :)

Getting ready to use it soon

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Huzzah! I’m sorry she stopped selling them, mostly because I loved recommending them

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Dec 14, 2022Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Me too!

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Dec 15, 2022Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Not surprised. Thalia is a brilliant creative. Absolute genius! 👏🏻

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Each of the kids have their own really distinctive brand of humor and creativity, and it's always a joy to see all the ways that they unfold.

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