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The Ultimate 2020 Hanukkah Gifting Guide

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With Hanukkah just weeks away we’re rounding up our favorite Hanukkah gifts below. And have you downloaded our free Hanukkah guide packed with everything you need for a lit Hanukkah? It’s packed with easy recipe and decor ideas, songs, gift ideas, blessings, symbolism, and how to feel part of a community – even when it’s 2020. Download it here.

The Ultimate Chanukah Sweater by Sefira Lightstone

We’re obsessed with this totally gorgeous and 100% non-cheesy Hanukkah sweatshirt from artist and illustrator Sefira Lightstone. Featuring the skyline of ancient Jerusalem, a 7-branch menorah (the kind in the temple in Jerusalem that was miraculously kept burning for 8 days in the holiday’s origin story), and Hebrew text reading “A Great Miracle Happened There,” this is one holiday sweatshirt we’d be more than happy to wear year-round.

Marzipan Sufganiyot by Marzipops from ModernTribe
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

It’s sufganiyot! No, it’s marzipan! Wait, it’s… marzipan sufganiyot! If you’re into foods that look like other foods, this sweet kosher-certified box of assorted Hanukkah doughnuts (that are actually almond paste) is going to be RIGHT up your alley. Bonus: it’ll stay fresh a whole lot longer than a box of actual sufganiyot.

Flora Petite Keepsake Gift Box by New York & Narrative
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

Jewish-owned small business New York & Narrative puts together some of the most stylish gift boxes we’ve ever seen – and Flora, which comes packed goodies including a dark chocolate bar, a botanical facial steam, a soy travel candle scented with cedar, amber, and bay leaves, and a bundle of hand-dried florals –  is perfect for anyone in your life who deserves some serious pampering this Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Candy from See’s Candies

How cute would a bowl full of these little berry-flavored Star of David hard candies look on your Hanukkah table?Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Everything You Need to Know about Jewish Genetic Carrier Screening {with JScreen}

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If you’re thinking of starting a family in the next few years, you might have heard about genetic carrier screening. You may even have considered getting screened yourself. But it can be hard to know where to start. The process can seem intimidating, expensive, and scary – but it doesn’t have to be any of those things. Knowing where you stand genetic disease-wise – and what your options are going forward if it turns out you are a carrier – is actually really empowering!
 
That’s why I’m so excited to tell you that this Wednesday, 22 July, at 9:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm EDT / 5:00 pm GDT, I’ll be chatting on Facebook with Hillary Kener Regelman, Director of National Outreach at JScreen, a US-based not-for-profit at-home education and carrier screening program for Jewish genetic diseases.
 
JScreen‘s mission is to give individuals and families easy access to information convenient home testing (so you can get the process started even in lockdown) at a reasonable price point. Screening for over 200 genetic diseases – including those that are commonly found in Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jewish populations – is performed by a certified laboratory and results are reviewed and reported to participants by genetic counselors, so if it turns out you are a carrier for a disease, your counselor will be there to talk you through the options (and there ARE options!).
 
Hillary will be addressing a range of topics including the following:
  • What is genetic carrier screening?
  • Who should consider genetic carrier screening?
  • What diseases does JScreen test for?
  • How accurate are the results?
  • Is it worth testing through JScreen if I’ve already done genetic carrier screening?
  • How much does JScreen cost? How does it work with insurance?
  • How does JScreen’s process work?
  • What are the next steps if a couple finds out they are carriers for a disease?

If you decide to go forward with genetic testing through JScreen, you’ll also be eligible for an $18 discount as a Smashing The Glass reader – just use the code “JScreenAtHome”

While JScreen only covers testing in the United States, this Facebook Live will include general information about genetic screening that’s relevant to individuals and couples anywhere in the world.

Hillary will be answering all your questions live, so if there’s anything you want to know about Jewish genetic screening in general or JScreen’s offerings in particular, ask away!

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My Brand New Workshops for Wedding Vendors

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Wedding vendors, I have exciting news for you! For the first time ever I am presenting the expertise that I normally reserve solely for my 1:1 clients and sharing it with you in two interactive FUN workshops for wedding vendors.

If you’re looking to increase enquiries from Jewish couples, and turn those enquiries into sales, read on, my workshops have been created especially for for you!

WORKSHOP ONE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JEWISH WEDDINGS

In this 2-hour workshop we’ll cover:

  • Family dynamics
  • Understanding the client
  • Key differences between a Jewish and non-Jewish wedding
  • What you need to know about Jewish wedding traditions
  • Typical Jewish wedding timeline
  • The correct processional order for a Jewish wedding
  • Jewish wedding music
  • Live Q&A

WORKSHOP TWO: SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY + SALES

In this 2-hour workshop we’ll cover:

  • How to grow your audience of brides on Instagram and Facebook
  • How to turn your audience into customers and raving fans
  • Social media strategy and closing sales for wedding vendors
  • Live Q&A

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Maggie + Danny: How They Met To The Present Day…

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our latest gorgeous crop of 2020 / 2021 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Maggie, who will be marrying Danny on 6th June 2021 at Stone House of St. Charles in St. Charles, Missouri.

THREE FACTS: (1) Danny proposed to Maggie on his birthday! (2) Maggie is in the process of converting to Judaism (3) Maggie is a member of STG Brides Club!

Blogging Bride Maggie and Danny

How We Met

Well this is your traditional love story, one that your parents could have potentially told. Mine is like my aunt’s, who constantly told me “you will find him when you least expect it.” She met her husband through his sister who she worked with. My fiancé hates how I tell the story of our meeting (no, just a few of the details – the fiancé).

The year is 2018, the month is August. I had decided to move back closer to my family in St. Louis, Missouri in July of 2018. Danny moved to St. Louis earlier in the week we met. The weekend before, I had gone on a trip with my friends from high school. On the way back my friend Abby tells me the next weekend she and her husband planned a trip to a local winery with one of her husband’s friends from work. I agreed to go in hopes of making new friends. Danny was staying with this friend,  the friend invited Danny very last minute. Danny decided to go since he didn’t have anything else to do that day.

We go to lunch where I meet him briefly but don’t pay attention since there are 12 of us and we are at opposite ends of the table. Lunch is finally over, and we all begin to talk. He states that he just moved which is what caught my attention. We discover that we each studied math in college (meanwhile he is an engineer now and I am a hotel manager, not so useful for me) as well as comparing how long we had lived in St. Louis.

Maggie-and-Danny

He of course mentions right away about his adorable 7-month-old niece who he tried to kidnap when he was moving. At one point I remember texting my friend Abby saying how Danny was my type. The whole day I constantly try to stay close to him and flirt with him. Finally, we got to the wine tasting section where we shared a table and even shared each other’s drinks! I knew I wanted to date him after I made a mention of my favorite movie The Princess Bride and he stared to quote the movie with me.

The day ends and he doesn’t even ask me for my number. As we were walking out my friend Kayla and her husband Cameron teased me about how close we were, I mentioned my disappointment with him not asking for my number. That’s when Cameron mentioned he had gotten Danny’s number. For the first time in my life I got the courage to tell him to send my number to Danny. Well he did and 30 seconds later I receive my first message from Danny.

Now Danny loves to argue that he knew I was flirting with him but did not want to ask for my number as he had made friends with my friend’s husbands (yep, I didn’t want to be creepy – the fiancé again). Either way we connected and had our first date on August 21, 2018.  We went to dinner and then got edible cookie dough, we then sat outside the cookie dough place and talked for hours, past when the place closed.

It was a 6-hour date, our second date was 8 hours and our third was 7 hours. I remember coming home after our first date and freaking out to my dad about how I really liked this guy but was hesitant to continue dating him because he was Jewish.

Maggie Danny

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Passover in the Time of Social Distancing

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Made by Rebekah’s #NextYearInPerson Campaign

Why is this Passover different from all other Passovers?

One of the most important and beloved times of the Jewish year, Passover starts tomorrow night. But for most of us, the holiday isn’t going to look the way we expected it to. Social distancing means no getting together with friends and family for seders, and grocery limitations will likely lead to some lackluster menus.

As Smashing The Glass’s Community Manager, I know so many of our Brides Club members have had to cancel long-held plans to celebrate with loves ones, in favor of staying home.  

No seder plate, no problem: Made by Rebekah‘s got a great tutorial for making your own.

I feel you. As The World’s Singlest Wedding Blogger™, I’ll be spending Passover all alone in my studio apartment in New York City, which seems to be the world’s coronavirus epicenter at present. It all happened gradually, and then suddenly, and by the time I realized how serious the situation was, and long it was likely to last, it was really out of the question to travel out of state to be with my parents.

I’m going to be honest, it’s pretty scary here. I haven’t left my apartment in three weeks (I think? Time is weird now)—not even to go to the grocery store. For a while it was looking iffy as to whether or not I’d even get my hands on a box of matzah (thankfully, I was able to secure myself a grocery delivery slot, eventually). Other than a furtive thank you to said grocery delivery guy, I’ve had zero human contact that hasn’t taken place through a screen.

The prettiest Zoom seder you ever did see, courtesy of Made by Rebekah 

We’re lucky to live in a time when it’s so easy to be virtually connected, of course, and where Zoom seders are a possibility. But it’s not the same. And whether you’re in lockdown alone, with a partner, or even with a kid or two, it’s never easy. Nothing drives it home (or not, haha) like a holiday. It’s okay to be sad. I certainly am.

In addition to the plethora of roles I serve at Team STG, I also run Poppy and Prune, a Jewish food history and culture blog, and so it was only natural for me to conclude that it might be worthwhile to spend some time reading up on how Jews have observed Passover in difficult circumstances throughout history. Because the truth is, while what we’re facing this year is totally unprecedented for most of us living today, throughout history there’ve been plenty of plagues afflicting the Jewish people—both literal and metaphorical ones.

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