It's dreidel night! The dreidel is a four-sided top etched with Hebrew letters, which stand for the phrase, "A great miracle happened here." That miracle is the miracle of Chanukah. It's also your chance to get your dreidel on—for chocolate coins. Get yourself some dreidels and gelt (instead of gelt, you can also use chocolate kisses or lollipops, or you can go healthier and play with fruit snacks or boxes of raisins). Each player spins the dreidel, and depending on what Hebrew letter the top lands on, they either win all of the candy (gimel), half of the candy (hey), none of the candy (nun), or have to give one piece back (shin). What I like to do is after everyone has had a turn to spin, is take a "rockstar break," and play Chanukah tunes such as songs from Mama Doni's Chanukah Fever CD, and have a Chanukah dance party! Everyone gets a candy or gelt if they go crazy dancing and singing! Then go back to playing the dreidel game.
Mama Doni, a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, hopes that her music will add some Jewish flavor to the lives of people everywhere.
How do you play the dreidel game? Do you take a rockstar break?