By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
The Stroum Jewish Community Center’s annual Hanukkah party is getting a makeover this year, thanks in part to the enthusiasm of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and 18 other sponsoring organizations from throughout the community.
“This is a new and different twist on what has traditionally been at the J,” said Stefanie Somers, program manager of the PJ Library, the nationwide program that sends free books each month to Jewish kids under age 7. As a Federation staffer, she, along with program chair Talya Jeffries, was responsible for reaching out to the JCC and facilitating the expansion of the party. “We saw this year as an opportunity to reach a little bit of a broader community.”
This year’s party, called the JKids Hanukkah Pajama Jam, will be specifically tailored to families with young children and will feature a carnival-like arrangement with each of the 18 sponsoring organizations running a booth with different activities, such as face-painting, Hanukkah crafts, games, and gift-wrapping lessons. There will also be latkes and two concerts by children’s music performer Robbo.
Somers said that when looking for sponsors, she worked to bring in organizations from all across the Seattle area representing the full range of local Jewish life. The three lead sponsors, in addition to the JCC and the Jewish Federation, are JTNews, ParentMap magazine, and the Samuel Israel Foundation. Community sponsors include a variety of synagogues, day schools and other educational organizations.
“We really wanted this to be more than just a Mercer Island thing,” Somers said.
Admission to the party is free, as are all of the activities and offerings, with the exception of latkes. As the name of the party suggests, attendees are encouraged to come dressed in their pajamas.
Along with activities for kids, Jewish Family Service will host a discussion for adults called “Parents Jam: Making Holiday Choices That Fit Your Family,” which will focus on the challenges that pop up for Jewish kids and parents around this time of year.
“It’s about how to answer kids’ questions about Christmas trees and why we do this and not that, and also about figuring out what your values are and being able to communicate those things to your kids and spouse,” Somers said. “There are no judgments being made, just some helpful tips.”
Somers noted, however, that childcare will not be provided during the party, so parents who wish to attend the JFS session are encouraged to bring along another adult to hang out with the kids.
The Pajama Jam party is the first event to be hosted as part of a new program through the Jewish Federation called JKids. According to Somers, JKids is, like the Pajama Jam, aimed at families with young children from throughout the Jewish community. Although the program is still in the process of securing funding, she anticipates that future JKids events will include family Shabbat nights and Jewish neighborhood playgroups.
“We’re hoping JKids will take the form, primarily, of neighborhood programming,” she said, although she noted that other community-wide holiday parties may be on JKids’ agenda as well.
The PJ Library program, which in addition to sending out the free children’s books, hosts local storytime events, will also now operate under the umbrella of JKids.
Somers noted that the connection of the PJ Library to JKids and the choice of the Pajama Jam Hanukkah party’s theme was not entirely coincidental.
“This isn’t specifically a PJ Library event,” she said. “Kids love any chance to wear their pajamas.”
More than anything, Somers stressed, the party is about providing an opportunity for families from all corners of the community to share in a single holiday event.
“We felt Seattle’s Jewish community could use the opportunity to come together,” Somers said. “No matter where people fall on the observance level, Hanukkah is very accessible. Everyone can have fun with it.”