This year I would like to do a theme of 'gelt'. I have no idea where to begin, other than the fact I have tons of leftover chanukah gelt and can probably get some more on sale over the next few days.

Can you help me with what to put in it?
A Poem/note to accompany it?
etc?

Those money rolls like winkies...
Coin jujus

But this is so junky it's not even funny

money rolls are a good idea.
coin jujus - hart to tell their coins
Any ideas of what can look like monetary bills, not just coins??

any idea for a note to go along with it?

One year I got together lots of gelt and various other Hanuka yummies and went around wishing people "Happy Hanuka".

It was fun.

(I've heard of others doing this also so I can't really take all the credit for this brilliant idea.)

But, are there any other ideas...maybe I should put a real $1 bill in it (or a bill from cheaper currency) - hmm...that could get expensive...

well, let's hear what else you can come up with food-wise and poem/note wise....

FTR, I just want to let you know I think you are WAY too organized...I'm still celebrating Chanuka

are there those cheap dollar bill notepads or something? maybe paper money for games? i think i've seen them, somehwere

So am I (at least for a short while longer)

My s-i-l told me it's sacriligous to put away my menorah after it burned out last night


paper $$ is probably cheaper...also this way when kids destroy it before parents see it, the $ won't get lost/taken/etc. and can get a $$ store for cheap

I didn't have a poem. Just a card that said "HAPPY HANUKA!"

Other ideas food-wise: latkes, applesauce, dreidel cookies, jelly donuts. . .

Envision a Hanuka basket and that's pretty much what mine looked like (iirc, I even included a plastic dreidel).

I understand what you did, but I want help with a note/poem for my theme. The theme is not chanukah it is gelt/money.


Actually, it will hopefully be, after I make sure my husband's okay with it.

Ok, I misunderstood. I thought you were trying to build a theme around leftover gelt.

(FYI knows this already, but here are more ideas)
raisin celery -- "segula" for parnossa
hamentashen with grape jelly like wine in pockets? or maybe just mini grape juice bottles...

any idea(s) where I can get those 'gift bags' that have money on them?

Have you looked at Oriental Trading Company?

Yes. I even called them to help me search.

i like it.

look, paper money
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application...p;sd=Play+Money

ETA: oh, you saw it already

I saw that, but I want to find the gift bags.

Being that purim is a Friday this year, wouldn’t you rather go for a shabbos theme ?

well, I have a feeling that many people will pull that 'shtick' so it won't be too original

do you want to do it for me?

Tell me what you want to say and I will.

You can make cookies that look like bills- simple ones.
Writting something about Dmei Purim, gelt for the velt.

To hold everything, You can pick up cheap pocketbooks/wallets at any 99 cent store. Also a couple of English slang words for money is "moolah", "bread". Maybe you can look up other slang words and work around them.

I actually don't do homemade goods for the main reason of I don't like to get them. I like everything packaged and you can decide if you like the hechsher or not.
That;s a great idea!! Thanks!!!!


I know. I intend to check out a dollar store over the weekend.

Those are great ideas, any others?!?

Just remembered another slang word for money is dough. There is alot you can do with that word. Lipa Schmeltzer has a Yiddish song called "Gelt". Maybe you can play around with that. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

OK. My husband said that he is fine hashkafically with this but gave me a 'that's stupid' idea face so we've got to make it really good just to prove him that it's NOT a pathetic idea - so help PLEASE!!!!

sO far you guys have been doing great, and I just need some fine tuning.

(yes, melech, I will iy"h share with you the final result of what's going in and poem if you help me out)

Sounds like my husband

no one else?!?!?!

Doesn't the gingerbread girl have an idea?
What about the rectangular artist trying to fit into a square box?
No one?

Apparently "cheese" is a slang term for money, but I don't know how many people in your circles will catch that...you can put in cheese curls or something...

can you give me a context as I've never heard of it before?

From a google search:
"No need to support her, she makes her own cheese."
I think it's quite urban, hip-hoppy...

why spend so much time on a theme? one time we got a mishloach manot that was "lunch theme:" it had a burger, fries, and a salad. only the burger some smooshed brownie in two peices of white cake, and the fries and salad were made of other sugar products. what's the point of giving something that's really something else? like a "potted plant" with a whole lot of cookie crumbs right before pesach.

it's one thing if you're giving an "apple" theme and give a bottle of apple juice, an apple and some apple flavored candy. but i don't like when there are a bunch of little things that can't be eaten or used and a whole bunch of paper. (i.e., a "friends" theme where there's an album of pictures of the friends plus a paper that has your favorite songs and a little basket with two of your favorite foods). it just seems people are totally missing the point.

and while we're ranting, can i just say that i don't see the point in giving out those tiny bottles of grape juice? they're annoying and no one wants to put 7 little bottles just to accomodate your family and your few guests. even people who are already stocking up for pesach can appreciate a bottle of grape juice. either send a normal sized bottle or don't send grape juice! a soda, a can of beer, or extra munchies instead of a drink is just as nice and probably more appreciated.

About those little bottles of grape juice- they happen to be great if you are on vacation and have to bring your own food for shabbos,etc. Just the right size. Also, the kids like them. Many people live alone, these are just fine.

Theme - if you notice I only plan on putting in sealed, closed, hechshered items and no 'cookie crumbs'
I agree with you about the friends theme - this will all be food based and other than what will hold food and maybe 1 chatchke it will be food
I actually use those little grape juices for when we pack a bag for hospital or go away for shabbos, etc.


agreed. Although I do also appreciate a good soda, nothing to do with beer and especially erev pesach - that usually goes to waste as I don't know anyone around that really drinks beer.

Public Service Announcement:

Themes are STILL ghey....

That is all, please proceed with your regular programming...

OK. Here's the list. If you come up with any additional ideas, let me know.
In addition, if you can start working on a poem for me. (thanks Ahavati) I would like the title to be 'Gelt for the Velt' (thanks to *princess*)

1) Money rolls - like winkies but shorter/fatter and look like coins
2) chanukah gelt
3) box of raisins and perhaps I will or won't include a stalk of celery for the shtick on R'H of a 'raise in salary' (raisin celery)
4) small grape juice/wine to allude to the concept of taking the havdalah wine, dipping in finger and wiping on pockets as a segulah for parnassah
5) a small bag of chips - the concept will be poker chips which means $$ somehow (I hope you know as I have no clue what it means)
6) MUST sucking candy - only if this fits somehow - you MUST have $$ to live or something. Otherwise I will skip it
7) Bread which is slang for $$$. If this fits in, I will get rolls from bakery and put each in it's own bag so that a person will actually be able to use it and know where it's from. I will not home-bake anything as I don't want people to not know where it's from/kashrus. If this doesn't fit in, we can skip it

If you have other ideas of non-perishables that are not super-expensive, you can add those in and I will try to get them.

THANKS!!!

Quick, correct the spelling- she wants to be called Ahavati.

This whole thread is seriously turning my stomach.

done!


why?

You see absolutely nothing ironic, ridiculous or disturbing about agonizing over Purim Mishloach manos themes in Teves?!?! As if you even need a theme for Mishloach manos. If you're going to invest this kind of preparation and care so far in advance, shouldn't it be for something more significant? (And we have 2 Adars this year, mind you.)

Oh, never mind.

I'm a sink or swim person either I'm ahead of the game or way behind. Last purim I was working on the shalach manos at midnight the night of purim, I would NOT like to have a repeat of that.

I'm not agonizing in any way over this.

I do NOT need a theme and haven't had one in approximately 3 years, but this year I decided on one since I have enough time to prep it.

No. I invest in plenty of other activities. This is my recreation and hasn't taken up much of my time yet, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

(Woops. I actually forgot there are 2 this year)

Never mind me. I find mishloach manos themes irritating. Enjoy.

Any ideas for a mazal tov/simcha theme?
(Just playing around with the thought.)

Well for simcha, you can do some of the smiley stuff I did last year -- I made giant sugar cookies, put on yellow icing and made eyes and a mouth; put in some candy that had smiley faces all over package (I think it's Israeli megadim or something), and don't recall what else. Not totally healthy, but it's a start.

Mazel Tov can be little champagne things (either real or candy), pacis for a baby, black and white cookies for chassuna....

make chosson and kallah cookies - cookie cutters with boy/girl shape, and then ice the girl with white trimming and a little veil and boy with some black pants, etc.