Chanukah with Friends
- Jan 17
- 5 min read
Chanukah is one of my favorite holidays. Ever since I can remember I’ve loved Chanukah. For many reasons. First and foremost, it’s the celebration of light. I love the light. I belong in the light, and I will always gravitate toward the light. Second, are the memories I have of the holiday both as a kid and as a parent. As a parent, we used to light a number of menorahs, sing songs, and play dreidel. Those games could get fierce! The kids figured out how to flip those dreidels on their heads.
Our dog Crosby also somehow knew it was special because once we started singing the prayers, and lighting the candles, she understood she would be getting a wrapped-up cookie. We helped her unwrap it so she wouldn’t eat the wrapping paper which was part of the fun.
Today I celebrate Chanukah with eight different sets of friends and family on each of the eight nights. I started this a few years ago and have kept the tradition. My friend Nancy in Kansas City has joined me for years via Facetime. We both look forward to this and after we light the candles and say the prayers, we catch up. My sister Staci and I have celebrated together for years as well. This year, we celebrated with Staci’s son and his new wife and Onyx, their very well-behaved dog. It was great fun to introduce and celebrate with them.
When I thought about who I’d like to include this year, I immediately thought of my new friend Shari Brune. Shari is the most happy, positive, loving spirit I’ve had the honor of getting to know. I approached her in Pilates Mat class and she said yes! before I even explained everything. She also thought of including Nikki Carey of One Table STL (a local non-profit) *. While I had thought that I was asking Shari and her family, Shari had the idea to include the Friends group in a Chanukah program. I was all for it. Sharing Chanukah with anyone and everyone is a gift; I was in.
Shari reached out to Nikki, and they planned a beautiful celebration which included Nikki baking challah with the girls, bringing chicken matzo ball soup for dinner and me saying the prayers, lighting the candles and playing dreidel. What a night! We also extended an invitation to Diane Klenke, our Pilates instructor who showed up to say hello.
Anyone who knows me and has celebrated Chanukah with me, (or been to my kids Bar/Bat Mitzvah) knows that I don’t have an aptitude for language. My kids would transliterate anything I ever had to say or chant in Hebrew. This actually works well.
This year, I made sure to practice many times so that when I did say/sing the prayers for the Friends group, I would sound as if I knew what I was doing!
Arriving at Shari’s beautiful home, I met Nikki unloading her car. Shari’s home was decked out for the holidays and was so warm and inviting. She had set a table in the kitchen with Chanukah goodies. The Trower family, Dianne and Darrell loaned us two menorahs, dreidels, a dreidel game guide, and chocolate gelt. She has also dropped off individual challahs and a cookbook from the late 1970’s/80’s which reminded me of the cookbooks my grandmother used to have. That cookbook was very fun to page through. One of the menorahs Dianne dropped to us was 100 years old.
As an aside. This got me thinking about the menorah I had. For whatever reason, I was the recipient of my Grandma Sally’s menorah. Years ago, when my Uncle Steve saw this he asked how I came to have it. “I have no idea,” I answered. I don’t remember a time I didn’t have it. It used to play music, and I’ve been hauling that thing around for years. When I heard that Dianne’s menorah was 100 years old, my sister and I did the math, and we believe this menorah is about 80 years old. In my head, it had come from the old country, my grandmother gifted this from an ancestor. It had a long story of survival and family history. When I asked my Uncle Steve he laughed and said, “It came from Woolworth’s.”
Nikki got the girls, Paige, Katie J., Tiffany, Kaitlyn T., Pooja, Devin H., and Kelly started on the challah dough as Diane dropped by to say hello and I organized the menorahs-I had brought mine as well-and listened to Nikki work with the girls. What a beautiful soul she is. She is kind, gentle, patient and has a rapport that goes beyond professional. You can tell how much she cares about who she is working with as well as their experience.
Once the challahs were in the oven baking, the girls and I moved to the table, and I explained the story of Chanukah. I told them about the oil lasting for 8 nights, the Maccabees and how we have lit the candles for years celebrating this miracle. I then explained how I would say the prayers, also sharing that you can sing the prayers. I showed them all the menorahs we had, including the 100-year-old one loaned to us.
I began saying the prayers when Shari jumped in and asked, “Could you say a line and then the girls could repeat it?” that is why Shari is Shari. What a great idea. And that’s exactly what we did.
Truth be told, it made me much more comfortable to be joined in the prayers by Friends and they sounded so good. I kept my fingers crossed that I sounded okay and began to relax and enjoy Chanukah how I usually do.
We then played dreidel which was great fun and then enjoyed Nikki’s matzo ball soup, potato pancakes, freshly baked challah, and grape juice. It was quite the party!
As we began to clean up, I looked around the room and realized that this Chanukah celebration was filled with love and laughter, good friends-new and old as well as the tradition that I truly loved.
It seemed as if the girls enjoyed the party, I loved being there with all of them, Nikki and Shari and I loved sharing this tradition with my grandmother’s menorah more than I can say.
Hugging everyone goodbye, we all made our way home and within a few hours we sent photos to one another.
Unbeknownst to me, Nikki had videoed us saying the prayers.
I sounded better than I thought AND my hair looked great. You know you never see your hair from the back when you’re moving around. And while the prayers sounded passable, my hair? Cute and worth being videoed.
This Chanukah celebration was one of my favorites ever. Filled with good Friends, fun, great hair, and yummy matzo ball soup that Grandma Sally would have loved.
Thank you to Shari Brune and her family for hosting this celebration. And to Nikki Carey who is truly a gift. Happy Chanukah.
For more St. Louis Girl Storytelling blogs and St. Louis Girl Podcasts and Interviews and to find out how I empower people to discover and use their voice through storytelling:
Nicole Carey, Co-Founder & President One Table STL: www.onetablestl.org
*About One Table STL
One Table STL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through hands-on cooking, nutrition education, and life-skills programming. Our mission is to provide a safe, inclusive environment where participants build confidence, independence, and community through food.
At One Table STL, we believe cooking is more than a skill, it is a pathway to autonomy, self-expression, and connection. By teaching practical, repeatable meals, and foundational nutrition concepts, we help participants gain tools they can carry into their everyday lives.
Shari Brune: sharibrune@gmail.com; 314-397-8038
Thank you for celebrating Chanukah this year: Paige, Katie J., Tiffany, Kaitlyn T., Pooja, Devin H., and Kelly. You made it a very happy Chanukah.
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