Gilligan and the Katsman's: A 3 Hour Tour

We all remember that fateful boating trip that the Howell's, the Professor, Mary Ann, Ginger and the crew took, decades ago, that was meant to be 3 hours but has continued for more than 30 years. Well, on our way to a family Chanukka party we also enjoyed our own special 3 hour tour. It took us 3 hours to get to Petach Tikva- a trip that usually takes about an hour. As with Gilligan, there was some stormy weather, but instead of almost being saved by Headhunters and Matobins, we were entertained by some of Israel's finest drivers and Na Nach's from the Breslov Chassidic sect. As much of Jerusalem was stuck in traffic, some drivers were in such hurry that they actually drove on the sidewalks, with little regard to pedestrians, in order to save a couple of minutes. While not particularly educational for our children, they thought that it was really funny. Speaking of funny, as we sat stuck in traffic on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, a group of Beslover Chassidim jumped out of their van on the side of the highway and started dancing. We opened up the window and got a special postcard from them. The kids thought this was hilarious.

Well, we finally arrived, a full 2.5 hours late, but the kids were all in pretty good spirits, all things considered.

Special thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for hosting the family party. It's always great when we all are able to get together, and with so many kids it's certainly not easy to host such a gathering. Thanks to both of you for opening up your home, everyone had a really good time. It was also a special event as it marked the first time all of the siblings were together for Chanukka in about 31 years, and the first time ever in Israel. Let's hope brother AIK decides to settle in the holy land.

BTW- Our family was never big on giving presents for Chanukka. Mother In Israel has a great post about the custom(?) of hanging stockings for the holiday.

2 Tips On Hosting Large Meals

We just finished serving lunch to 17 people, 12 of those were guests. While the conversation never got stale, and all the guests seemed to have a good time, nonetheless for the hosts, it's always a bit stressful to host a ton of people. Here are 2 tips to help all you hosts, deal with large meals.
1- Don't go crazy with food- guests will eat what's served, not more and not less. Don't feel that you need to add extra side dishes or extra main courses, just because you have a few more people at your table than normal. So many times we have hosted large meals and cooked and cooked only to have tons of leftovers.

2-Relax and let the conversation flow. With such a large amount of people with various backgrounds, it isn't too hard for the conversation to flow. There is no need to force the issue. Just relax and be happy knowing that your guests are having a good time.

Bon Apetit!