Need some Mother’s Day gift inspiration? We’re asking our contributing editors the three things they want (and the one thing they can’t actually buy). To get us started, here’s Jordana Horn’s wish list.

1. The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden

I lost my copy of this book about 20 years ago and for some reason have never replaced it. I LOVE THIS BOOK. The recipes are far-ranging and delicious, and the text, stories of the far-flung Jewish diaspora, are intriguing and would definitely cause me to burn food. I made an Indian-themed dinner for a boyfriend 20 years ago and after he took the first bite, he said he should marry me. He didn’t, but that’s neither here nor there: the point is the food is incredibly tasty.

2. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: California

I love these guidebooks and would love to get a copy of this so that I can spend my oh-so-many idle moments dreaming away about what I will do on my 40th birthday vacation getaway with my husband this summer. That’s right folks, ONE WEEK WITHOUT THE KIDS, JUST ME AND MY HUSBAND IN BLISSFUL CALIFORNIA. Fine, there’s the kid in my uterus–I told you I can never even go to the bathroom alone, let alone on a weeklong vacation.

3. Some kind of prenatal facial/massage thing at Destination Maternity

An afternoon or morning spent in bathrobed bliss, drooling.

The one thing I want for Mother’s Day that I can’t actually buy:

A magic pill I could take after giving birth to a healthy baby by which I would immediately fit back into my pre-maternity clothes. Hell, let’s make the pill have the side effects of giving me perky boobies, a springy butt, and eradicate all traces of circles under my eyes too.

*By purchasing any of the above items through Amazon, a portion of the proceeds will go to support our work at Kveller. It’s a Mother’s Day mitzvah!*

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: Gifts, Mother's Day, mother's day gift guide

If you’re not hosting your own seder but attending someone else’s this year, it’s a nice gesture to bring a little host gift. After all, they are feeding you tons of food, pouring a lot of wine, and retelling the entire Exodus story. That’s a lot to be thankful for! Here are some of our favorite gift ideas.

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook ($35) Remind them that soon, they won’t have to make everything with matzah meal. Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen recently came out with a very popular cookbook and everything looks ah-maz-ing.

Yiddish Wisdom Coasters ($18) These bright and colorful coasters have popular Yiddish sayings like “One friend is better than 10 relatives” and “Man plans and God laughs.” Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: Gifts, Passover, passover shopping guide 2013

When it comes to gift giving, kids are easy–shiny toys, or even just the box the toy came in, seem to do the trick. But what about these mysterious creatures known as young adults? The young and childless aunts and uncles of the world do a great job of kvelling over your kids, so pay them back with some of these amazing gifts from ModernTribe.

If the young man or woman has a very ironic sense of humor, they’ll definitely rock these holiday sweaters–Spinster Hanukkah Sweater ($65) and Spinmaster Hanukkah Sweater ($65). It’s the Hanukkah edition of the “ugly Christmas sweater” and yes, it will be a hit at parties. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: featured, Gifts, Hanukkah, hanukkah gift guide 2012

My big girl just turned 4 years old, and she got several games for her birthday. I’m psyched. I love games. I spent my childhood playing Parcheesi with my father, Boggle with my mother, and cards with my grandmother and cousins. I spent a summer slamming Dominos on a small wooden table in the countryside of the Dominican Republic, and I’m still trying to beat my father at gin.

Armed with these happy memories, I gladly sat down on our living room floor to play Chutes and Ladders with my daughters. Twenty minutes and many, many chutes later, we weren’t much closer to anyone winning, and I was ready to poke my eyes out. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Activities
• Tags: featured, games, Gifts, Hanukkah, preschooler

What to get for the kiddos this Hanukkah? Finding gifts that are at least a little Jewish is always a plus. Consider making some of these great gifts from ModernTribe part of your kids’ eight nights.

The perfect mezuzah for any star wars lover, this is. It’s one of the many Star Wars LEGO Mezuzahs ($35-$45), including ones featuring Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku, Mace Windu. If you’ve got more of a Hello Kitty fan on your hands, we’ve got that covered too. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Traditions
• Tags: featured, Gifts, Hanukkah, hanukkah gift guide 2012, toys

She gave birth, and then oh-so-much more. Thank mom this Hanukkah with a thoughtful present. Here are our favorite picks from ModernTribe.

If you’re dealing with a cooking-friendly mama, she will be proud to serve her potato pancakes in style with this adorable Stainless Steel Latke Server ($6). Or if you’re looking for something she can use year round, they make the same server just for kugel. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: featured, Gifts, Hanukkah, hanukkah gift guide 2012, moms

As I was planning my daughter’s 6th birthday, I had to ask myself why so many of us continue to throw big parties complete with an enormous pile of presents. I recognize that the parties are large to avoid hurt feelings, but can we agree that the amount of presents the kids receive as a result is objectionably over the top?

I’m not against the idea of gifts as a rule. It’s wonderfully celebratory to open some beautifully wrapped presents that someone took the time to choose. But when parents feel pressured to invite the whole class, we are talking about 20 or so gifts. I don’t think a birthday is more memorable for our children because of that seventh, tenth, or 18th present. It’s the law of diminishing returns. Certainly receiving 14 new Barbies is no more joyful than receiving, say, four. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: birthday parties, donate, Gifts, no gifts, presents

Pregnancy is wonderful in that people are usually kind when they see you waddling around with a human bowling ball tucked under your shirt. Doors are opened, seats are offered, and people give you that kind smile–the one that says, “Bless your heart but I’m glad I’m not you right about now.”

But after the baby is born you’re all stretched out like Gumby and leaking from your secondary sex characteristics and all people care about is what you were able to produce after nine months of eating and 10 hours of pushing. Sure, he’s adorable but Mama needs some love, too.

Here are a few gift suggestions for first time, and especially not-so-first-time Mamas.

1. Plants, Not Flowers: Give the new Mama an eco-friendly gift that will last longer than flowers and may actually improve her air quality. Green Your Air is a mama-owned company featuring chemical-filtering plants that naturally cleanse the air you breathe. The pots are made of bamboo fiber, rice husks, wheat straw, and corn stalks so they are biodegradable, nontoxic, and safe for any use. These little plants would be perfect on a window sill or in the nursery.

{For a limited time Green Your Air is giving Kveller readers 15% off their entire order! Use code KVELLER15 at checkout!} Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: featured, Gifts, new moms

We just got hip to this new site, Gifts From Your Mom, whose tagline–She gave you the gift of life. She should’ve quit while she was ahead–says it all.

Red leather thriller jackets and vibrators abound on this new site devoted to the worst gifts received from your mother. We’d like to think our crew of Kveller mamas would know better than giving a filled-out profile on Spirtitual Singles, but if you need some help on what not to do, here you go.

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: Gifts, internet, moms

“When you open your present,” I told my 5-year-old son on the first night of Hanukkah, “I don’t want to hear any complaints. Even if you don’t like it, don’t complain. Just say thank you.” An attitude of gratitude, as they say.

My son hit out it out of the park. Smiles and thank yous, the whole shebang.

I, however, did not. I got a present that, while perfectly lovely, did not match a picture that existed only in my head. And I kvetched.

I can’t remember when I became impossible to give presents to. For a long time I thought it was just my boyfriends, and then my husband, who couldn’t get it right—either because they weren’t applying themselves (i.e. did not sufficiently care) or were just plain incompetent.

A few years ago, however, I commented to my mother that I found her habit of sending me a check for my birthday kind of impersonal. That I’d rather her pick something out.

“You’re impossible to buy a gift for,” she said. “I’m scared I’ll get it wrong.”

That’s when I realized that I was the problem. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Parenting
• Tags: Gifts, Hanukkah