We have a funny family tradition at Hanukkah. It started over ten years ago when we felt pressured by our neighbors to decorate/light our house for the holidays. Our hood goes all out and gets competitive with it. There are cash prizes to the most well lit tract in our little town. Cash = awesome block party.
So please, our new neighbors implored of us 10 yrs ago, put out some luminaries to signify the walk of Joseph and Mary to the manger.
Say what, what?! I tapped on the brakes. Can’t do the luminaries but Hanukkah is the festival of lights. I have no problem with lights. I’ll tell you what I’ve got my glow on about. A big ginormous menorah! Now let’s win this thing!
Thus the giant lawn menorah was born. Our neighborhood is no longer as die hard about the lights competition (we don’t do group cherry picker rentals any more). But for us the idea and the competition aspect have stuck. Our lawn menorahs have been epic and each year my husband and I compete fiercely. We often do them as Ikea hacks due to the fact that Ikea seems to lend itself to creative endeavors like this. Last year I made a menorah out of Fangst and Fniss trash cans and toy storage (watch for dh’s re-use of my materials this year).
I’m nostalgic about this menorah from 2008. It was made using IKEA Variera plastic bag holders with up lights, a long PVC pipe, a few hundred nails and a few thousand yards of string. I think it was a serious win for my husband!
See more of my DIY Menorahs from this year and years past!
Leave a Reply