How can I make a holiday party more inclusive for Jewish staff members?

Question

Sorry if this is too specific, but I'm pretty desperate for ideas. I'm a principal of a middle school, and I host my school's annual staff holiday party. There are about thirty of us, and we have a handful of Jewish staff members. The rest of our staff is somewhere between raised-Christian-but-now-atheist to quietly-Christian. I was raised Catholic but am now an atheist/agnostic. Yesterday I was approached by our newest Jewish staff member and told that because of the rise of antisemitism, I need to make sure the holiday party this year is more inclusive of Jewish traditions than the one last year. (Aside: I first checked in with her to ask if she felt safe at work, and to let her know that if she was hearing anything that made her uncomfortable from other staff members, parents, or students she should let me or our HR person know; she assured me that she hadn't encountered any antisemitism at work or in our community, and was referring to antisemitism being on the rise nationally.) I said that I absolutely wanted her to feel included at the holiday party, and asked her what I could do to make her more comfortable. She said that I needed to do more than I did last year to "be inclusive," and that I should "include more Jewish traditions." I agreed, but pressed her a bit for something more specific. She just kept repeating "The party has to be more inclusive," and "There need to be more Jewish traditions." So I switched tactics and asked if there was any activity or part of the party last year that had made her uncomfortable. She said no, and that she enjoyed everything at the party--she just needed it to be more inclusive. **If I could get your thoughts on what might be making her uncomfortable or what I can add, I would truly appreciate it! It would be a huge relief to have some concrete ideas that I can use to make her feel more comfortable.** I'll list the components of the holiday party that are connected to Christmas (although I try to err on the secular side of things because it's an office event--reindeer OK, Nativity not OK, etc.) and ways I've tried to make sure Chanukah is represented and remembered in past holiday parties. Things that are connected to Christmas: * The party is in my house, so I have a Christmas tree and some multicolored lights up (no religious ornaments or Nativity scenes). * Holiday music playing (no hymns/Jesus) * Optional white elephant gift exchange * There's a gingerbread decorating contest * Holiday trivia (no questions about the biblical part of Christmas; questions like, "How tall is the Rockefeller Christmas tree?" and "Name all the reindeer!") * Hot chocolate bar * I bake a lot of cookies (no Christmas shapes or colors) * The napkins and paper plates were green and red * The punch is flavored with apples, cranberries, and cinnamon; it's red and served with a green sprig of rosemary. * "Ugly holiday sweaters are encouraged!" on the invitation * We give out an annual staff gift (like a monogrammed backpack or nice jacket [staff members who don't attend still get the gift!]) And ways I've tried to make sure Chanukah is represented: * I make latkes from scratch, and we have a latke bar * I bake rugelach (my Polish great-grandmother's recipe!) * We have a decorate-a-dreidel table * Big bowl of chocolate Chanukah Gelt on the dessert table * Chanukah music included in the holiday mix * Chanukah questions included in holiday trivia Please let me know what else I can do! We're a tight-knit staff and I want to make sure we stay that way! Thank you so much for reading all of this!

Answer 1

Adding a playlist of traditional Jewish holiday songs (mostly available on Youtube for free) can enhance the general ambiance and is a very powerful way of including Jewish staff members. If the party is held around the Jewish holiday of Chanuka then having an electric menorah lit at the premises. If the party falls around the Jewish holiday of Passove then a good way would be to have boxes of matzo and chocolate covered matzo available on the tables. Also to bring in a choice of kosher wines could be a great idea, you can make it even more interesting by circulating a survey prior to the event and ask the jewish staff members which type of kosher wine they prefer: american, italian, sweet, semi sweet, dry or Champagne.

Playing a jewish trivia card game . And playing video cartoons for the kids with Jewish motifs (one popular video is Chanukah at Bubby's house).

I hope to have been useful.

Much of success at your party!

Ari F.