Thread by @JewWhoHasItAll

My friend Eliyahu wrote this handy Christmas Party Guide!

Your First Christmas Party Invitation: A Guide for the Perplexed

1/23

Check the date— a “Christmas Party” is usually not on Erev Christmas or Christmas.

2/23

If they invite you to help “trim” their tree, don’t bring your hedge clippers!

They mean hanging shiny tchotchkes on it, called “Ornaments.”

🌲 → 🎄

3/23

If you live in big city’s more diverse neighborhood, a local store might have a Christmas section where you can select an Ornament for your hosts.

Otherwise, you can get crafty by attaching something shiny & festive like a secular winter holiday candelabra to a hook.

4/23

Stars and socks are also considered Christmasdik so you can also create an Ornament out of those things.

🧦🌟✡️

5/23

Dress like you’re going to Shabbat dinner.

6/23

Christians often exchange cards with a recent family photo.

Consider bringing a few copies of family photos to hand out to other guests.

7/23

It might be distressing at first to see a dead tree inside their house, especially this close to Tu B’Shvat.

Try to remember that they are fulfilling the commandment of the sacrificial conifer, and hope that they did so sustainably.

🌲

8/23

Your host (and any others in their religious community) may have decorated their lawn or house with outdoor decorations.

They frequently light up to symbolize illuminating the path to their prophet.

💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

9/23

Christians like to go over-the-top with decorations, and they also like to say that such decorations are “tacky.”

This can be difficult to navigate, so just use the word “festive.”

10/23

If you see ostentatious decorations on a Christian’s house, or a too-colorful tacky Christmas sweater, just say, “Oh, how festive.”

I offer similar advice to my Christian friend when he visits others’ Sukkot.

11/23

They might say one Christian bracha before the whole meal, and they don’t bentch after.

They should have a few bentchers in their home for guests, but be prepared to bring your own just in case.

12/23

Some Christians initiate their bracha by touching their head, chest, and shoulders.

They are drawing a cross shape over their bodies which is a symbol of Christianity. ✝️

13/23

Try to refrain from reflexively reaching for their doorposts.

They might feel embarrassed about not having a mezuzah.

Christians do not have mezuzot on their doorposts.

14/23

However, in anticipation of Christmas, they may hang a round wreath made out of Christmas tree branches on their front door.

You aren’t supposed to touch it, though.

15/23

Some Christian people eat by candlelight.

Try not to gasp when they snuff out the candles after dinner; there is no halakhic requirement to let their candles burn out on their own.

16/23

Try not to stare at their tree, however odd it may seem to you to have a pine tree inside the house. It would be impolite.

If you are caught staring, make sure to comment on how festive or beautiful it is.

17/23

Expect to see cookies decorated with many different designs of icing. (✝️🟡⚪️🐑📿😇🎅🌴🌲🇮🇪🇻🇦🇨🇽🎄🤶🍿🎥🥠🎄🧑‍🎄🥢♟🕯️🕯️🍷🐓🎁🐇🥚🥡)

You can join in the fun by bringing some secular desserts with universal appeal like hamentaschen, sufganiyot or rugelach.

18/23

Some Christians spend the time before their Rosh Hashanah planning what they are going to do for teshuva starting after their R”H.

They call their teshuva a “New Years Resolution,” and it is a fine conversation topic for any party through Yom St. Valentine Ha’Kadosh.

19/23

You might see oversized socks hanging above their hearth. These are not laundry. They are receptacles for Santa Claws to deposit candy and other small gifts like oranges or rosaries.

They are called “stalkings.”

20/23

Avoid using your wrapping paper with traditional holiday symbols.

Look for yellow 🟡 & white ⚪️ in specialty Christian gift shops; otherwise use something neutral like a Mishloach Manot bag.

21/23

Avoid bringing up the trips you took during fall festival breaks.

Most Christian families can’t miss school and work to travel for their one-day chagim.

22/23

You can learn more about the holiday by reading their favorite children’s books, like the one in which Elmo’s Christian friends invite him to their family’s Christmas party.

As they say, “Season’s Greetings” and have fun!

23/23