Hanukkah 2025: Things To Do, Eat, and Give
by Lu, OTL Seat Fillers
Last year, I wrote a post about Hanukkah 2024, marking the start of a new OTL tradition. So, here are some fresh (and refreshed) ideas for a Happy Hanukkah, including a new Hanukkah news feed that'll educate, inspire, and keep you busy. Return often, as it updates in real time.
Oh, and I'm sharing (again) the secret to my potato pancake recipe (aka latkes) for the crispiest, yummiest ever!
Jump to:
Where Can I Find Out About Hanukkah 2025 Events?
Right here!
What's a Unique Hanukkah Gift?
I wish I could say that OTL Seat Fillers gifts are the ideal gifts for everyone this Hanukkah, but they're location-dependent. So, if your gift recipient is an adult and happens to live in one of our top cities, it IS an ideal gift. If not, you can still think outside the box with a gift of things to do.
Seat Filler gift options are based on status and location. They're the ultimate gift of things to do locally!
How Much Do You Know About Hanukkah and Hanukkah Pop Culture?
Challenge yourself with our timed crossword challenge.
What Are Some Fun Shows & Events Happening During Hanukkah?
What Do You Know About the Hanukkah Adam Sandler Song?
ICYMI in 2024...
- The month was December. The show was Saturday Night Live. The segment was Weekend Update. In what year did Adam Sandler first sing the Hanukkah song?
- What's the name of the album featuring Part One of the Hanukkah Adam Sandler song?
- What's the name of the album featuring Part Two of the Chanukah song?
- And the hits keep coming... How many more Hanukkah songs did Adam Sandler release?
- OK. Get out your fingers and toes for this one. How many famous people can you name who are mentioned in the original Hanukkah song? I'll give you Arthur Fonzarelli to give you a head start.
Click here or scroll down to check your answers - or just listen to the song on YouTube!
What are the Hanukkah 2025 Dates?
Hanukkah 2025 begins at sundown on December 14th and ends at sundown on December 22nd. The timing is much earlier compared to last year (December 25-January 2), resulting in two Hanukkahs in 2025!
What Are Some Fun London Events During Hanukkah?
Do You Call Them Latkes or Potato Pancakes?
It doesn't matter what you call them, as long as you make 'em and enjoy 'em. They are DELICIOUS!!
So, I make pretty good ones, but I don't use an actual recipe. I tend to throw things in a bowl and see what happens. But can you really go wrong with crispy potatoes and onions? Here's my take on latkes:
- Grab a big bowl. You'll want to make a lot!
- Peel about 5-6 potatoes and use a grater and shred the potatoes (you can also use a food processor with a grater attachment).
- Use paper towels and squeeze out as much water as possible.
- Chop an onion to your taste - I like bigger pieces, but my nephews don't even want onions in the mix.
- Add 2-3 eggs and about 1/8 cup of regular, all-purpose flour (bear with me for a minute on why there's so little flour).
- Add salt and pepper - and be generous with the pepper, as it gives them a little kick in the background
- Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Why? I'm not quite sure. My Mom did it, so I do it.
- Mix and then add the secret ingredient... oatmeal! I don't measure - I just sprinkle it in, but it's probably about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, depending on the number of potatoes you're using. Oatmeal makes these potato pancakes crispy and uber-delicious.
- Heat about an inch of canola or vegetable oil in a large (and somewhat deep) pan until it's bubbling.
- Use an ice cream scoop and start scooping the batter into the pan, but leave a lot of room in between, as you need to flatten the scoop into a pancake shape.
- When the bottom is brown, flip the pancake until the other side is browned, and drain on a plate or tray with paper towels to absorb the grease.
- I butter and serve them with sour cream and applesauce.
Yum!
Adam Sandler Chanukah Song Trivia Answers
- Adam Sandler first sang the original Hanukkah Song on December 3, 1994, on Saturday Night Live.
- Version One of the Chanukah Song is on Sandler's 1996 album, What the Hell Happened to Me?
- Part II is on 1999's Stan and Judy's Kid. It was recorded at Brandeis University.
- There are four parts to the Hanukkah Adam Sandler song. Part III came out in 2002, and mentions Ben Stiller, Harry Houdini, Natalie Portman, Paula Abdul, and Lou Reed. Part IV mentions Adam Levine, Stan Lee, Punky Brewster, David Beckham, and Olaf, and came out in 2015.
- Here are the stars of Part One:
- Here is the alphabetized list of everyone mentioned in Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song with shorter notes:
Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer)
Arthur Fonzarelli (Fictional character from Happy Days, part Jewish on maternal side)
Captain Kirk (William Shatner)
David Lee Roth
Dear Abby (Pauline Phillips)
Dinah Shore (Replaced with Pauly Shore in some performances)
Ebenezer Scrooge (Sandler insists he’s not Jewish, despite what some people think)
Goldie Hawn (Jewish mother)
Harrison Ford
Henry Winkler (Jewish actor who played Fonzarelli)
James Caan
Jon Bauman (Bowzer from Sha Na Na)
Kirk Douglas
Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock)
O. J. Simpson (Declared “not a Jew!”)
Paul Newman (Jewish father)
Rod Carew (Mistakenly claimed to have converted to Judaism)
The owner of the Seattle SuperSonics
The Three Stooges (Moe, Shemp, and Curly Howard; Larry Fine, Joe Besser; Joe DeRita wasn’t Jewish)
Tom Cruise (Scientologist; Sandler jokes his agent might be Jewish)
Oh, and he also mentions "You" and "Me."
