By: Nikthewriter

I did it again this year; I waited until the last minute to do my holiday shopping. The difference between this year and last year is I’m not going to jump in the car and race to the crowded shopping centers. I’ve discovered a calm and simple solution to holiday gift shopping this year and that is shopping from the comfort of my home and choosing from a wide range of Israeli made gifts and products available from sellers online.

Entering the category of Judaica and pressing the ‘search’ key has given me a pass into a broad line of holiday gift items and suggestions. Since the pomegranate is a symbol of fruitfulness due to its great number of seeds, I have discovered handmade ceramic copies of the fruit most well associated with Rosh Hashana which can serve well as table decorations. I have also seen pomegranates plated in silver. Kiddush cups, challah covers, bowls for honey, as well as special designs of Talis bags are just a sampling of timely gift suggestions available from designers and artists on the Internet.

Holiday gifts

Boutique stores provide a wonderful array of jewelry pieces – many of the items one of a kind. Artisans and craftsman provide colorful images of their products ranging from necklaces, earrings, rings or even jewelry sets. Budget was not a problem as many of these affordable designer offerings are made from trendy glass beads and stones and complemented with beads of gold as well. Of course there was also a wide variety of jewelry items made from more traditional materials like silver and gold.

Daphna'S - Earings

Fashion items I discovered included apron sets, handbags and designer belts and wallets. There is an amazing range of products that were either hand sewn or decorated.  It appears that many Israeli designers and artisans work from their homes or studios, a definite advantage as their costs are moderate and often times are reflected in their prices. In my search for holiday gifts I also came across some interesting works by Israeli painters which depicted religious and holiday themes. I found a few colorful prints that were reasonably priced and the seller was able to send them to my relatives in time for the holiday period.

Esther Pomerantz

My holiday shopping excursions didn’t exhaust me this year. In fact I did my shopping while dinner was cooking in the oven. Now all I have to do is contact my gift recipients and advise them that my gifts ‘are in the mail’.