Hanukkah Gift Set (2008-

[maggiedoll]

Hey, it's NEW

New!
Hanukkah Gift Set
Item# F8736
American Girls can celebrate Hanukkah with this special set:
Six shiny coins, called gelt
A dreidel—a toy that Jewish girls have loved for centuries
A velour bag to store the dreidel and coins
A menorah with nine pretend candles
A pretty gift box that holds a doll-sized bracelet
$20

Not to be confused with this:
Hanukkah Gifts
Mark the eight days of Hanukkah with the menorah and pretend candles. Give your American Girl a silver Star-of-David necklace and four golden coins called gelt. Spin the dreidel—a toy that Jewish girls have loved for centuries.
$14 GCAH


In sweet life:

The menorah is made of heavy metal. It looks like the basic classic menorah. This is my first menorah but I'm assuming that it does not have a high tarnish rate. The candles are made of flexible plastic and can come out of the menorah, which is a tight fit. If this is for a kid I would recommended gluing the candles in the menorah because once they are out I'm assuming that they will be lost. They kind of look more like birthday candles than religious candles to me.

In scale with a doll. She can't hold it but it looks nice next to her. I'm not positive it is correct scale for "real life."

The "improvement" to this set is the girlify (yeah, made up a word!) the accessories and add a box and bag. The velour bag is big enough to store the plastic gelt and the dreidel. Plus it gathers up closed and looks pretty for the doll to hold. But, why does American Girl have to label everything? To add in the storage possibles, the bag fits into the box!
The gelt are right size and made of light plastic one side shows the Star of David and the other is menorah. It is light and makes a great dreidel game.

Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of cheep wood. I guess the powers to be decreed that girls needed a light blue dreidel. The best part is that the doll can hold her dreidel!

The box is made of thick cardboard with heavy paper covering. But it is too little for a cool present and too big for this girls present-

WHY American Girl WHY replace the classic, wonderful Star of David necklace for this? But hey it has beads so that makes it better.

The bracelet fits well and it is pretty and girly. It also seems to stay on the doll well, which is good because my new dolls is keeping this thing on. The picture is bad, I know.

To be frank, I probably would not had put this in my B&B bag unless I read this on AG's website:
Please Note:
This item is only available online and in American Girl retail stores while supplies last
I've been "almost" buying this set for about four years now. I figured that it was now or maybe never.

Compared to the original set, I kind of wish that they kept the original set. American Girl did seem like they tired to top the last one for the everything is relatively well made. I would had preferred a necklace to a bracelet. I would not recommended this to a small kid. To many things to be lost and the bracelet would not be made for small hands. I do love how well the set can be store and it looks pretty on display every winter. B

*Mod edit to remove dead image links

[operaghost]

Hanukkah items are an important part of one of my doll's stories, so these came at the perfect time. I love the menorah. It is solid nice metal. The middle candle hole was a tight fit. I love the little candles though. The color is great with the silver menorah. I wish the coins were gold like chocolate coins they sell in stores, but the ones with this set are good for what they are for. The dreidel is actually really cute, and spins well. It reminds me of the kind they gave out to kids in my elementary school. The little velvet bag and box are nice. The shade of blue they are is so pretty with everything. I do wish the bracelet was a necklace, but I like it alot. I haven't tried it on a doll yet, but it is cute. Overall, I like this set very much. I recommend it.

edit to add: I tried the bracelet on a doll. It seems very big, because it slid off her wrist. I think if you don't mind taking the charm off of the bracelet, you could put it on a chain to make a necklace.

[MrsMac]

I have both the new and old Hanukkah sets and I much prefer the menorah in the new one! The holes seem to be drilled deeper so the candles actually stay in place (though it takes more work to get them in). With the old set, the candles fall out if you so much as breathe on them; the new ones stayed in place all month without my having to fix them even once!

[Britta]

This set is clearanced for $10 on the AG website now so I bought it for my modern Jewish girl, Julianna. The menorah is great. As others have said, it's made of metal and feels nice and sturdy. I have left the candles in the little bag so far (will take them out at Hanukkah) but they seem nice. The dreidel is cute enough. Not a big fan of the gelt. The coins are way too big (about the size of pennies) and plasticky and ugh. Why are they silver? Usually they're gold. Not a huge fan of the bracelet either though the beads are cute. The little blue bow is awkward and I dislike that the bow, the star of David, and the silly little metal AG tag are all bunched together at the very end of the bracelet so they're right at the clasp. It looks weird. I would have skipped the bow and put the star of David at the middle of the bracelet. My mother-in-law likes to give me inexpensive pendants that come with cheap silver chains and I'm considering shortening one to doll necklace length, then putting the star of David on it instead. The little velvety bag is nice enough. At first I was wondering why the set came with the little box (which is just a shiny paper covered box, nothing fancy or high quality), but everything except the menorah fits inside so I rather like it.

Overall grade is a B for the $20 price tag but an A for $10! I mainly bought it for the menorah so the other things are bonuses.

[TheSocialSimScarlett]

I just wanted to add my picture of this little set, I had to have this set for a future doll of mines and at $10 it was a great little gift to myself.

Attachments:

[Aja Lee]

I bought this for $5 during that big, unexpected sale AG had in mid-July this year (2011). For that price, it is definitely worth it! I bought for Rebecca; I plan to get her historical one when I get a chance, but for $5, you can't go wrong. If I had paid full price, I may have been disappointed, though.

The Menorah: Heavier than it looks. It is made of metal (yay, not plastic yet!). In terms of scale, I think it's a little small, but nevertheless, it is well-made and cute. A

Candles: Rubbery, plastic-like. You have to cram them into the menorah. I agree with the other reviewer, they don't look very religious. B

The Gelt: Plastic silver coins with a menorah on one side and the Star of David on the other. What else to say? B+

The Dreidel: Looked at this only with a cursory glance, but I believe it's a cheap wood painted multiple times. B+

The Velour Bag: It does a nice job keeping the gelt and dreidel together. The logo is rather peevish though. A

Box: Cardboard covered in paper. I like how everything can fit in it. Much better for storage. However, it is flimsy and I can imagine it breaking easily. B+

Bracelet: OK, nothing special. Would much rather prefer the old necklace, better yet, in a gold color instead of silver. It is nice though. I haven't actually put it on anyone yet, but I imagine it to stay on well. A

Overall: For $5, this definitely gets an A+ for value, but for regular price, I would be a little disappointed and probably give it a B-.

[melangell]

I purchased the Hanukkah set in July (I think it was). Just got it out today and CAN NOT get the candles in. We'll just manage to squeeze the very tip of one in and then when we go to put the next one in, the first one pops out. I understand not wanting them to fall out, but this is ridiculous. They are too big for the holes. Does anyone have any words of wisdom before my husband gets out his drill to drill the holes bigger (yikes!). : :

[TheSocialSimScarlett]

I just have to wiggle them a bit then they fit fine.

[Madeline]

I had trouble at first with the menorah candles but finally got it.

Like TheSocialSimsScarlett, I just have to wiggle a bit to get them in and out, but it's fine. But sometimes, I just can't get them in and I have to do it a different way--I put the pointy end into the candle sticks. It works for me and its easy to take them out and put them back in that way. You can't tell that it's much different, either.

If you don't mind the candles being permanently in there, you can fill the little candlesticks with glue and press the candles into it, or hot glue the end of the candles and stick it in. I've seen users do it both ways and it works fine---the only issue is that once you do it that way, its in for good.
Sanding is a good idea!

[cheshie04]

One of my best AG values so far! $5 during the summer sale got me a great set.

I love all the little pieces and the colors of them. The menorah is heavy metal and I've had no trouble taking the candles in or out. The gift box is cute and can hold the candles, bracelet, velvet pouch with dreidel and gelt. The candles are perfect and are just like the ones my friend has, only his are in green, red, and purple. The bracelet I think is just fine. I love doll jewelry and this is no exception. The pouch is great because it can hold the dreidel and gelt, which are adorable. Except you can't spin the dreidel! The bottom is too smooth and wide for it to be a top.