Yesterday’s yoga class really hit the nail on the head for the coming year: “Wish big, Breath Big, Think Big.” Here at Challah Connection, we are thinking BIG for 2011. Check out our plans:

1) Bigger Warehouse Space: We are planning a move into a new warehouse space that will be about 5 times our existing space. After 4 consecutive years of 20%+ growth each year, it’s time. We’ll be adding more staff, more merchandise and better procedures designed to increased quality control.

2) More catalogs: We tested a holiday catalog for Hanukkah/Holiday ’10 and apparently there are many of you who prefer catalog shopping to online shopping. We respect those who prefer to stick with the web for environmental reasons, but we are pleased to provide others this new way to shop for our terrific products. Click here to request our upcoming catalog for Purim Gifts.

3) New Products: You have been loving all of the new gifts we have been creating for you so we have great, big new product ideas for 2011. Over the recent holidays, in addition to our scrumptious holiday food gifts, you bought lots of baseball merchandise, Hanukkah ornaments, Judaica, books (lots of How to Raise a Jewish Dog!), Money clips, Jewish placemats and Jewish fine art. We will continue to expand our products with the goal of ensuring our spot as your favorite gift shop for all of your recipients–Jewish or not! Speaking of scrumptious holiday food gifts, in addition to our holiday gift baskets you “ate” up our kosher gift towers and fresh fruit baskets; both brand new categories introduced for Hanukkah & Christmas 2010.

4) Not Just Jewish! Did you know that Challah Connection has become a true destination for Christmas Gift Baskets? It’s true! “Jewish” baked goods such as challah, babka, rugelach and black and white cookies are popular for Christmas and Easter. As a matter of fact our Challah Maven French Toast Kit and Challah Variety Pack fed many happy families on Christmas morning. This is really exciting to us and we are kvelling that our gifts are in such demand by those outside our Jewish family. From a happy customer:

“Your customer service has always been fantastic and everyone I have ever spoken to very helpful. You are a great alternative to places like Harry and David. Keep up the good work.”

We have tremendous respect for our friends Harry & David (another Jewish company–their last name is Rosenberg), but hey guys–here we come!

Thank you all for a terrific 2010 and we look forward to a prosperous 2011.
“Wish big, Breath Big, Think Big.”

When I was growing up in Stamford, CT back in the 60′s I really disliked Christmas. Most of my friends were Catholic or Protestant. Christmas was THEIR big day for presents and family and MY big day for feeling sad and left out. Making it worse, everything was closed–even movies, as I remember– so there was really nothing to do. I would pine away for the next day so we could go “back to normal.”

Seems like those days are way in the past. Christmas has become the day for Jews in the ‘burbs to enjoy. We have Chinese food, movies, and invitations to Christmas celebrations. Last night, for Christmas Eve our immediate and extended family gathered at a Chinese restaurant in New Canaan and then walked 2 storefronts over to see True Grit. I truly believe that the Jewish directors (Joel and Ethan Coen) and one of the Jewish executive producers (Steven Speilberg) made sure this terrific movie was available to all of us for Christmas. Thanks guys!! My son Sam, did a scientific survey and has concluded that 1) everyone in the restaurant went to same movie as us and 2) that they were all Jewish. You can read his blog post about it. Frankly, I’m not sure I agree with him especially given the demographic makeup of New Canaan.

Today, Christmas day, I am having a great, relaxing day of eating and cooking. Later, we’ll be sharing Christmas dinner with our friends George and Elaine, with whom we share a close cross cultural friendship. They are part of our extended family and have come to appreciate our favorite Jewish traditions while we love their Russian orthodox/Italian/Polish/Catholic ones. My mother is bringing Elaine’s favorite: brisket. Christmas brisket–how perfectly 2010.

Being Jewish here in the ‘burbs of NYC is actually aok.

Oy, here at Challah Connection, we just love to give our customers a deal on our fabulous kosher gift baskets and now is the time to get one. We generously gave away 10% off merchandise to all of our Hanukkah shoppers who ordered by 12/5 and we were thrilled with all of our new customers who found us through our first-ever catalog. Thank you catalog shoppers!!

Now with Christmas and Chrismukkah upon us, we are thrilled to offer more deals on our scrumptions Christmas gift baskets and Chrismukkah gifts. (For those of you who may not realize, “Jewish” baked goods are very popular and appreciated on Christmas. Of course, this gives us a big-time kvell–Yiddish for pride.) Here’s the deal:

-For online orders $75 and above: Free Ground Shipping and 5% off your order (shipping not included). Use key code: MIRACLE or Click to shop. offer expires 12/19/10

-For online orders $30-$74.99: 5% off your order (shipping not included). Use key code: HI5 or Click to shop. offer expires 12/31/10

For phone orders $75 and above: Free Ground Shipping. Call us at 866-242-5524 to order. offer expires 12/31/10

Happy Holidays–Hanukkah, Christmas, Chrismukkah and any other that you celebrate. We wish you peace and happiness for the holidays–and always.

I grew up in a household that was somewhere between reformed and orthodox. While that may seem an eclectic mix, in the broader world, it wasn’t: both my were parents Jewish, we all went to Hebrew school and some of us even day school. Needless to say, when it came to December holidays, it was Hanukkah pure and simple–no discussion of trees or bushes although I remember one year, I begged my parents for Christmas-type stockings–”NO.” I did hang an old pair of sweat socks on the mantle and filled it with my own store-bought candy. It was kind of fun but that has been my extent of Christmas involvement.

Last year, here at Challah Connection, we got some requests for items for interfaith families for their celebration of both Christmas and Hanukkah. I have to be honest, I was uncomfortable with the idea. But I came to realize that the truth in 2010 America is that many families are not like the one I grew up in or like the one I have (2 Jewish parents). We quickly got into gear and found some great products for these families. Why not? It brings joy and tradition to their holidays and that is the essence of Challah Connection.

This year, with the introduction of our first catalog, we dedicated one full page to “Chrismukkah,” a holiday best described as a melange of Hanukkah and Christmas traditions. The sales of these products have been astounding! It thrills us that we are providing ways for families to celebrate the holidays. (For any of you who disapprove of these products–and I know there are many–we feel that it is not our place to judge how people celebrate. We are helping people create lasting traditions and family memories, which is our mission.).

But wait…there’s more! Last month, I took a call from a loyal customer who told me that we were short changing our marketing efforts for “Chrismukkah” products. She told me that Jewish families also decorate their houses for Chanukah–not just interfaith or Christmas-celebrating famililes. I was a bit surprised by this given my own background. She explained that she grew up orthodox, her mother survived a concentration camp and that throughout her childhood, her house was filled with Hanukkah decorations. She went on to tell me that many of her Jewish friends also “decorate.” As I often do, I went to my own network of friends and asked about this “Hanukkah Decorating” phenomenon. Sure enough–lots of them do! She recommended some additional items to offer and introduced me to Christopher Radko, a company known for gorgeous blown glass ornaments and also told me about ornament stands. This was a whole new education for me! Last week, with all of the new merchandise in house, ready for a photo shoot I fell in love with the decorating tradition. I LOVE how all of these gorgeous ornaments look and look forward to having them hanging in my house throughout Hanukkah–maybe all through December! How about you–are you going to be “decorating?” Please leave a comment and let us know!!

This afternoon, we emailed all of our customers letting them know that we have Halloween Black and Orange cookies. You would think that we were advertising illegal drugs to minors! Within minutes I received several angry emails. Here is a taste of a few of them:
- “Challah Connection supporting Halloween?”
-”Why does the challah connection sell Holloween stuff. Please unsubscribe me from your email list.”
-”Halloween is not exactly a Jewish holiday. This really is inappropriate.”
-”I must confess, I’m not sure which Jewish occasion Halloween is. Please unsubscribe me from your email list as soon as possible.”
-”kind of weird, no?”

As a business owner–one who has sweated over growing this business for 8 years–you NEVER want to see a customer get angry over something you’ve done. Unsubscribing to our email list is even worse, feeling like the ultimate act of abandonment. To those I offended, I deeply apologize and I hope you’ll reconsider unsubscribing.

To answer the question of “why do we support Halloween?” Simply, because it is an occasion to apply our mission: to help our customers share holiday traditions with delicious Jewish inspired goodies. It’s really that simple. We build community through our kosher food gifts.

Interestingly, the Halloween cookies were baked in response to several customers who called and asked for them. Our experience with requests like this is that they represent a broader interest in a product. We felt that the black and orange cookie idea was a great one as it is a spin on the traditional, Jewish black and whites.

Again, we deeply apologize to those of you who are offended by these cookies. It was not our intention to upset or offend. Rather, it was our can-do attitude that quickly pulled together the product and made them available.

We hope you will reconsider our actions and see us as the ambitious mensches that we are.

Twenty-four gorgeous color pages showcasing almost 200 great gifts for Hanukkah, Holiday and Chrismukkah. It’s our first catalog and the beginning of an exciting new channel of our business. Who to thank for this exciting growth? YOU, our loyal customers who have come back to us every year, every holiday for over 8 years. If you are not on our mailing list, click on the catalog cover to take you to our catalog sign up form. Watch your mailbox around November 4 for this momentus Challah Connection event!

I (Jane Mark Moritz) want to extend my warmest thanks to all of you who have so kindly sent their condolences regarding the death of my Dad, Julian S. Mark. My father was truly an amazing man. Here is his complete obituary:

Commando, Captain, Football Player, Dentist And One Great Poppi
Dr. Julian S. Mark died on August 6, 2010 in Stamford, CT. He was 87 years old and died of natural causes.

Born on July 31, 1923 in New York City, the son of the late Harry and Pauline Mark, he received his B.S. from Tufts University in 1945. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a Naval Scout Officer—the forerunner of the Navy Seals—completing a reconnaissance mission of an amphibious landing area on an island off the coast of Okinawa, ten days prior to the U.S. landing.
Stabbed in his proverbial “stern” during one night time pre-landing patrol, he was unaware of his wound until he was making a verbal report to the beach commander back at his ship.

Later, as commander of a Navy landing ship off-loading supplies and men in Vietnam following the end of the Pacific War, he and a fellow officer on shore leave were surrounded by Vietnamese guerillas who mistook them for French Naval Officers. Ironically they avoided death by shouting “American, American.”

After the war, he played football for the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) during the 1946 season. He earned $250 per game, money he put towards Dental School. Mark left the team when a spot opened up for him at Georgetown University School of Dentistry, where he was also a part-time assistant foot ball coach.

Although he had an imposing 6’7’’ athletic frame, he was known as much for his engaging charm and warmth.
Dr. Mark came to Stamford with his wife, Rebecca Mark, in 1950 after graduating from Georgetown Dental School. He retired two years ago.

Once during the 1960’s, Stamford Democrats ran him for Congress against a strong incumbent Republican. As he called it, it was strictly a straw dog candidacy.

A man who strongly believed that every human being could make a difference, he devoted much of his time to education and social service. In addition to spending 34 years as an instructor and an assistant professor at the post graduate School of Dentistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he was appointed by Governor John Dempsey to be the Dental Advisor to the Connecticut Commission of the Mentally Retarded from 1954-1956, campaign chairman of the Stamford Jewish Federation, a director of the Stamford Jewish Center, a director of Jewish Family Services and a director of the Aid for the Retarded. He was a volunteer dentist of the Catholic Medical Mission serving for one month at a time in Jamaica, Haiti, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Nicaragua. He was also a volunteer dentist in Israel on two occasions and in Byblos, Lebanon served as the dental paleontologist with a distinguished group of archaeologists.

For the past 43 years he had also been an alumni interviewer for students applying to Georgetown University. At age 80, he began a new career as a hospice volunteer at the Visiting Nurses Association.

In addition to his wife to whom he was married for 62 years, he is survived by 5 children; 3 daughters, Susan Mark Hamlin of Los Gatos, California, Stephanie Mark of Stamford, Jane Mark Moritz of Westport, Connecticut and 2 sons, Andrew Mark of New York City and Joshua Mark of Jerusalem, Israel. He is survived by 13 grandchildren nobly named Amanda Brady, Nathaniel Hamlin, Kathy Hamlin, Rachel and David Mark, Sam, Harry and Michael Moritz, Orly, Talia, Aharoni and Aliza Mark and William Malkevich; daughter and son-in-laws Betsy Devine, Marina Malkevich, Chris Hamlin, and Joshua Moritz; nephew Martin Teicher and neice Carol Kupferman.

Funeral services were held on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at Agudath Shalom Synagogue chapel, 301 Strawberry Hill Ave. in Stamford at 2PM and burial was at the Agudath Shalom Cemetary on West Hill Road.