Shot Glass Collection

My first book, Jewish Holiday Style, was published in 1999 and set me off on a solid year of traveling around the United States. (To see my book, click here.) I visited many local synagogue's and JCC Jewish Book Fairs doing book signings and speaking engagements, slide show presentations and crafts. (Don't ask how my family survived without me during this time--that's a whole other blog post unto itself!)

I started buying shot glasses each time I found myself in a different city's airport--you have to think of SOMETHING to keep yourself entertained when you're doing that much traveling! Eventually even my family joined in the game with me, helping add to my collection over the years. (The glasses in these photos are only some of my collection--there's more on the shelves)!

The best part about these is that they don't just sit in a china cabinet buried away. I use them as my kiddish cups on Shabbat and holidays. The kiddush ceremony is begun saying the blessing over the wine with a kiddush cup (a cup designated for this use specifically). Then the wine is poured into smaller cups for everyone else at the table to have a sip. It's fun for guests to peek at the front of their cup and see where it's from--a great conversation starter!

Some of my favorites are my Florida glass (just the right amount of kitsch!),  glasses my son picked up during his year abroad studying in Prague, and our daughter's Hampshire College glass.

I'm not normally for dust-gathering collections, so I love that these are put to use in a very practical and fun way. Do you have any collections?

Linked to:

creative jewish mom

Centsational Girl