Two San Francisco Bay area moms, Lisa Kinne and Susan Mayost, set up a new business they call Sweet Thrills Bakeshop, and their focus has primarily been on developing a new, creative activity for Chanukah-Chocolate Gingerbread Menorah decorating kits.

"With our kids all now in school (ages 4-8), it was time for us to have some fun with our own creative ideas, not that playing Legos and having tea parties isn't endlessly satisfying," said Kinne. 

The idea was sparked by Mayost's own experience as a Jewish parent. Each year her kids would be excited by the idea of building with gingerbread and decorating with candy, so she would go ahead and get them a gingerbread house.

"But as their finished gingerbread house sat among the dreidels and latkes during Chanukah, it just didn't feel quite right," she said. And so, the idea was born to create a product that still offered children all the fun of building and decorating with gingerbread and candy, but in a way more relevant to the Jewish traditions and Chanukah celebrations.

"Our Gingerbread Menorah Kits are certified Kosher Pareve and come complete with everything you'd need, from chocolate gingerbread pieces for the Menorah, to ready-to-use icing and plenty of candy," Kinne told the Heritage. Also available are candy candle-making supplies, with step-by-step instructions that allow children to mold and design their own unique Chanukah "candle" collection. 

For more information about the kits, visit http://www.sweetthrillsbakeshop