Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that’s become an integral part of the culture in many countries. It’s an eight-day festival, starting on the 25th of Kislev, a month of the Hebrew calendar that often coincides with November or December.

When is Hanukkah?

This year, Hanukkah is from the 18th of December to the 26th of December,2022, and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about this wonderful festival!

How is Hanukkah Celebrated?

Often called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games, and gifts.

What is the story behind Hanukkah?

The story of the miracle, as described in the Talmud, occurred after the liberation of the Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt. It describes how the finding of a jug of pure oil was to be enough to light the lamp for one day; instead, lasted for eight days.

Today, we’ve got some colorful and simple Hanukkah crafts for kids, celebrating icons of the festival, like menorahs and dreidels. There are crafts for every age group out there, so get ready to have fun crafting!

20 Heartwarming Hanukkah Crafts for Kids

world

1. Paper Plate Menorah Craft

One of the main highlights of a Hanukkah celebration is the lighting of the menorah, which is a candelabra with nine candles. This is done one candle at a time, for as long as the celebration lasts. Nurture Store has easy paper plate menorah crafts that even little kids can make.

2. Watercolor Dreidels

Another fun Hanukkah tradition is playing with the dreidel. The dreidel is also called the sevivon, and it is a special kind of top, with four sides. Creative Jewish Mom has a fun craft to celebrate the dreidel, with watercolors to create a special kind of art.

3. DIY Hanukkah Popup Card

This DIY Hanukkah Popup Card is easy for kids to make themselves, & they’ll be quite impressed with the outcome – popup cards are always a hit!

4. Free Printable Dreidel Boxes

Dreidels are a very interesting part of the Hanukkah celebrations. Each Dreidel has four sides, with a Hebrew letter on each side. The letters represent the message “Nes Gadol Haya Sham,” which means “A great miracle happened there”. Jewish Moms & Crafters brings alive this lovely message with a printable craft for kids.

5. Felt Menorah Toy

The menorah has nine candles, and one of them is placed higher than the others, and it’s called the shamash. This shamash is used to light the remaining eight candles, one on every day of Hanukkah. Gonnabe40 shows us how to make a cute felt toy menorah that kids will enjoy playing with.

6. Popsicle Stick Hanukkah Decorations

We love Popsicle sticks for the simple reason that they’re so versatile and easy to craft with! Creative Jewish Mom makes use of this versatility in making a full set of Hanukkah stick crafts using sticks of different colors.

7. Star of David Sun Catcher

Kids Craft Room has a bright and colorful paper plate craft that celebrates the Star of David, which is also called the Shield of David. The Star of David is actually a hexagram, consisting of two triangles placed opposite to each other and is an icon featured in many cultures.

8. DIY Kids Hanukkah Menorah

Michaels brings us a craft that’s super easy to make and is fun to play with as well! All you need is cardboard, craft paper and wooden pegs. Kids can use these peg candles to ‘light’ a candle every day!

9. Handprint Menorah

Here’s a fun craft for the littles! Alpha Mom shows us how to make a menorah with handprints, using pom poms as the candle lights! Use ready made foam letters and your project is ready!

10. 3-D Hanukkah Craft

We love the 3-D effect in this menorah craft from Kids Craft Room! The colors pop nicely, and you can use any contrasting colors of your choice, although we love blue and yellow together!

11. Dreidel and Sufganiyah Folding Paper Craft

Ask me what the best part of any festival is and I’m sure to say: food! A special Hanukkah delicacy is the Sufganiyah which is a deep fried doughnut stuffed with jelly. 10 Minutes of Quality Time has a fun craft that features a little dreidel gobbling up a sufganiyah!

12. Quilled Hanukkah Craft

If you’d like to really get down with crafting this Hanukkah, Houzz has the perfect craft for you! Take out your quilling strips to create some gorgeous works of art that feature the menorah, dreidel and others.

13. Cardboard Tube Menorah

Got cardboard tubes at home? If you do, then you have everything you need to make this fun craft from Hallmark! We like the painted detailing on the tubes – each one is different!

14. Felt Dreidel Banner

Whatever the festival, you only get a feel for it once you start decorating, which is why we love switching out our decor for festivals and seasons! She Knows does this too, and gives us a simple felt garland that’s quite easy to make.

15. DIY Paper Dreidels

Want to add a burst of color to your room while also celebrating the Hanukkah spirit? Parents has a craft that checks both these boxes and is quite easy to make as well!

16. DIY Hanukkah Wall Hanging

We’ve seen advent calendars, but this Hanukkah calendar is a little different. Busy in Brooklyn shows us how to make a felt wall hanging with little pockets for every day of Hanukkah, with little gifts in them.

17. Colorful Tape Menorah Craft

Washi tapes or decorative tapes are a big deal nowadays and they can be used in a variety of projects. Creekside Learning uses beautifully patterned tape to create an easy menorah representation.

18. Paper Dreidel Garland

If you’ve got strips and bits of patterned craft paper on hand, Paging Super Mom has just the project for you! Use them to create paper dreidel shapes which you can then string together to form a garland.

19. Hanukkah Door Decor

This door hanging from Design Megillah looks so festive! We love the use of different shades of blue to make these, and the lovely ribbon on the top just adds to the overall effect!

20. Spinning Star Mobile Craft

Nurture Store has a fun project that’ll delight kids who’re learning to cut shapes. Make patterns on plain paper and then cut out star shapes and then string them together – so many techniques in one craft!

Bonus – Free Hanukkah Puzzle Cards

Often called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games, and gifts.
It’s time to celebrate Hanukkah! Explore the sights, sounds, and foods of the Jewish holiday with a set of vocabulary flashcards.
Print, Laminate Cut & Play. This puzzle is a printable from our December Bundle, available for free to all our Club ArtsyCraftsy members.

Hanukkah Vocabulary Puzzle — Hanukkah Puzzle

This simple, easy-to-use puzzle is great for centers or early finisher activities during Hanukkah. It includes the 10 symbols for 10 mini puzzles (matching picture to word)

Note that terms for Hanukkah symbols are in English & Hebrew Does not include instructions, but the resource is versatile for classroom use

If you’ve never celebrated Hanukkah before, we hope these crafts will give you some inspiration to learn about the festival and give it your family’s special touch. Here is some more information about the festival

What is an appropriate greeting for Hanukkah?

To wish someone a Happy Hanukkah, say “Hanukkah Sameach!” (Happy Hanukkah) or simply “Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday). Or if you want to show off your Hebrew skills, say “Chag Urim Sameach!” (urim means “lights”).

What do the 8 days of Hanukkah stand for?

The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

The answer is that both are considered correct, though Hanukkah is the most widely used spelling, while Chanukah is more traditional.

What are the main colors of Hanukkah?

For Jewish Americans, this time of year is celebrated with the blue and white (and sometimes silver) of Hanukkah.

About the Hanukkah Menorah

A Menorah is a candelabra with nine candles. Four on either side and a candle in the center intended to light all the others. This is known as the shamash and it sits higher than (or somehow apart from) the other candles.

The candles should be placed from right to left. On the first night, there should be one candle on the far right of the chanukiah, plus the shamash. On the second night, there should be two candles on the right, plus the shamash, and so on.

About the Dreidel

A dreidel or dreidl (/ˈdreɪdəl/ DRAY-dəl; Yiddish: דרײדל‎, romanized: dreydl, plural: dreydlekh; Hebrew: סביבון‎, romanized: sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ‎ (nun), ג‎ (gimel), ה‎ (hei), ש‎ (shin).

About the Star of David

Star of David is a Jewish symbol composed of two overlaid equilateral triangles that form a six-pointed star. It appears on synagogues, Jewish tombstones, and the flag of the State of Israel.

Ever since Halloween started, we’ve all been in a festive mood, with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas coming up. Yes, we can’t celebrate with all our friends as earlier, but these crafts will ensure our time at home is well spent!