How to Create a Hanukkah Centerpiece

Celebrating Hanukkah usually means partaking in lots of holiday cheer and blessings centered on the family dinner table. The right centerpiece can create a focus on your culinary delights, as well as your decorative skills. Let the Festival of Lights shine brightly this year when you learn how easy it is to create a Hanukkah centerpiece for your table.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Miniature hot glue gun
• Florist's foam
• Small menorah
• Variegated boxwood
• Blue statice
• Scissors
• Two pieces of poster board, one white, one blue
• Glue sticks

Learn How to Create a Hanukkah Centerpiece

1. Draw a triangle on each piece of poster board, with each triangle measuring 2 1/2 inches on each side. You will be using these pieces as a template to measure and cut the florist's foam to form a base for the Hanukkah centerpiece.
2. Maneuver the cut pieces of poster board to form a six pointed star. Then place your small menorah on the center of the star to make sure that it fits with room to spare for the springs of boxwood and statice on the outer edges. If not, make larger triangles. Remove the menorah once you are satisfied.
3. Use the poster board star template to trace and cut another six pointed star out of the florist's foam. Attach the foam pieces together to make the star by applying small amounts of glue using a miniature hot glue gun.
4. Cut the variegated boxwood and statice into varying lengths. Using long pieces for the center and short pieces toward the outside of the Hanukkah centerpiece will help create balance and contrast in the design.
5. Place the menorah onto the center of the star cut from the florist's foam. Note that it's not necessary to have candles in the menorah at this point.
6. Insert the sprigs of boxwood and statice into the florist's foam, one piece at a time and working with one color at a time. Use the previously made star template of poster board to guide you as you create the star pattern. Fill the foam completely with each piece of floral material being placed as closely together as possible to avoid any gaps in the Hanukkah centerpiece.
7. Place candles in the menorah and enjoy your Hanukkah centerpiece over the next eight days. However, if you wrap the centerpiece carefully when the festivities are over, you can enjoy the same Hanukkah centerpiece for several years to come.

Tips & Warnings

• Boxwood and statice will last for a few years if preserved in tissue paper or a box and stored in a cool, dry place.
• Make sure the springs of boxwood and statice don't present a fire hazard when the candles of the menorah in the Hanukkah centerpiece are lit.