Hanukkah Crafts for Children

Celebrate Hanukkah with homemade crafts.

Help children celebrate the festival of lights by making simple crafts and decorations for your home. Homemade Hanukkah crafts not only keep restless kids occupied and happy, they can also serve as a way to teach children about the meaning of the holiday and the importance of family rituals and traditions.

Hanukkah Cards

Let children make Hanukkah-themed cards to send out to friends and relatives during the holiday season. Fold a sheet of construction paper in half once to make large cards or fold the paper in half twice to make smaller cards. Decorate the homemade card with dreidels cut from wrapping paper or colorful patterned origami papers. Glue the paper dreidels to the cards with a glue stick or white craft glue. Another option is to create a 3-D menorah on the front of the card with macaroni and dried lentils. Roll up a small piece of red paper and gently insert it into one end of each macaroni noodle to create the appearance of a lit candle. Glue the candles to the card and create the base of the menorah by gluing dried lentils underneath the candles.

Star of David

Create a Star of David using craft sticks, glue and paint. Arrange three craft sticks into the shape of a triangle with the ends overlapping and glue the ends of the sticks together. Repeat this process to create a second craft stick triangle. Once the glue is dry, invert one triangle onto the other and glue them together to form the Star of David. When the glue dries, let children decorate the ornament with paint, markers or glitter. Hang the ornament with a piece of thread or glue a small magnet to the back to display it on your refrigerator. You can also trim a photograph to fit the center of the star and glue it in place to create a Star of David picture frame.

Flameless Menorah

Help children craft their own flameless menorah to light each night of Hanukkah. Cut candle shapes from pieces of felt and glue them onto a dark blue background to form the menorah. Press the hook side of pieces of adhesive hook and loop tape above each candle to form a wick. Create the candle flames with nine orange felt tear drop shapes. Affix the loop side of the hook and loop tape to the back of each flame. Now even young children can light the menorah by pressing the flames into place.

References

• Kids Craft Weekly: Hanukkah Crafts for Kids
• Activity Village: Star of David Craft
• Disney Family: Felt Menorah