It is Hanukkah time! Admittedly, we are kind of limited with the crafts that we make on this holiday (where are the partridges, drummer-boys and gingerbread houses?), but the variations on the classics are endless! Menorahs, dreidels, and lots of Jewish stars.

I always like to start the holiday with a menorah craft that invites kids of all ages to light their own menorah. I know my kids love to have their own menorah set-up, and if you have little ones that are too young to strike a match, this is a great flameless menorah craft that allows them to feel a part of the holiday.

You can find all of the steps and materials below— feel free to use whatever you have on hand for the flames! I used yellow pom-poms, but you can use felt, tissue, paper, construction paper, buttons,… The options are endless!

Materials: You can find a link to all of the materials here.

• 8 medium clothespins, 1 large clothespin
• thin wash tape
• hot-glue gun
• wooden tongue depressor
• 2-inch wooden block
• yellow pom-poms

1. Adhere thin washi tape strips to the front of 9 wooden clothespins (8 medium sized and 1 larger).

2. Add stripes of matching tape to a 2-inch wooden block to make a stand for the “candles”.

3. Use hot-glue to attach the backs of the wooden clothespins to a wooden tongue depressor. You can glue the tallest clothespin as the shamash either in the center or on either end. You can glue the two parts together but it’s kind of convenient to keep them separate.

4. Each day of Hanukkah, clip a yellow pom-pom, a teardrop cut from yellow felt, or a tuft of yellow tissue paper first onto the tall candle, and then on each candle corresponding to the day of the holiday.

December 5, 2023| Early Elementary, Hanukkah, Holidays, Older Elementary, Preschool, Toddler