Make Hanukkah This Year as Fun as Ever With These 15 Ideas

Get your kiddo involved with the festivities through drawing time, where you can teach them how to draw the Star of David or a menorah. Bring watercolor or glitter paints in if you prefer, and let your kids unleash their creativity.

Another great option for making Hanukkah celebrations extra special for the kids is to involve them in baking challah. The mixing of the dough will be fun for little hands, and the braiding of the strands will make for a unique (and delicious) learning experience for them.

Making a DIY menorah with children sounds difficult, but can actually be much easier than you would think. The options are limitless: kids can paint small pots to fit each candle and set them out on the table, or paint wooden blocks that you carve a hole in beforehand. Another even easier option? A popsicle stick menorah won’t light up, but is super kid-friendly and will make for a fun, meaningful activity.

Have your kids be your sidekicks for the day, helping you and devising the Hanukkah decor strategy for your home. Involving the kids with putting up your Star of David wreath or special holiday table arrangement will get them even more excited about the upcoming festivities, and having a little help will be great for you, too!

To make the lighting of the menorah even more special, go on a walk beforehand and speak about the meaning behind the tradition. Talking about bringing light into the darkness, especially in times like these, will make for a wonderful moment that might even become a new family tradition.

Setting up a dreidel-making activity with the kids will put them in the Hanukkah spirit and keep them entertained for hours. There are many printables online with instructions, or you can also make one out of clay or the top of a milk carton. Anything goes, as long as the kids get to play afterwards!

Follow the Hanukkah tradition of eating fried foods by making Sufganiyot, or jelly doughnuts, representing the miracle of the oil so central to the holiday. Have your kids help with the baking, and watch them marvel at the process and taste. Find a simple recipe online, have kids pound away at the dough, and simply fry and fill the doughnuts. Eat them together and take the chance to talk about the symbolism behind the treat.

A great idea to keep kids engaged even when staying at home is to give each of the eight nights of Hanukkah a theme. (If they help pick them, even better!) The themes can be traditional, or can even be twists like “Musical Night.” Have them help you decorate for the theme, pick what they want to sing, and get them as excited as ever for the holiday.

Putting a unique “spin” on playing with dreidels will make for unexpected, exciting playtime with the kids. Instead of spinning for the pot, have a competition for who can spin the dreidel the longest, or who can stack dreidels the highest. Although traditions are always the best, these new ways of looking at the toy will keep kids engaged.

Then have them help make it! When kids can decide what’s on the menu, at least for some of the nights of Hanukkah, they will enjoy the food even more and be more engaged when it comes to helping out. Have them assist you with making latkes or applesauce in whatever way they can, and have them choose something special they would like to eat that night.

Cookies are a perfect canvas for getting creative, using blue and white icing to display all the Hanukkah traditions. Bake the cookies together, cut them out in whatever shapes you like, and talk about the meaning of the holiday as you decorate. Serve them for dessert that night, and it’s a win-win.

After the nightly festivities, play themed parlor games such as Hanukkah-centered charades, or learn traditional songs. Have the kids perform them at the end of the night, which they’re sure to love. Or, you can find Hanukkah-themed board games – gather the whole family to play a round. You can find tons of options on Amazon.

Another educational yet engaging activity for the kids. As they practice their letters, talk about the significance, pronunciation, or history of the language. You can even make a game out of what they can remember using flash cards. Snacking on decorated cookies all the while will sweeten the deal!

Perfect for toddlers and older kids alike, a Hanukkah sensory bin can be filled with blue and white Play-Doh, dreidels, candles, festive stickers, and more. Have kids try to guess what they grab first without looking, and once they reveal it, explain what each object symbolizes.

A spin on the old “pin the tail on the donkey” classic, this version involves all the fun while still involving the festivities at hand. Blindfold your kids, and have them pin felt candles on a painted menorah board, or change it up with other options, such as pinning letters on a dreidel.