Seasonal Activities

Hanukkah Crafts for Kids: A Paper Plate Menorah and a Dreidel to Make

Two simple makes to talk about the Festival of Lights with your children: a hanging menorah from a paper plate, and a cardboard dreidel with the game to play afterwards.

Updated 15 September 2026

Paper plate menorah craft with nine paper candles and a ribbon to hang it

Quick answer

Make a menorah from half a paper plate and nine paper candles, then a dreidel from a cereal-box square and a pencil, and play the gelt game with chocolate coins or beans. Ages 3 to 7, about 30 minutes each.

We think it matters to teach children about holidays and traditions we might not celebrate ourselves but which are part of our friends' and neighbours' lives. This time of year is famous for Christmas, but for many people around the world it is Hanukkah, or Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights: eight days, usually in late November or December, remembering the miracle of the oil. Families light one more candle each night in a special candlestick called a menorah, exchange gifts, give to those in need, and children play a spinning-top game with a dreidel.

Talking with children about different cultures and beliefs builds empathy and understanding, and teaches them that whatever our differences, family, respect and love are things we share. These two activities give you a way in.

1. Paper plate menorah

A hanging menorah made from a paper plate and nine paper candles, with the shamash in the middle.

Best forCutting, gluing and learning about a tradition
Age3 to 7
Time30 minutes, plus drying if painted
Mess levelLow
DifficultyEasy
CostUnder £1

You will need

A paper plate
White or coloured paper
Markers or crayons, or paint if you feel like getting messy
Glue and scissors
String or ribbon

How to set it up

Cut the paper plate in half and colour or paint one half.
Cut a pizza-slice shape from the other half and colour it to match, then glue it to the bottom of the first half to make a candle holder.
Cut eight paper strips about 10cm by 2cm for the candles, and one longer strip for the shamash.
Colour the candles, cut out nine flame shapes and glue one to the top of each.
Glue the candles to the holder with the long one in the middle.
Make a hole at each side of the plate, thread the ribbon through, and hang it up.

Why it helps

Cutting strips and flames is good scissor practice, and the craft carries a question worth answering: why nine candles for eight nights? The tall one in the middle is the shamash, the helper that lights the others.

Safety notes

Child-safe scissors and supervision. A grown-up makes the holes for the ribbon.

Cardboard dreidel made from a cereal box and a pencil, with the four Hebrew letters

2. Make a dreidel and play the game

A spinning top from a cereal box and a pencil, with the four Hebrew letters and the traditional game to play with chocolate coins or beans.

Best forTurn-taking, counting and a new tradition
Age4 to 7
Time10 minutes to make, then play
Mess levelLow
DifficultyEasy
CostFree with a cereal box

You will need

Thin cardboard, such as a cereal box
A short pencil
A marker pen
Gelt to play with: chocolate coins, pennies or dried beans

How to set it up

Cut an 8cm square of cardboard and draw two diagonals to divide it into four triangles.
Write one Hebrew letter in each triangle: nun, gimel, hei and shin.
Push the pencil through the centre so it spins.
To play: everyone puts one piece of gelt in the pot and takes turns to spin. Nun means nothing happens, gimel takes the whole pot, hei takes half, shin means you add one piece. When the pot is empty, everyone adds one. Whoever ends up with all the gelt wins.

Why it helps

The game is turn-taking and counting in disguise, and making the top first gives children a stake in it. It is also a gentle introduction to a tradition that may belong to their friends and neighbours rather than to them, which is where empathy starts.