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MACARONI DAYS: HANUKKAH CRAFTS

Fun Crafts For Your Kids To Celebrate The Festival of Lights

By Sharon Rosenthal, www.camarillo.macaronikid.com December 2, 2012
Want to make some Hanukkah crafts? Here are different Menorah's or Chanukiyah's your kids can create out of items around the house.

Craft Spoon and Flameless Chanukiyah or Menorah
Materials:
  • Nine wooden craft spoons per menorah
  • Paint and brushes or markers
  • Knife or sharp scissors (for adult use)
  • 12 small plastic cups
Procedure:
  1. Make flames on nine wooden spoons with yellow and orange markers or paint.
  2. Cut a 3/4-inch slit on the bottom of nine cups.
  3. Cut the bottoms from the remaining three cups and stack them for the center candle.
  4. Children can safely “light” their chanukiyot by inserting the correct number of “spoon flames” into the cups—one for each night.
Baby Food Jar Chanukiyah or Menorah

Materials:
  • Eight or nine cleaned small baby food jars
  • One large baby food jar (optional for the shamash— a small one can also be used)
  • Modeling clay
  • Jewel stickers, sequins or flat sided plastic jewels 
  • Craft glue
  • Cotton swab
  • Glitter glue or glass writing pen
  • Chanukah candles
Procedure:
  1. Decorate the baby food jars with the jewels, sequins, etc. (Using the jewel stickers is easiest and best for younger children.)
  2. When you decorate the shamash jar, you may want to write a message using glitter glue or a glass-writing pen. Allow plenty of time to dry. If you do not have large jars, you can use a small jar for the shamash and either use a larger candle or make the clay holder taller.
  3. Form nine balls with modeling clay. Place a ball of clay in the base of each jar to hold the candles.
  4. Line up the jars with the shamash in the middle to form your chanukiyah.
Milk Carton Dreidel
Materials:
  • Pencils 
  • Glue 
  • Paint and paintbrushes 
  • Small milk cartons or boxes 
Procedure:
  1. Clean out and fold back tops of milk cartons.
  2. Mix a little glue with paint and let children paint boxes.
  3. On each side draw one of the following letters: H,S,N,G These letters stand for “A Great Miracle Happened There.”
  4. When paint is dry, poke the pencil through the box from top downward, so point is on the bottom.
  5. You’re ready to spin!
Play!!
N NUN—nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
G GIMEL—player takes all tokens in the pot
H HEY—player takes half of the pot
S SHIN—player must put one token into the pot