Celebrate Hanukkah with Crafts

There are so many great Hanukkah crafts for kids (and I have shared a bunch of Hanukkah crafts before) and it’s a great way to teach kids about Hanukkah and the symbols of the season, even if they aren’t Jewish.

Menorahs are probably the most well-known symbol of the season because they mark the days of the celebration and honor the light of the temple staying lit for nine days. This yarn wrapped menorah from Happy Toddler Playtime is easy to make with craft sticks and gives kids fine-motor skill practice.

Using clothespins as your candles is another fun way to incorporate fine-motor practice, and you can use a variety of things for the base. Happy Hooligans uses a piece of cardboard for the base with clothespin candles. And while the original instructions don’t seem to exist any more, there’s a picture of a paper plate menorah (originally from Pleasantest Thing) in this roundup of menorah crafts from Our Potluck Family that looks like fun.

If you’re making a classroom menorah, try this paper chain version from Bible Belt Balabusta. Hers was made for the school entrance but you could scale it down a bit to hang on the wall in a classroom if you’d rather.

Speaking of classroom crafts, these Hanukkah suncatchers from Jewish Moms and Crafters would be cute if you have a window in your classroom, or to use at home. Download the free templates and use sticky paper and bits of tissue paper to make a stained glass effect.

Dreidels are another common symbol of the season and a fun shape to craft with. NurtureStore has a fun printmaking activity that uses the dreidel shape and found objects to make a repeating pattern. You could do this same idea with any shape you like as the base.

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Hanukkah Crafts for Kids

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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