Hanukkah Activities for Kids at Home

Eight nights is a long holiday for children, and it helps to have a small activity ready for each one. These ideas work at home with paper, markers and a few things you may already have. Families celebrate in different ways, so pick what fits yours.

Use an eight nights calendar

Give each night one simple thing: spin the dreidel, make a paper star, bake or cook something together, write a thank you note, play a family game, read a story, give something to someone in need and sing a favorite song. Kids like a checkbox they can mark themselves.

Keep coloring pages on hand

Coloring is a good way to settle in before dinner. Menorahs, dreidels, stars, latkes, doughnuts and coin bags are easy shapes for young children. Print on plain paper for quick fun or on cardstock to make cards and window decorations.

Try puzzles

Word searches with holiday words such as menorah, dreidel, latkes and candle work well for early readers. Mazes are good for younger kids, and a dreidel that has to find its way to the menorah gives the maze a story. Keep an answer key for grown ups.

Play dreidel

Chabad describes the basic game: each player puts one token in the pot, then spins. Nun means nothing happens, gimmel takes the whole pot, hey takes half and shin means you add one. Use chocolate coins, nuts, buttons or paper tokens. Younger children can simply watch the dreidel spin and name the letters.

Add bingo and I spy

Bingo cards with words like menorah, latke, gift and star give kids something to find as you move through the day. I spy pages ask children to count shapes and write the numbers in boxes, which gives a bit of math practice while they have fun.

Make simple crafts

A paper star garland needs only paper, scissors and yarn. Window decorations made from colored paper can go up in a few minutes. Ask a grown up to handle the scissors for younger children, and let kids choose the colors.

Teach kindness

Many families use Hanukkah to talk about giving. Let kids pick a toy to donate, write a note to a neighbor or help prepare food for someone. Small kindness cards that children can hand out make the idea concrete.

Give them a job

Children like being helpful. Let them set out the dreidels, count candles, wash fruit or wrap a gift. A short list of helper jobs with checkboxes shows what they can do.

Keep it flexible

You do not have to do something every night. Pick the nights that suit your schedule, skip the rest and let kids choose when they can. The goal is to enjoy the time together.

Matching activities to ages

Younger children enjoy coloring, tracing and matching. Early readers can try word searches and bingo. Older kids can write a story, design a dreidel or plan a family game night. Offer two or three choices rather than a long list.

Start with a ready-made pack

If you would like all of these in one printable file, the Hanukkah Kids Activity Pack includes coloring pages, puzzles, games, crafts and an eight nights calendar, ready to print tonight.