Hanukkah is a special time for everyone who celebrates, but most of us parents agree that more than anyone else, Hanukkah is for kids. It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach kids about their Jewish heritage, partake in some yummy foods and make lasting memories.
Kids love the excitement and merriment of the Hanukkah — and of course, the gifts. But there is more to the holiday than getting presents or lighting candles. Traditions are an important part of celebrating Hanukkah, and you might be looking for some new Hanukkah activities to enjoy with your kiddos. You might also be looking for the best way to explain Hanukkah for kids.
We’ve got you covered. Here are some Hanukkah facts for kids, a kid-friendly version of the Hanukkah story and some original, out-of-the box ways to celebrate this special holiday, inspired by other Jewish parents and families.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is a holiday that celebrates strength, resilience and finding light in dark times. The holiday lasts eight nights.
Traditional Hanukkah activities include lighting candles in a menorah, which is usually exciting and mesmerizing for the little ones. Each night, one candle is added until all eight candles are lit. Many families choose to say prayers as they light the candles. As kids get older, they can start lighting the candles themselves.
Many families do a Hanukkah gift exchange and play a few rounds with a spinning top called a dreidel. They will also gather with extended family and gorge on latkes (potato fritters), doughnuts, chocolate gelt (coins) and other treats.
When is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah takes place in late fall or early winter, depending on when it falls on the Jewish calendar. Hanukkah traditionally begins on the 25th day Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Jewish calendar. In 2024, Hanukkah will begin on December 25 in the evening and will end on the evening of January 2.
The story of Hanukkah for kids
Besides all the joy and fun of the holiday, Hanukkah is also about sharing Jewish history and traditions with your kids. One way to do this is by sharing the story of Hanukkah for kids.
Keeping the Hanukkah story as simple as possible can help it be absorbed and understood by kids of all ages. The basics of the story, according to PJ Library, are that it took place a long time ago, in the second century B.C., at a time when Israel was ruled by Greeks, who were imposing their religion on the Jewish people.
A small group of Jewish rebels called the Maccabees fought the Greek armies and were able to push them out of Israel. Thrilled to be free and able to practice their religion, the Jews returned to their Temple, only to find that it had been ransacked. When they went to light their menorah, they saw that there was only enough oil to keep it lit for one night. But, to their amazement, the candles stayed lit for eight whole nights.
This miracle of the candles — along with the Jews’ fighting spirit — is what is celebrated during Hanukkah.
Hanukkah traditions to celebrate with kids
It is always fun to add new traditions to your repertoire, and what better way to do that than to take some inspiration from others? Here, 11 families share their unique Hanukkah traditions to inspire new ways to celebrate with your loved ones.
1. Find Hanukkah celebrations in your community
Celebrating Hanukkah with your family is awesome, but celebrating it with your community can offer a special kind of comfort and connection. Kylie Ora Lobell, a mom of two based in Los Angeles and the President of KOL Digital Marketing, says that each year, she seeks out community celebrations in her area and brings her kids.
“There are multiple Hanukkah fairs where we do community lightings, play games, get our faces painted, eat delicious donuts and have fun with other kids and parents who live near us,” Lobell says. “One year, [Los Angeles] Mayor Karen Bass came out to address us and send us well wishes, which was awesome.”
2. Become the ‘Hanukkah parent’ at school
If you live in a community with few Jewish families, you might consider sharing Hanukkah stories and traditions as a guest at your kids’ school. This is what Stephanie K., a mom of two from the St. Louis area, does each year.
“I am the ‘Hanukah Mom’ at my boys’ school,” Stephanie shares. “Every year, I go in around the start of Hanukkah and do a class celebration. We talk about the holiday, read a book and eat latkes — it’s also been potato chips and apple sauce or ketchup, and one year it was tater tots. Kids learn and play the dreidel game, and they earn and eat gelt.”
The effects of her efforts have been plentiful and inspiring. “It instilled pride in my boys, made for a more inclusive school environment, taught their teachers (many of whom have never been exposed to the holiday) and brought other Jewish students forward to share that they too celebrate Hanukkah,” she says.
3. Let kids make DIY Hanukkah gift bags
Gift bags are a popular item, and one that many parents use to wrap Hanukkah gifts for kids. But they don’t have to be purchased in a store. You can have kids make their own!
Jen Simon, a mom of two from South Orange, New Jersey, says that while growing up, she and sister always made their own Hanukkah gift bags, and it’s become a favorite tradition for her family. You can take simple paper bags from the grocery store and have your kids decorate them. It will save you the hassle and expense of purchasing gift bags yourself, and it’s creative and fun for the kids.
4. Create your own Hanukkah food traditions — like a deep-fried feast
Fried foods are traditional Hanukkah fare because they represent the miracle of the oil that lit the candles. And, let’s be honest: fried foods are decadent and delicious.
Lea Grover, a mom of three from Chicago, says her family uses Hanukkah as an opportunity to go “full throttle” on the deep fryer. “It’s for Hanukkah if it’s deep fried, right?” says Grover. So, their family’s Hanukkah menu includes traditional foods like latkes and sufganiyot (fried donuts), but also “taquitos, breaded mushrooms, fried chicken, fried pickles, cheese curds, jalapeño poppers, samosas, tempura, deep fried Oreos” and other treats.
5. Host a Hanukkah talent show
Roz W., a mom of two from Long Island, New York, shares a super fun idea: have a Hanukkah talent show for the whole family!
“My mom used to host a Hanukkah get-together during which everyone sat around the living room watching the kids perform dances and songs,” Roz says. “Adults sang folk songs, and I usually did a traditional Persian dance. Then, my mom would give every single person (20+ people!) a gift.”
6. Invest in matching Hanukkah PJs for the whole family
Sarah Ezrin, mom of two based near San Francisco and author of “The Yoga of Parenting,” enjoys participating in many of the traditional Hanukkah celebrations we all know and love, but she also wants to create unique and lasting memories for her kids.
Here’s what she’s come up with: “We wear matching Hanukkah pajamas as a family (and dog),” she says. “We have a light up rabbi bear that we post outside of our house. We do the usual lighting of the candles every night, but my preschooler is very strict about being on shamash duty [the shamash is the middle candle that lights all the other candles]. Lastly, we blast Adam Sandler’s ‘Chanukah song.'”
7. Start a budget-friendly Hanukkah gift exchange for kids
Gift giving during Hanukkah can get pricey, especially if your kids want to give gifts to their siblings, parents or extended families. Amy S., a mom of four from Essex County, New Jersey, solved that by doing a dollar store pit stop around Hanukkah each year — and it’s become a favorite tradition.
“A few years ago, I started taking all four kids to the dollar store so they could each buy a present for each of their siblings for each day [of Hanukkah],” Amy says. “Then, we would wrap and label them. The kids had so much fun giving the gifts and opening them — even if they were all $1.25 items.”
8. Make your own DIY Hanukkah candles
Candles are a huge part of Hanukkah, so why not make your own? Stefanie Le Jeunesse, a mom of three from Mount Vernon, Washington, says that she and her kids make candles every year at home during Hanukkah. She also brings the candle-making activity to her kids’ school.
“I usually make candles with one of my kids’ classes, too, and then we read a Hanukkah story and play dreidel,” says Le Jeunesse. “We are one of very few Jewish families in our community, so this is often the only exposure my kids’ classmates have to Judaism.”
9. Create a Hanukkah box to share with long distance loved ones
Mishka Jaeger, a mom of two from Virginia, has a special yearly Hanukkah tradition that connects her children with their extended family. “We mail a Hanukkah box back and forth each year with my kids’ godmother,” Jaeger says. “One year, she fills eight boxes with a knick-knack, candy, money or a small something — one treat for each night. The next year, my kids will fill the boxes to send back to her.”
10. Make a ‘wild card’ box full of Hanukkah experiences
If you’ve ever gotten your kids a bunch of gifts, you know that some of them are played with once or twice and then tossed aside. Many parents have come to realize that substituting gifts with meaningful experiences is often worth more to kids than the latest toy or electronic.
Elena J., mom of one from Washington, D.C., came up with a really cool idea for her child: a Hanukkah box that contains “wild cards” for different experiences. “Some nights my kiddo picks a regular present, and some nights they pull an experience blindly from the box,” she says. “It could be ‘go out for ice cream’ or ‘watch a movie’ or whatever as he grows.”
11. Try Hanukkah giving instead of Hanukkah gifting
Many families give their kids a chatchka (a Yiddish word meaning “small gift”) for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. But this can end up being expensive and can feel too materialistic for some families. Stephanie Heisler, mom of three from Northridge, California, decided she wanted to do something different, so she started a tradition where she does four nights of gifting and four nights of giving.
“For the four nights of giving, we give to our community,” she says. “We visit our local fire department and bring sweet treats, we adopt a senior and deliver a gift to their senior home, we donate toys to an animal shelter… On the other four days, we receive gifts.”
The bottom line
At its core, Hanukkah is about tradition and finding joy in these time-honored rituals and activities. While the traditions of Hanukkah that many Jewish families grew up with are meaningful, Hanukkah is also about making the holiday your own and creating new traditions that your kids will always remember. Get inspired by the celebrations of others, tweak them to jive with your family’s style and create amazing Hanukkah memories that are all your own.
