Hanukkah Menorah Craft

A paper or clay menorah craft is a beautiful way to celebrate Hanukkah with children of all backgrounds. Making a nine-branched menorah (eight candles plus the shamash) introduces the holiday's traditions and the concept of celebrating light during winter darkness.

What You'll Need

• Blue, white, and silver cardstock — for paper version
• 9 yellow or orange tissue paper "flames" — one per candle
• Glue and scissors
• Optional: air-dry clay — for a 3D version
• Markers — for details

How to Do It

Step 1: Make the menorah base. Cut a U-shaped or arch-shaped base from cardstock — the body of the menorah.

Step 2: Add candles. Cut 9 thin rectangles in white and blue for candles. Arrange eight at the same height and one (the shamash) raised slightly higher in the center. Glue in place.

Step 3: Add flames. Cut or scrunch small yellow-orange tissue paper flames and glue to the top of each candle.

Step 4: Decorate. Add Star of David stickers or drawn designs.

Step 5: Display during Hanukkah.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

Counting to nine — Counting the candles and flames is a concrete number practice.

Cultural awareness — Learning about Hanukkah traditions builds respect for Jewish culture.

Tips & Variations

• Add one flame each day of Hanukkah to show the tradition of lighting candles progressively.
• Make a group display of menorahs as a classroom Hanukkah gallery.

My Two Cents

The counting aspect is genuinely mathematically rich: 8 + 1 (the shamash) = 9. "Why is one candle taller than the others? What does it do?" These are wonderful discussion questions.