Chanukah is usually associated with doughnuts, dreidels, and latkes, but for me, Chanukah is all about activities. I’m sure so many share the sentiment if you have been keeping up with @peasloveandcarrots‘s chalymics, the 8-day race event for all of the Renov children with super fun, creative games. (Every single year without fail, I wonder how I could possibly travel back in time and become a child of the Renovs. It’s not actually possible at this time, I checked, but I’m trying to stay hopeful.)

 

Growing up we had our own version of Chanukah games to look forward to. Chanukah was basically a time for my aunt Tzippy to shine. As a preschool teacher for special needs children, my Aunt Tzippy had boundless energy and unwavering creativity, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t even drink coffee. Every single year without fail, there was some sort of new and exciting activity whether it was face swapping, candy relay races, or guess who. I’m not actually sure if these games were super fun because they were an actual blast or if it was because she made them fun with her unwavering enthusiasm.

 

So, when it came time to think of Chanukah creative projects for Kosher.com, I turned to my Aunt Tzippy again and asked for her help. She proceeded to send me thousands of ideas and was thrilled to help me out with this project.

 

So this year, throw your own incredible Chanukah party. And don’t forget to add the enthusiasm – it’s the best part! 

 

Dreidel 2.0

 

Materials:   
Pesek Zman chocolates 
Elite Chocolates 
chocolate coins 
other brands of chocolate or candy 
dreidels

Each person starts out with a pile of one kind of candy. The goal is to obtain a collection of many kinds of candy. 

• A gimmel means you can take two candies from one other player’s pile 
• A hey means you can take one candy from another player
• A nun means you do nothing 
• And a shin means you give two candies to the last person who spun a gimmel. If no one has spun a gimmel, give them to the person on your left. 

 

 

Build a Menorah

 

Materials 

1 package Kineret Brownie Batter or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough   

Tonnelli Wafer Rolls    
Gefen Cookie Butter
Gefen Dried Cranberries

 

1. Bake Kineret Brownie Batter according to package directions, or flatten Kineret Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough into a nine- by nine-inch pan lined with a cookie sheet. Bake for 20–25 minutes on 350 until just cooked through. Set aside to cool. 
2. Heat cookie butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and then heat again for 30 seconds. Remove the brownies or cookies from the pan and spread the cookie butter over the entire surface. Slice lengthwise so that you have about 4 long strips. 
3. Place wafer rolls vertically into the brownies, pressing gently so that the cookie dough allows it to stick straight up. Top each wafer roll with a dried cranberry. You may need to use a little more cookie butter to make it stick. 
4. Allow the children to decorate the tops of their menorahs any way they wish with sprinkles, oodles or kliks and practice saying the brachot before eating their delicious treat! 

 

 

Whipped Topping Art Printables 

 

Materials

Kineret Whipped Topping 
food coloring 

1. Print out a bunch of blank Chanukah-themed coloring pages. Allow the Kineret frozen topping to defrost before whipping it up according to package directions. Divide the topping into 4 bowls or as many colors as you feel comfortable making. Add a couple of food coloring drops into each bowl and fold the color in until it is uniform. 
2. Set up the coloring pages and paintbrushes. Allow the kids to create their own fun art using the colored whip. Children three and under can use their fingers for a sensory play experiment! 

 

 

 
Decorate a Doughnut 

 

 

Materials   
sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts)
Gefen Cookie Butter 
Tonnelli Wafer Rolls, diced 
Elite Chocolates, diced 
sprinkles 

1. Heat the cookie butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir and heat for another 30 seconds. Spread each doughnut with cookie butter and set in front of each seat.
2. Place bowls of chopped wafer rolls, diced chocolates, sprinkles and other decorations in the center of the table and allow the children to decorate their doughnuts. 

 

 

 

Dreidel-Shaped Pizzas 

 

Materials  
pizza dough or Gefen Puff Pastry 
Tuscanini Pizza Sauce 
cheese 
Chanukah-shaped cookie cutters 

It’s dinner and an activity!

1. Using the cookie cutters, cut the dough into Chanukah shapes. 
2. Set in front of the children and allow them to coat them each in sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you have. Bake the pizzas at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25–20 minutes until bubbling.

 

Duct Tape Dreidel Race 

 

 

Materials

duct tape 

Elite Shtix bars 
Pesek Zman bars 
other chocolates 

 

1. Separate the children into two (or more) teams. Choose one member of each team to be the “dreidel.” Wrap duct tape (not too tight!) with the sticky side out around each of the chosen team members.
2. Set a timer for one minute. The duct-taped players have to spin like dreidels while their team members try to pin as many chocolate bars on them as possible. Whichever team gets the most by the time the clock runs out wins the contest and gets to eat chocolate! 

Tic Tac Dreidel 

 

Materials  
tape/markers 

poster board
dreidels 
Gefen Sandwich Crackers 

 

1. Place tape in a checkerboard pattern to create a tic tac toe board over your poster board. 
2. One player gets a handful of dreidels and the other player gets a handful of sandwich crackers. Play tic tac toe as you normally would. The winner eats all the sandwich crackers! 

__________________________________________________________________

 

We hope you enjoy these fun, memory building games with your family! For even more ideas, check out 7 Chanukah Games That’ll Make Everyone Laugh.