’tis the season
Posted by: annaholler on December 5th, 2009
With the first day of Hanukkah just around the corner many of you will be looking for some fun holiday crafts to do with your kids. Let’s face it, all kids love their dreidels!
Kaboose offers some really fun, kid friendly Hanukkah crafts that your family can do together and that you can use to teach about the holiday and your children can use to celebrate Hanukkah!
To learn more about the Hanukkah holiday, click on this link! You’ll find countless stories and explanations of this holiday!
A few of the dreidel crafts that I like the most are the dreidel magnets and the dreidel milk carton!
To make the Dreidel magnets you’ll need:
- White craft glue
- Dreidel stencils
- Magnet strip with adhesive back
- Colored foam craft sheets
- Glitter pens (or loose glitter)
- Black marker
- Scissors
How to make it:
- Print off the Dreidel stencils and cut out the dreidel shapes.
- Choose three or four different coloured foam craft sheets.
- Trace each cut-out dreidel stencil onto the foam craft paper using a black marker.
- Carefully cut out each foam shape. Try to cut just inside the black marker lines so that no leftover ink will show on your shapes. (Tip: If some marker does show, just flip over the foam cutout and use the marker side as the back of your magnet)
- Stack all your cutout dreidel pieces on top of each other, with the largest one on the bottom and the smallest one on the top.
- Using a few dabs of white craft glue, glue each foam cutout on top of the next, twisting them slightly so that they fan out and make a neat design.
- Wait 15-20 minutes for the glue to set and dry. Don’t worry if you can see a little bit of white glue. When it dries, it will become clear.
- Once your dreidel is dry, cut a half-inch piece of magnet off the strip, peel off the paper protecting the adhesive backing and press it firmly onto the back of your foam dreidel.
- Turn it right-side up again and decorate with glitter pens or loose glitter.
Tips:
- Using a six-inch piece of fishing wire, poke a small hole into the top of your dreidel and pull the wire through so that it looks like a charm on a necklace. Use the wire to attach your magnet to special Chanukah presents.
- Add pre-cut foam letters and shapes to your magnets to personalize them even more.
- Cut out lots of different Chanukah shapes, like Menorahs, Magen Davids (Stars of David), candles and latkes, and glue them all together for a great big festive magnet!
To make the Dreidel milk carton you’ll need:
- 1 small, single size paper milk carton
- Masking tape
- Kitchen knife
- Acrylic paint
- 1 Popsicle stick
- Glitter pen or white craft glue and loose glitter
How to make it:
- Take a small, empty milk carton container and wash it out thoroughly. Dry it gently using a kitchen towel.
- Close the spout on the container and tape it shut using a small piece of masking tape.
- Using a kitchen knife (parents, please do this part for your children) cut a small incision into the bottom centre of your container, just long enough to put a Popsicle stick through.
- Paint the entire milk carton whatever colour you choose. If the paint looks streaky, do another coat.
- Wait an hour to make sure the paint is completely dry and then add the letters Nun, Hay, Gimel and Shin (pictured below) with glitter pens or craft glue and loose glitter to the four sides of your dreidel, one letter on each side.
Tips:
- How to play the Dreidel game: This game should be played in groups of four. Each player gets an equal amount of gelt. (In Yiddish, gelt means money or gold. You can use pennies, candy or nuts). Put another amount of gelt in the pot. Then, each player takes a turn spinning the top. If it lands on Nun, the player receives nothing. If it lands on Hay, the player takes half of what’s in the pot. If it lands on Gimel, the player takes all of the pot, and if it lands on Shin, the player puts one piece of gelt into the pot.
