Happy Hanukkah!
Tonight marks the start of Hanukkah – or Channukah – or your choice of the 16 different ways this lesser of the Jewish holidays is spelled. When I married into a Jewish family, this shiksa (gentile female) was determined to holiday the craft out of those eight days. I wanted my boys to have the full Judeo-Christian experience. My husband just rolled his eyes.
As he explained to me, while there are thoughtful reasons to light the menorah, eat latkes and spin a dreidel, Hanukkah was not the glitter and construction paper celebration that Christmas had become. Sure, his parents were happy to wrap Pokemon Game Boys in silver and blue paper (only to be accidently lost days later during a Target run.) But gathering around the table to make Stars of David out of washi tape was not going to happen. So, I stuck with what I knew and had my boys make reindeers out of their handprints.
All these years later it turns out he was wrong. There are intrepid crafters who did not give up on their gelt-colored Hanukkah craft dreams:
Learn how to DIY your own menorah out of Legos HERE.
Edible dreidels (no, not that kind) can be made with marshmallows, pretzels and chocolate kisses.
Star of David garland made out of popsicle sticks.
And yes, even a handprint menorah craft.
Deep down I knew it all along.
