Hanukkah Activities for Kids – Including Babies!

Whether you are in the classroom or at home, having a sensory bin is a great way to explore all aspects of the holiday.

For this bin, use blue and/or white shredded paper as the base. Add in gelt (or play coins), tops, oil bottles (see below), tongs, and spaghetti spoons. Toddlers and preschoolers can use the utensils to grab the gelt or tops. For babies, carefully supervise or place all the contents in a zip bag, as it contains many small pieces. The crunch of the paper will still provide a sensory experience and the add-ins peeking through will be fun surprises.

Hide or place them in various places around the room or house. One by one, encourage the children to find a light and turn it on. While this activity can be done all at once, it can also be turned into a daily activity for the 8 nights of Hanukkah. Babies can reach, scoot, or crawl to the lights placed around them. Either turn them on for interest or light them when touched.

Using gross motor skills, this makes a great developmental activity. Children will spin around and fall gently after counting to 8. If they land on their bottom, they will get a hug. If they land on their hands and knees, they will give a hug. Landing any other way does nothing. Generally, children will have the autonomy to choose which position they land, giving them a choice in the reward or to participate without being touched if they decide.

In a classroom setting, there should be enough variety for turn taking. It can create a wonderful bonding opportunity if playing at home.

While babies won’t be spinning and falling themselves, they can be held while slowly turning around and counting to eight. After a complete turn, reward baby with a smooch (parents only!), playful boop on the nose, or belly tickle.

Choose at least two colors for your sufganiyah. With what will be the jelly, make a round ball. Using the second color, flatten and carefully wrap it around the jelly ball. Provide different colors for various jelly “flavors” and tools to make and cut open the doughnut to see the surprise. This activity will be difficult for babies. However, they can still have sufganiyah fun. Simply put a few tablespoons of jelly in a zip bag and let them grab and squish away.

Gelt is the Yiddish word for money. During Hanukkah, it is traditionally given to children and teachers as a gift and used in the game of Dreidel. While originally, it was real money, now you can find gelt in chocolate coin form.

With this activity, you can choose to use real (or real play) money with preschoolers and have them sort the coins by size, color, or likeness. Toddlers can use the chocolate coin version to place in jars adorned with the faces of their teachers or parents. Encourage them to share their pile with each person labeled. Babies might enjoy shaking a bottle with a few coins inside and sealed tightly.

It wouldn’t be a holiday activity list without a few crafts. Don’t worry if you don’t have a dreidel. Anything that spins or rolls will do, but tops can be found in the party favor section of most stores.

Preschoolers can dip the end into blue paint and give it a spin onto a sheet of white paper. Keep spinning again and again until satisfied with the design. Toddlers may find spinning difficult. Instead, they can roll a ball onto paper that already has a few blobs of paint. If your baby is able grasp, they can bang a ball or other item onto the paint dotted paper. If not, just let them explore the blue paint on the paper.

For young toddlers, gluing strips of yellow paper onto a paper plate to make a patty shape might be all you need. Older children can help to cut the strips. Preschoolers might have fun with a paper mache type project. Water down some white glue and place in a shallow bowl. Have the children dip their strips fully into the glue, scraping the excess off on the side of the bowl. One at a time, place them on wax paper in a criss-crossing pattern. When the strips are fully dried, peel off the wax paper and you will have a crispy latke! A fun way to play with babies is to rip the yellow paper in front of them and give them the strips. Older infants can try to stick them to a plate with glue already on it.

If you want an art centerpiece on your fridge or wall made by your littles this Hanukkah, look no further. This is an easy craft to do with any age.

For babies and young toddlers, it will be more manageable to paint directly onto their hand. Use blue paint on the fingers (no thumb) and yellow paint on the palms. Press the hand onto paper, clean with a baby wipe or wet cloth and repeat with the other hand, placing it touching the first edge. You can add a base and a 9th candle in the center if you desire.