Crazy Eights|Crazy Eights
Latkes, Sufganiyot and Other Food|Latkes, Sufganiyot and Other Food
Michigan mom Erin Rosenberg recommends cooking with your kids during Hanukkah. “We make latkes every year, and there's a job for everyone,” she says. “Little kids can break eggs, scoop and pour matzah meal, shake in salt and stir; bigger kids can help peel and grate potatoes and onions; an adult does the frying. We also make applesauce to serve with them, which is fun because we don't measure anything, and just taste as we go.” Last year, the Rosenbergs also made sufganiyah, jam-filled raised doughnuts. “The kids thought the best part was rolling the warm, fresh [doughnuts] in sugar,” she recalls.
MORE: The Best Hanukkah Dinner
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Michigan mom Erin Rosenberg recommends cooking with your kids during Hanukkah. “We make latkes every year, and there's a job for everyone,” she says. “Little kids can break eggs, scoop and pour matzah meal, shake in salt and stir; bigger kids can help peel and grate potatoes and onions; an adult does the frying. We also make applesauce to serve with them, which is fun because we don't measure anything, and just taste as we go.” Last year, the Rosenbergs also made sufganiyah, jam-filled raised doughnuts. “The kids thought the best part was rolling the warm, fresh [doughnuts] in sugar,” she recalls.
MORE: The Best Hanukkah Dinner
Hanukkah Memory Games|Hanukkah Memory Games
For kids 3 and up, memory games are a fantastic way to learn focus. Each player turns over two cards in the hope of finding a pair with the same illustration. If you don’t make a match, you try to remember where the cards are located as play continues. The Hanukkah version of this game contains 36 pairs. Kids begin by mixing up the cards and turning them all face down. During the game, children try to remember where they saw the illustrated menorah, dreidel or finger puppets. The player with the most matching pairs wins.
To buy: Amazon, $10
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For kids 3 and up, memory games are a fantastic way to learn focus. Each player turns over two cards in the hope of finding a pair with the same illustration. If you don’t make a match, you try to remember where the cards are located as play continues. The Hanukkah version of this game contains 36 pairs. Kids begin by mixing up the cards and turning them all face down. During the game, children try to remember where they saw the illustrated menorah, dreidel or finger puppets. The player with the most matching pairs wins.
To buy: Amazon, $10
Star of David Crafts|Star of David Crafts
The Star of David is easily the most recognizable symbol of the Jewish faith. Parents can teach kids about its significance by making a hexagram out of popsicle or craft sticks. Begin by forming two triangles: Simply glue together three sticks into the shape of a triangle, and then do the same with the other three. Next lay one triangle over the other to create a star with six points. Once the glue has dried, little ones can decorate their stars with paint, markers, stickers or glitter. Your kid can also insert a picture of herself in the center for a grandparent or friend.
Latke Bingo
Bingo is another game that young kids love. In the Hanukkah rendition, each child receives a laminated paper board and chips shaped like dreidels. In lieu of the word BINGO, LATKE is printed across the top, and all different holiday-related pictures are used in place of numbers. Players get to put a dreidel chip over a square when the caller picks a letter and picture that correspond to whatever is on that square. First one to cover up a whole row or column wins!
To buy: Amazon, $11
MORE: 10 Best Hanukkah Books
Night Off
For many parents, the idea of buying, wrapping and giving gifts eight days in a row is overwhelming. That’s why event planner Heather Lowenthal of Posh Parties in Palm Beach, Fla., says, “One of my favorite Hanukkah traditions is to choose one night and designate it as charity night. We bring toys to children in need instead of getting gifts ourselves. I think it is important to teach children charity at a young age, which in turn makes them appreciate the gifts they do get for themselves.”
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For many parents, the idea of buying, wrapping and giving gifts eight days in a row is overwhelming. That’s why event planner Heather Lowenthal of Posh Parties in Palm Beach, Fla., says, “One of my favorite Hanukkah traditions is to choose one night and designate it as charity night. We bring toys to children in need instead of getting gifts ourselves. I think it is important to teach children charity at a young age, which in turn makes them appreciate the gifts they do get for themselves.”
Hanukkah Dominoes|Hanukkah Dominoes
Hanukkah Dominoes is played with cards containing drawings of various Jewish symbols instead of the dots on traditional tiles. Each player starts with five dominoes and tries to match up pictures with the cards that have already been laid. The game ends either when one player finishes all of his dominoes and wins, or when there are no dominoes left in the pile. No reading is required, which is why young children are able to join in on the fun.
To buy: Amazon, $11
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Hanukkah Dominoes is played with cards containing drawings of various Jewish symbols instead of the dots on traditional tiles. Each player starts with five dominoes and tries to match up pictures with the cards that have already been laid. The game ends either when one player finishes all of his dominoes and wins, or when there are no dominoes left in the pile. No reading is required, which is why young children are able to join in on the fun.
To buy: Amazon, $11
