Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Come MAKE a Menorah
Hanukkah, Hanukkah, come light the menorah … or in this case, make one!
Hanukkah – the Festival of Lights – begins tonight at sundown. Sophie I started celebrating a few days early by making our own paper menorah out of – wait for it – toilet paper rolls. I was inspired by a similar idea from the Creative Jewish Mom blog. I varied things slightly, but here’s what we ultimately made.
Here’s what you need:
9 toilet paper rolls (1 for the pattern and 8 for the candles)
1 paper towel roll (for the shamash)
blue and white construction paper
yellow felt or construction paper
gold glitter
glue gun
The first thing we did was cut out nine candle flames from the felt. I gave Sophie the important task of putting glue on each flame and dousing them with glitter. Have I mentioned there is glitter all over my house?
Next, get your toilet paper and paper towel rolls ready.
Cut a candle pattern with one of the rolls, like this.
I then proceeded to use this pattern to make candles out of the remaining toilet paper rolls. I did the same with the shamash, but made it taller since it is the most important candle that lights the others. I took it a step further and used the patter on blue and white construction paper to glue over the toilet paper candles. You don’t have to do this. But I liked the blue and white.
By the way, I had to do most of this cutting work. But if you have kids who are slightly older than Sophie and can follow a pattern with scissors, by all means, have them do it!
Once the candles were ready, we used a glue gun to affix the flames. Sophie helped with this part as well. She’s good with the glue gun.
Once that final task was complete, we lined up our menorah candles to admire our Hanukkah craft.
I like this picture because of the sun shining off Sophie’s hair and my golden boy, Romeo, in the background. He looks so regal.
So there you have it — a fun Hanukkah craft for one of the eight crazy nights! Happy Hanukkah!
*****
I’m participating in #HanukkahHoopla! What is the hoopla? It’s a bunch of us bloggers who are writing Hanukkah-related posts each of the eight days of Hanukkah! Be sure to check out all the other blogs for great craft ideas, recipes, reflections and more. The full schedule is available at #HanukkahHoopla.
But wait, there’s more — you can win a prize! Streit’s and Doni Zasloff Thomas a.k.a. Mama Doni, the lead singer/songwriter of The Mama Doni Band, are generously donating all 16 #HanukkahHoopla bloggers with a prize package to give to one of our readers. All you need to do is leave a comment below to win. Increase your chances of winning by commenting on the other #HanukkahHoopla blogs. And since there are 16 of us participating in #HanukkahHoopla, you have 16 chances to win!
How very clever! Sophie looks like she’s having so much fun making the menorah. It’s so heartwarming to see how you’re able to instill a love of Judaism into her life, in such simple ways. Happy Hanukkah!
Loved her little smile peeking out from behind all her hard work. Super cute… Happy Hanukkah Leah!!
MJ
What a fun project — with a beautiful outcome!! Tell Sophie it’s the most beautiful menorah I’ve ever seen! And I absolutely love the picture of her peeking out from behind it! Happy Hanukkah, Leah & Sophie!
Another adorable craft project with Sophie starring in the photos. Love the Hoopla idea (and challenge!). I’m having the crowd here 12/25 for latkes galore- I make them with all sorts of root veggies as well as the traditional ones. Happy Hanukkah!
My son has made soooo many menorahs over the years, but I’ve never seen this project before! Your daughter is beautiful, and I’m sure that playing with toilet paper innards got her very excited for Hanukkah!
Obviously, no prize for me – since I’m the meshuganuh who helped put this together.
I hope your night is warm and bright and filled with delight. And oil!
So cute & looks easy & fun!!
I’m over from Renee’s…This is great and it looks like the two or you enjoyed yourself! Wonderful.
What an absolutely adorable craft and your photos are pure lovely!
Very cute project! And while Sophie always steals the show, it’s nice to see Romeo too. He’s so beautiful! Happy Hanukkah!
Love this! But glitter….OY VEY!!!
And the humble TP roll becomes a thing of beauty…I love it!
Happy Hanukkah!
Sophie is adorable. I love how much creativity you put into the projects you do together. She’s a lucky girl.
Very cute – the project and your daughter. And what a lovely way to share the spirit of Hanukkah!
This menorah looks amazing! Happy Hanukkah!
I’m going to have to give this a shot with my little one next year! I love those final pictures so much, BTW. Such love.
Leah, these photos just embody how much fun Sophie is having making the menorah! I think when she’s older she’ll look back and smile at how much fun she had with her mom and dad! A lovely project that is both meaningful and instructive. I love it!
One of the things that I think I’m going to enjoy best about the Hanukkah Hoopla is getting introduced to Jewish bloggers I’ve never read before – thanks for joining the fun. I have two little guys that would enjoy this craft!
So impressed! Not only with your craftiness, but that you let glitter in the house. I’m WAY to anal for that.
No prize necessary! Can’t wait to see who wins though! Happy Hanukkah!
What a lucky little girl to have such a crafty mom!
Leah, you are an amazing mother! Sophie is a lucky little girl!
such a great project!
Happy Hanukkah! What a great way to get Sophie involved in the festival of lights – the menorah is delightful!
Sophie is SO cute and Happy Hanukkah!!
Your daughter is so cute, making her candles. And I see you have the purple glue — isn’t that stuff the best? We used it just this morning to make cards for the grandparents. Nothing like last minute! I love the pictures of Sophie smiling at her creation — she is rightfully proud. What a great project!
I always feel like I learn so much whenever I visit your blog, Leah! Thank you for another great craft idea; it looks like so much fun–probably because it involves a hot glue gun, which always intrigues me and leaves my fingers a sticky, burned mess.
This is such a sweet post. I can’t wait until my boys are big enough to do something like this. I must admit, I have some fears about them and glue guns…though Sophie does like right at home and there’s no sign of mischievousness to be seen.
Beautiful pictures, and happy Chanukah!
Like Nina, I cannot imagine letting my 3-year-old loose with the glitter, but I’m definitely storing this craft project for another year. This is such a great idea! Thanks! {No prize necessary… good luck to all the commenters!}
Glitter? You’re a brave woman.
Ha ha ha ha! I agree!