Hanukkah Carnival Stations

Sufganiyah on a String (the doughnuts aren’t here yet)

We set up for the big ol’ Chanukah Carnival today (my synagogue’s spelling, not mine), and I’m posting the pics below so you can see a few of the stations.

Do see my Page about Hanukkah activites and crafts suitable for parties, classrooms and carnivals.  Expect details, because I sweat every single one.

Some of the new stuff for this year’s carnival: Hanukkah nail decals from Midrash Manicures, my Swim Noodle Menorah, and, of course, the LEGO dreidel kits.  I added an Oil station, too: kids watch the 3 minute video from Shalom Sesame (about the boy who visits an olive grove in Modi’in), eat an olive, squish an olive, and then get to fill and help light an oil hanukiyah.  (Someday, I will figure out how to make a working replica of an olive mill and press.) (EDIT: I did!  See my post about our fabulous Oil Crush Program with a Maccabean olive crusher.)

Old faves have been tweaked: Squirt the Menorah now has awesome new water pistols (they screw into reused water bottles), and the Gelt Connect-4 (with real gelt) is joined with Hebrew Bananagrams (how DO you spell Chanukkahh?).  The PVC Menorah take-apart/put-together kit will be there (with Hebrew Bazooka as a prize for even trying), and I jazzed up the Menorah ring toss with glow-in-the-dark bracelets as rings.  I’ve got Dreidel arenas for the teenies (to practice spinning) and the big kids (to do battle), Sufganiyah (doughnut) on a String, Origami Dreidels, Magic Scratch Dreidels, Latke Toss, Flip the Latke, Pin the Shammash on the Menorah and lots more.  Oh, and Edible Dreidels, big and mini.
Hanukkah is a minor holiday, but it makes for a major carnival, and I love it.

I made the Hanukkah Games/Activites Page and this post because I still think there is a need for detailed info about how to prepare for a Chanukah carnival.  Please leave a comment if you can share a tip or game or whatever that has worked for you.