PagineEight nights of light! A family guide to Hanukkah for kids — the story of Hanukkah, the menorah and the shamash, how to play dreidel, latkes and gelt — with a free printable traditions & words sheet, writing prompts, 15 Hanukkah activity worksheets, a by-age Hanukkah books reading list, and Jewish folk tales to read free. More December reading: winter stories, Christmas and Kwanzaa.
Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is an eight-night Jewish festival, often called the Festival of Lights. More than 2,000 years ago, a small group called the Maccabees won back the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicated it again — Hanukkah means “dedication.” The story is told that a little oil, enough for one day, kept the Temple lamp burning for eight. So each night families light one more candle on the menorah using the helper candle, the shamash; play dreidel; eat foods fried in oil like latkes and jam doughnuts; and give chocolate gelt. Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December.
Print the story, symbols & dreidel rules, try the Hanukkah word search, or read our guide, Hanukkah for kids.
Classic Jewish fairy tales and legends, free to read online — lovely to share between candle-lightings.
The story, the menorah, dreidel rules & foods.
Print →✍️16 Hanukkah journal & story prompts.
Print →✅Best Hanukkah books, by age.
Print →🔎Find 8–10 Hanukkah words hidden across and down — perfect for K–2. (Ages 5–7)
Print →🧩A bigger grid with words across, down, diagonal and backwards. (Ages 8–11)
Print →📘12 Hanukkah words with kid-friendly meanings, plus sentence practice. (Ages 6–10)
Print →✏️Look, say, cover, write, check — 12 seasonal spelling words. (Ages 6–9)
Print →🔤Fill in the missing letters to finish each Hanukkah word. (Ages 5–8)
Print →🔀Unscramble the jumbled Hanukkah words. Answer key included. (Ages 7–10)
Print →🔡Put the Hanukkah words in alphabetical order. (Ages 6–9)
Print →🔢Count the pictures in each row and write the number. (Ages 3–6)
Print →➕8 story sums — adding, taking away, groups and halves. Answers included. (Ages 6–9)
Print →🎲Two picture-word bingo cards for a class party or family game. (Ages 4–8)
Print →📝Write a poem where each line starts with a letter of the word. (Ages 7–11)
Print →📖An original short story with 6 questions and an answer key. (Ages 7–10)
Print →🔁Cut out the steps and put them in the right order. (Ages 5–8)
Print →🎨Design Your Own Dreidel — draw it, then answer the questions. (Ages 5–9)
Print →✅Colour a candle for every book you read during Hanukkah. (All ages)
Print →Titles we don’t host yet — each links to a free public-domain edition.
Reading tips and seasonal stories related to this collection.
Hanukkah lasts eight nights, which makes it a natural time for a family reading ritual: light the candles, play a round of dreidel, then share a book. Our Hanukkah traditions & words printable explains the story and symbols simply for children, the Hanukkah reading list suggests a book for each night, and the activity worksheets (word searches, vocabulary, a dreidel maths game and a menorah reading tracker) make it easy to bring Hanukkah into the classroom.
Track every book your child reads over the winter break in the free Pagine app, and find more December reading in our winter stories collection.
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev and lasts eight nights, so its date on the everyday calendar changes each year — usually late November or December. In 2026 it begins at sundown on Friday 4 December.
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that remembers how the Maccabees won back the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicated it again. The story says a small jar of oil kept the Temple lamp burning for eight days, so families light a menorah for eight nights.
Everyone puts a token in the pot and takes turns spinning. Nun = nothing, Gimel = take the pot, Hei = take half, Shin = put one in. Our free traditions printable has the full rules.
Favourites include Latkes and Applesauce, Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah, The Runaway Latkes, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and The Story of Hanukkah by David A. Adler. See our printable Hanukkah reading list.