creative jewish mom

Crocheted Chunky Gift Bag With Free Pattern Is Perfect For Chanukah!

Tonight is the eighth night of Chanukah, so you may not be thinking about whipping up chunky crocheted gift bags or crocheted gelt bags, but you still could, as this pattern is truly a quickie with amazing results! I designed it myself and not to brag, but the results were so wonderful I had to tear out some other not as great looking bags to use the yarn to make more of these! And honestly some color combos not shown here were not as successful either, so tore those out a well, and so it goes! I love the one with the dark grey background (on top in photo above) so I would recommend following that as far as lights and darks if you choose to go with two shades of one color, then again, do experiment, that is part of the fun! Okay, lets get crocheting, maybe even to save for next year's holiday gifting, why not?

Simple Crocheted Chanukah Gelt Bags Pattern

Our family Chanukah celebration on the first night of Chanukah always includes gelt pouches of some kind, either sewn or crocheted by yours truly! This year I had a bunch of yarn left over after crocheting a bunch of items for a new baby in the family, so I decided to crochet gelt pouches and succeeded in using up every last bit of yarn, because I crocheted 8 like the ones shown here, two chunkier ones using a different pattern that I'll share soon, and three chunky bear pouches (will also share soon) Whew, it was quite the undertaking I wlll admit, and still have to finish two of the bear pouches to set aside for next year (?) but really enjoyed crocheting once again. There is nothing like a handmade gift, and my pouches always contain chocolate money, small dreidels and some fun prizes like super balls, tiny flashlights and this year, tiny writing pads. With four more nights of Chanukah still left, you can certainly whip up a few of these pouches, so lets get to it!

DIY Paper Candle Chanukah Menorah Craft

If you are looking for a great craft to whip up now for the last two nights of Chanukah, this is the one! And best of all, the candles are so simple to save for next year! I actually made these paper candles last year for my recycled liquor bottle candlestick table-scape, and this year I realized I could use them to make a fun Chanukah Menorah (Chanukiah) and truly it is so very festive, and really caught the eye of my 4th grade crafting students! And of course, these candles can be used for so many festive occasions, so they are great to have on hand. Okay, lets do it!

Origami Stars And Dreidels Chanukah Garland Craft

I'm so very proud of this ten year old student of mine, who came up with his own great ideas for how to decorate the origami Jewish stars and origami dreidels that we made over the course of a few weeks in the after schooling crafting studio I've been running. While the origami dreidel is simple to fold, and I just love how he nested one on top of the other, the origami Jewish star is a bit of a challenge and so I didn't even try it with the younger boys, hopefully next year! So friends, with Chanukah coming up on Wednesday night, now is the time to get crafting and/or to plan some fun craft activities to do during the holiday as well! Some origami paper and a simple origami book makes a great gift, even for yourself, so dive in and enjoy!

Recycled Liquor Bottles With Festive Paper Candles Craft

Pulling this out of the archives from last year as it is truly a keeper, and looks amazing as a centerpiece, the more the better!

Here is what I wrote just a year ago, though seems like so much longer: It is true, I made these recycled liquor bottle candesticks for a Chanukah party that was held last night, but truthfully they are so universal they can be used for any festive occasion and any time that you want the look of candles without the safety concerns! And of course you could go for paper candles that are metallic silver or gold and maybe make the flame a bit less crafty looking and then even use them for a fancyish party outdoors where real candles wouldn't work, or for a feast in the forest where flames would be dangerous? And friends, whether or not you partake in liquor of any kind, there are certainly many ways to get your hands on some amazing bottles to recycle! These happen to be bottles from my son's wedding two weeks ago, and the 12 year old brother of the bride collected all the bottles for me having seen a previous craft project.....so sweet of him and glad I didn't listen to the husband who said we didn't have room in the trunk!

Now these candlestick bottles will make great decorations as well as centerpieces for our long shabbat table next week, I'm actually really excited to put "candles" on the table that I can then move when we clean up, on shabbat we don't light fire or touch it, so while I could make a long centerpiece with real lit candles it would be quite impractical and dangerous as the guests pass all those Moroccan salads around!

Okay, sold? Lets make some great looking recycled glass bottle candlesticks.......

Simple Chanukah Craft For All Ages: An Origami Dreidel Garland!

The festive holiday of Chanukah is quickly approaching, so now is a great time to get out the colored paper and a glue stick, and get crafting! The origami dreidels are truly simple to fold, even for kids as young as 7 or 8, and decorating them with bits of paper brings them to life! So make a bunch in a range of sizes, or all the same size if you must, but regardless, get crafting! This garland was actually made by a very exacting 9 year old boy, in my 4th graders after school craft class, and last night when I added an extra class in order to assemble and finish a few crafts to take home for Chanukah, he just had to make a few more dreidels to complete his garland, just too sweet! The fun thing about these dreidels is that if you want a dreidel with a longer stem (?) you can use regular letter sized or A4 paper, which also results in a large dreidel, which can be used as a base, or as a central element on a garland. Okay, lets do it!

Fun Mini Ugly Sweater Craft For Chanukah

Dusting this one off from the archives as it is a keeper, and I'll be pulling mine out from the chanukah decorations box shortly!

After turning a color swatching exercise into striped dreidels, here, I just had to keep on going with some cozy striped sweaters! Are they "ugly" holiday sweaters, not in my book, because friends, when you mix your own paint colors using any red, yellow and blue, no matter what, the resulting colors will go together, like magic! Truly a wonderful realization, and a great way to minimize thinking too much about what colors to use, whether painting a painting or painting stripes on a mini holiday sweater! Yes, it is true these sweaters might look great with a star of David, or a dreidel, or a jelly doughnut on the front, but I think I'm going to leave them plain so I can enjoy them all winter and it won't look like I've yet to pack up my Chanukah decor! (Same goes for all the white pom poms I'm planning on hanging!) So friends, these "ugly" holiday sweaters are just beyond cute, and so simple to make, so let's get started!

DIY Chanukah Menorah Craft With Drinking Straws

I am re-posting this adorable craft from the archives, and since plastic drinking straws are no longer something one should purchase due to ecological havoc, please do the same craft with paper straws!

Hanukkah crafts made from plastic drinking straws are so much fun and a great way to recycle! I have already share with you my Hanukkah drinking straw wall hanging, or why not call it a Hanukkah mobile? And now, for one of the favorite results of playing around with drinking straws, I present to you the drinking straw menorah, with Q-tip to boot! This little menorah is cute as can be, and a great gift, so make a bunch. Kids can enjoy "lighting" a new candle each day of Hanukkah, while I on the other hand love seeing them with all the candles lit. This little menorah isn't large, but its cuteness makes up for that, and you can tuck one of these in every little corner of your home, or use it as a gift topper. So many ways to go, so lets get started!

Simple Embossed Tin Chanukah Symbols Craft

Friends, Chanukah is on its way and it is time to get crafting! These embossed tin shapes are so simple to make, and if you use the right colors, well they are quite simply fabulous! I made these but also tried this out with my boys crafting classes, and while it was a bit challenging for some, others really did a great job. So do follow the instructions for best results, and if you are lucky maybe you have some of that extra heavy duty aluminum foil used by some to cover counters on Pesach? That is what we used, and it works like a charm! You can use extra heavy duty recycled aluminum trays, or buy some sheets of aluminum at the craft store. The aluminum needs to be thin enough that you can write on it with a ball point pen and achieve an engraved look. Okay, lets do it!

Simple Origami Dreidel Craft For Hanukkah!

Friends, it is time to get crafting for Chanukah, and I recommend this festive and simple origami dreidel craft, it is truly wonderful! While I made these, my 8 year old plus boy crafting students made and decorated these with ease! And of course if neutral colors are more up your alley, so make them from brown kraft paper (not to self!) or metallic paper. However you choose to make them, make a bunch and get decorating, the simplest thing being to clip them onto a string with mini clothes pins, either hung horizontally or vertically, and voila the house is already starting to look like Chanukah! Ready, lets get to it!