Miffy loves how many wonderful holidays there are to celebrate in December, including Hanukkah! Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish holiday that runs for 8 days. This year, Hanukkah runs from December 10 at sunset and ends on December 18 at nightfall. Each night those who celebrate Hanukkah light a candle on the menorah and give gifts to their family members. Miffy wishes all her Jewish friends around the world a very “hoppy” Hanukkah!
To get in the spirit, Miffy loves playing the traditional Hanukkah game of dreidel with her friends. You can make your own dreidel and play with your family and friends too using the instructions below!
Create Your Own Paper Dreidels
What You’ll Need:
- Small stapler and staples
- Craft paper (origami paper works best)
- Scissors
- Markers
- String (optional)
Steps:
- Cut out two dreidel shapes from a piece of paper that are the same size. (Photo above)
- Fold both shapes in half vertically.
- Staple the creases together. Now the dreidel should have four “sides.”
- Draw each of the following Hebrew letters on one of the dreidel’s sides using a marker: shin, hey, gimel, nun.
- Make as many as you want and decorate! They can be added to a string for a nice window decoration, or else placed around the house to add a bit of color for the holiday.
Spin the Dreidel Game
The dreidel game is a classic Hanukkah tradition. This is a game for multiple players, so it’s ideal to play in an in-person setting but can also be modified to be played virtually. All you’ll need is a dreidel and countable game pieces such as pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolates.
Rules
- Each player starts with the same number of pieces (roughly 10–15).
- In each round, every player puts one of their game pieces into a center “pot.” They should repeat this step each time the pot is empty or has only one piece left.
- For their turn, each player spins the dreidel, which contains the four Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hey, or shin. Where the dreidel lands determines whether you get or lose pieces from the center pot:
- Nun (נ): You neither receive nor lose pieces.
- Gimel (ג):You take everything in the pot.
- Hey (ה): You get half of the pot.
- Shin (ש): You place a game piece into the pot.
- Once you lose all of your game pieces, you are out. (Although you can ask another player for one of their pieces to keep playing, with no guarantee that they will give you one!)
- The game ends when a player wins all of the pieces in the pot.
- Enjoy!
Miffy Fun Activities 