The Menorasaurus is our favorite DIY menorah idea!
Want to jazz up your Hanukkah with a homemade menorah that your kids will love? It’s easy! The secret ingredient to your hip homemade Chanukkiah is the 3/8″ hex nut—these little metal bolts are perfect for holding Hanukkah candles. Basically, if you’ve got something that can hold nine hex nuts, you’ve got yourself a menorah. Want to get started? We’ve got three easy tutorials for DIY menorahs, and when you’re done, be sure to check out our other favorite Hannukah crafts for kids.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to place all menorahs on a level, non-flammable surface away from drapes, decorations, and fabrics. Keep them out of reach of children, and never leave a lit menorah unattended. To be extra careful, we recommend menorahs not made out of metal be coated with a fire-retardant spray (like this one) before use to reduce the risk of fire.
The Menorah of Misfit Toys
If your junk drawer is anything like ours, it's probably full of left-behind kid stuff you wish you had the heart to throw away. Don't toss those treasures; use them for this menorah that will make your kids love their misfit toys all over again.
What you'll need:
-Nine small toys or figurines (think Barbie heads, Happy Meal toys, lone blocks, etc.)
-Nine hex nuts
-Wooden plank (or a few simple wooden blocks glued together to make a platform)
-Hot glue gun
What you'll do:
Have your kids dig through their toy boxes (and your junk drawers) and pick out nine small toys to use as candle holders. Be sure they find one that's a little taller that can serve as the shamash. You can also place the shamash toy onto a block to set it higher than the others, as shown above.
Glue hex nuts onto the top of all the toys, and be sure to cut off any hair or string that poses a fire risk when candles are lit. Let your kids decide which toy will go where and then glue them all onto the platform.
Related: All-New Hanukkah Books Your Littles Will Love
The Menorasaurus
Go ahead: Type it into Pinterest and you'll see the whole kingdom of prehistoric menorahs for sale. Why not make your own? It's super-easy, and takes less than an hour to make!
Good to know: This menorah doesn't leave much for the kids to do (hot glue guns and spray paint aren't exactly child-friendly), but your kiddos will love seeing their dinosaur transformed into an instant Hanukkah heirloom.
What you'll need:
- Plastic dinosaur
- Nine hex nuts
- Metallic gold spray paint
- Clay (for leveling the hex nuts)
- Hot glue gun
What you'll do:
Let your kids pick out their dinosaur (Hello, Dollar Store!).
Using a hot glue gun, glue eight hex nuts onto the back of the dinosaur and another atop the head for the shamash. To make sure all the candles will stick up straight, squish a little clay onto the bottom of the hex nuts before gluing them onto the dinosaur (it helps to also dab some glue onto the bottom of the hex nut themselves so they really stick into the clay)
Spray the whole thing with metallic gold spray paint and you're done!
Hot Lights (or, the Hot Wheels Menorah)
What you'll need:
-Nine Hot Wheels cars (with flat tops)
-Nine hex nuts (or 10 if you want to raise the shamash candle a little higher)
-Wooden plank
-Paint
-Hot glue gun
What you'll do:
Have your kids pick out nine cars and paint or decorate a plank of wood however they wish. While the paint is drying, glue the hex nuts atop the cars as shown. For the shamash (middle) candle, use a taller car or glue two hex nuts atop so it stands higher than the others.
Let your young assistants help you arrange the cars in whatever order they want. Then, glue the cars onto the plank.
