Celebrate Hanukkah with the Kids: Coloring Pages to Craft Ideas

It would be difficult to find even one person today who, even if they don't know personally know anybody who celebrates Hanukkah, has heard of it. Yet despite the upswing in awareness of the holiday, in smaller parts of the country, it can be hard to find any accessories suitable for the holiday. For those wanting to provide Hanukkah activities for their children - or just for those interested in learning more about the festival of lights - the internet offers a wide assortment of options.

The Homeschooling guide on About.com offers a variety of coloring pages that can be downloaded and printed onto either a PC or Mac, from traditional scenes of families lighting the menorah to generic family winter themes. In addition to the coloring pages, the site includes craft ideas, such as making a paper dreidel, online games and activities including spin the dreidel, printable games crossword puzzles with a Hanukkah theme and recipes. And, because the site is geared toward homeschoolers, there's also a section that discusses the holiday - good for non-Jewish visitors and Jewish observers alike.

At Torah Tots, characters reminiscent of the Veggie Tales for Christian teachings has coloring pages based on the numbers of the dreidel and the history behind the game.

Lil' Fingers is another site that offers not only a variety of coloring pages - from the menorah to Hanukkah gelt adorned with the Star of David - but an online spin the dreidel game, a Hanukkah storybook, and links to other Hanukkah related sites, including recipes and e-cards to send to family and friends.

The Judaism page at About.com, like the Homeschooling guide, doubles as a fun and learning guide to the holiday. With links to coloring pages and activities around the web - including a link for single parents - this site is a good jumping off point for people wishing to learn more about the holiday.

It only offers one coloring page, but for children who are fans of the PBS series Arthur, showing a character they adore lighting the menorah and spinning the dreidel helps ease the discomfort of children watching their friends celebrate Christmas, and show Christian children that Hanukkah is just as important - and its observers just as "normal" - as those who celebrate Christmas.

The kings of coloring, Crayola, offer coloring pages that double as Hanukkah bingo cards, as well as a dreidel image that has instructions for cutting and pasting together a homemade version after the coloring is complete.