Hanukkah Party Ideas for Kids: A Menorah Table, Latkes, and Pretzel Stars
•Posted on October 21 2026
We’re an interfaith family. I’m not Jewish and my husband is, and when we started having kids we realized that celebrating the holidays on both sides was really important to us. We wanted our daughter to grow up feeling like Hanukkah was hers, with its own spot in the house and its own traditions, the same way Christmas is.
So every year we set up a little Hanukkah table by the window, keep it up all eight nights, have friends over for latkes, and make one treat together. These are our Hanukkah party ideas for kids, and you can steal all of them.
Hanukkah party ideas for kids start with a table by the window
We don’t set a big formal table for Hanukkah. We have a small white table by the window in our dining room, and for the eight nights it becomes the Hanukkah spot. The menorah lives there, we light it there, and everything else for the holiday gathers around it. My daughter knows that corner is hers for the week, and it’s my favorite thing in the house in December.
What’s on the table
The menorah goes in the middle, closest to the window. In front of it is the Happy Hanukkah bamboo tray, which holds whatever we’re eating that night, usually the pretzel stars. Next to that is the mini puzzle, still in its pieces, so there’s always something to do while the candles burn down.
On one side is a stack of the Festival of Lights dessert plates, which have a gold foil menorah on them, with the Star of David shaped plates mixed in, and the Festival of Lights napkins right next to them. Plates are right there every night and nobody has to run to the kitchen. The baby blue dinner plates and the sky blue napkins stay stacked underneath, ready for latke night.
How it stays up for eight nights
Here’s the trick. Set it once on the first night, and you’re done. Each night we light the candles, grab a plate from the stack, and put the tray back when we’re finished. The corner looks like Hanukkah for the whole week and it took one afternoon. It’s the same set-it-once idea as our kids Thanksgiving table, and it’s the only way we make it to night eight.
The latkes
I used to make latkes from scratch, and I loved it. Then I had a toddler. Now I buy the Trader Joe’s potato pancakes, and they’re a really good shortcut, especially on a weeknight.
They go in the air fryer at 400 for about ten minutes, flipped halfway. A pan with a little oil works too.
What makes it feel like a Hanukkah latke party is the toppings bar. Sour cream, applesauce, chopped chives, and smoked salmon, each in a small bowl, and everyone builds their own. This is the night we have friends over, usually night five, and of all our Hanukkah party ideas for kids it’s the one they talk about after. Latkes and toppings go on the big table, and the kids carry their plates over to the window to eat by the menorah.
Star of David pretzels
This is the treat we make together, and if you make one thing from this post, make these. Three ingredients, and your kids do most of the work!
Star of David pretzels recipe
Makes 6 stars.
- 36 thin pretzel sticks
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- blue and white sprinkles
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and make sure it fits in your fridge.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in thirty-second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Dip one pretzel stick all the way into the chocolate and lay it on the parchment. Do five more, then arrange them into a star: three in a triangle, three more in an upside-down triangle on top. Make sure the points touch, because the chocolate is what holds everything together.
- Sprinkles go on right away, before the chocolate sets. We use blue and white nonpareils and little white snowflakes, and this is the part your kids will want to do.
- Repeat for the rest, then put the whole sheet in the fridge for about thirty minutes. Once the chocolate is hard, they lift right off the parchment.
They keep in the fridge for a week, so make them early and put a few on the tray each night. They don’t have to be perfect! Ours never are, and they still disappear first every single night. This is the easy Hanukkah treat I’d start with.
What to do each of the eight nights
The little table stays the same, so each night gets one small thing. Here’s what we do.
- Night one: set up the table and light the first candle together.
- Night two: open the puzzle. Forty-two pieces, about fifteen minutes with a grown-up helping.
- Night three: make the pretzel stars.
- Night four: dreidel, with chocolate gelt on the tray.
- Night five: latke night with friends.
- Night six: she picks which plate everyone gets from the stack.
- Night seven: a Hanukkah book by the window after the candles are lit.
- Night eight: finish the puzzle and eat the last of the pretzel stars.
You don’t have to do all eight. Most years we get to five or six, and that’s plenty.
When to set up the Hanukkah table
The menorah, the tray, the puzzle, and the plate stacks go out on the little table the afternoon of the first night. The pretzel stars get made on night three and live in the fridge. For latke night, put the toppings in bowls about an hour before people come, and start the latkes when the first family walks in the door.
What do kids do at a Hanukkah party?
Dreidel, a puzzle or a simple craft, and something they can help make. The best Hanukkah party ideas for kids are the ones they can do with their hands. The pretzel stars are ours, and the puzzle stays on the little table so there’s always something to do while the candles burn.
What food do you serve at a Hanukkah party for kids?
Latkes with a toppings bar, something sweet, and gelt. Sufganiyot from a bakery are wonderful if you can get them. We make the pretzel stars because they’re quick and the kids can help.
Can you mix Hanukkah and Christmas decorations in the same house?
Yes, and we do. Hanukkah has its own corner by the window and the tree has the living room, and both get their own moment.
What age is this for?
About 3-8 years old. The puzzle and the pretzel dipping are perfect for little ones. Older kids love the dreidel game.
Set up the table, make the stars, and if you use any of these Hanukkah party ideas for kids, tag us. I would love to see it.