Eight nights is a lot of presents, and if you’ve ever tried to do it properly you’ll know exactly what I mean. The first year we tried to do a proper gift every night, I ran out of ideas somewhere around night four and wrapped a box of granola bars. Nobody was fooled.
So now we give each night a theme, and most of them are small. These Hanukkah gifts for kids are sorted the same way: one theme per night, with an idea for ages 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12. Swap the nights around, skip a few, or just borrow the themes. Your family’s way is the right way.
We’ve left prices off, since they change all the time and vary between countries.
Do You Have to Give Gifts at Hanukkah?
No, and plenty of families don’t, or give one present for the whole holiday. The old tradition is gelt, which is money (these days often chocolate coins) given to children. That goes back centuries in Europe. Presents on each night are a much newer custom, and it’s one that grew mostly in the US over the last hundred years or so. Historian Jonathan Sarna put it simply: gelt is the old custom, “gift giving, by contrast, is new.”
Which, honestly, takes the pressure off.
Night 1: Gelt and a Dreidel (Friday 4 December)
Start with the traditional one. It’s the gift that comes with a game, and it’s the one that’ll still be rolling around under the sofa in March.
- Ages 3 to 5: a soft fabric dreidel that won’t hurt anyone when it flies off the table, plus a mesh bag of chocolate gelt.
- Ages 6 to 8: a wooden dreidel and a pile of gelt for the dreidel game. Our free rules card is in the craft templates.
- Ages 9 to 12: real coins instead of chocolate, since they’re old enough to want actual money and they’ll tell you so. Some families give a coin for each candle, which turns into a quiet lesson in saving and spending.
Night 2: A Book
The easiest night to plan, and the one that gets the most use after Hanukkah is over.
- Ages 3 to 5: a Hanukkah picture book. Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah is a gentle one for little ones.
- Ages 6 to 8: Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, which is a bit spooky in a good way and great for reading aloud by candlelight.
- Ages 9 to 12: let them pick their own book at a bookshop. Older kids are far more likely to read something they chose.
Night 3: Something to Make
- Ages 3 to 5: a big tub of play dough with star and dreidel cookie cutters.
- Ages 6 to 8: our homemade dreidel game kit (craft 16 on our Hanukkah crafts page). It’s free to make and it gets played with all week.
- Ages 9 to 12: a kit for rolling beeswax candles. There’s no heat involved, since you just roll the sheets around a wick, and the candles can go in the family menorah, lit by a grown-up.
Night 4: Game Night
Wrap a game and play it straight away. I’m not sure there’s a better use of a Monday evening in December (night 4 is Monday 7 December this year).
- Ages 3 to 5: a simple matching or memory game.
- Ages 6 to 8: a quick card game, like Uno or Spot It (called Dobble in the UK).
- Ages 9 to 12: a strategy board game the whole family can learn together, even if the grown-ups lose, which they will, and which the kids won’t let them forget.
Night 5: Giving Night
On this night, the kids are the ones who give. Lots of families do some version of this, and it’s often the night kids remember.
- Ages 3 to 5: decorate a tzedakah box, a charity box, and put the first coins in together.
- Ages 6 to 8: sort out toys they’ve outgrown and take them to a donation center. It’s harder for them than it sounds, so don’t rush it.
- Ages 9 to 12: give them a set amount and let them choose a charity to give it to. They’ll take the decision more seriously than you’d expect.
Night 6: Something Cozy
- Ages 3 to 5: Hanukkah pajamas, worn immediately.
- Ages 6 to 8: blue and white socks with dreidels on them. I don’t know why every kid wants silly socks, but they do.
- Ages 9 to 12: a soft blanket or a reading light for the books from night 2.
Night 7: An Outing
A gift that’s a plan, not a thing. Put it in a coupon, from our free printable, so there’s still something to unwrap.
- Ages 3 to 5: a morning baking sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) or latkes together, with their own small apron.
- Ages 6 to 8: tickets to a show, a skating session or a trip to a museum.
- Ages 9 to 12: a day out with one parent, just the two of them, where they choose what you do.
Night 8: The Big One
If there’s going to be one bigger present, the last night is a good place for it. That’s the thing they’ve wanted for weeks, and you’ll have heard about it more than once.
We ask our kids to fill in the free wish list in November, partly so we know what to get and partly because watching a 5-year-old write “a real horse” in very careful letters is one of the joys of parenting. Then we pick one thing from it.
Free Hanukkah Gifts for Kids: Tags, Wish List and Coupons
The free PDF has eight gift tags, one for each night with this year’s date on it, a wish list for kids to fill in, and a page of coupons for outings and favors. They’re Hanukkah gifts for kids that cost nothing but a bit of printer ink. It prints on US Letter and A4.
If you’d like to make a gift instead, our Hanukkah crafts page has a full dreidel game kit to build.
More Hanukkah Printables
- 16 Hanukkah crafts for kids (with free templates)
- 20 Hanukkah coloring pages (with an 8-night menorah tracker)
- Printable advent calendar for kids
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it traditional to give gifts at Hanukkah?
The traditional gift is gelt, money given to children, which goes back hundreds of years in Europe. Giving presents is a much newer custom that started growing in the late 1800s, mainly in the US, and really took off after the 1950s. Plenty of families give small gifts, one gift, or no gifts at all. There isn’t a right answer.
What are the 8 gifts of Hanukkah?
There’s no official list. Some families give a small gift each night, and a lot of them use a theme for each one to keep it manageable. Ours are gelt, a book, something to make, a game, giving, something cozy, an outing and one bigger gift. Feel free to borrow them or swap in your own.
What are good small Hanukkah gifts for kids?
Chocolate gelt, a dreidel, a picture book, fun socks, play dough, or a card game. Handmade gifts work well too, like the dreidel game kit from our crafts page. Small kids are usually more excited about unwrapping something every night than about what’s inside.
What can you give a toddler for Hanukkah?
A soft fabric dreidel, a board book about Hanukkah, play dough with star-shaped cutters, or a pair of Hanukkah pajamas. Keep chocolate gelt and small pieces away from under-3s. Toddlers also love tearing paper, so the wrapping is half the gift.
When should we give the first Hanukkah gift in 2026?
Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December, so the first night is that Friday evening, usually after the candles are lit. The eighth night is Friday 11 December. Our gift tags have each night’s date printed on them.
Do you give gifts on all eight nights?
Some families do, and some don’t. Lots of families give small gifts on most nights and one bigger present, or set aside one night for giving to others. Grandparents and other relatives often take a night each, which spreads the load. Do whatever feels right for your family.
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