Holidays > Hanukkah

How to Make a Menorah Candle Necklace

(FeatureSource) During Hanukkah, the festival of lights, a candle is lit each night for 8 days. This commemorates a night long ago when the Maccabees had enough oil for one night that miraculously lasted for 8 days. The Menorah is the centerpiece of the celebration when friends and families gather for this winter holiday.

Penny Warner, author of “The Big Book of Party and Holiday Fun” (Meadowbrook Press) suggests a new way to enjoy the timeless tradition of the Menorah. Warner says, “You will love wearing this Menorah Candle Necklace during Hanukkah. Add one charm each day, just as you light a candle each night.”

A Menorah Candle Necklace is simple to make and requires minimal adult supervision. The materials required are already in the kitchen and kids will love the excitement this simple, affordable idea will bring to the celebration.

Here’s what you need:

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 3/4 cups water
Ribbon or chain
Paper clips
Tin foil
Cookie sheet
Oven, preheated at 250 degrees
Acrylic paints and paintbrushes or permanent markers

Here’s what to do:

1. Make baker’s clay by combining the flour, salt and water and kneading it until well mixed.
2. Make eight candle charms with the baker’s clay. Stick a paper clip into the top of each charm so it can later be attached to the necklace.
3. Place the baker’s clay charms onto a tin-foil-lined cookie sheet and bake for 1 to 2 hours (until firm). Allow to cool.
4. Paint or color the charms.
5. Slip one charm onto the ribbon or chain necklace each day of the holiday until you have all eight charms on at the last day.