Make a dreidel

Make a dreidel

Learn how to make a Hanukkah dreidel with a kit, paper, or clay, and discover the meaning behind its Hebrew letters.

The dreidel game is a beloved Hanukkah pastime, and making a dreidel can be just as fun for people of all ages. By making and playing with a dreidel, children can enthusiastically connect with tradition and remember the central story behind the festival of lights.

There are numerous ways to make a dreidel. You can make them from heavy paper, milk cartons, cardboard, clay, or even a dreidel-making kit.

Using a Kit

A dreidel kit can be purchased at any local Jewish religious supply store. If you can't locate one in a phone book or online, ask local synagogues or Jewish community groups about how to get a kit. Once you've bought the kit, making a dreidel will be simple and fun. But playing the game will be even more fun!

Making It from Scratch

To make a dreidel without a kit, start with its basic form. It has a stick protruding from the top so you can spin it. The body looks like a cube sitting on top of an upside-down pyramid or cone. On the four outer faces of the cube are four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimel, Hay, and Shin, one on each face.

If you plan to make your dreidel from heavy paper or light cardboard, see the diagram and follow these instructions.

1. Cut this diagram out of your material. Follow the solid outer lines as you cut.
2. Where you see the circle, punch a hole with a small pencil. This will be the top face of your dreidel.
3. Once you have pasted and cut out the diagram, fold along the dotted lines so the letters appear on the outer faces and the flaps can be glued together.
4. Glue the flaps to the appropriate inner sides. For example, glue the flap on the left edge of the triangle under the Gimel face to the inside right edge of the triangle under Nun. Now the body of your dreidel is taking shape!
5. Finally, push your pencil through the hole in the top face, pointy end first, until it reaches the bottom point of your dreidel. Now you're ready to play!

If you want a more durable, longer-lasting dreidel, make it from clay. This process is more involved, however.

1. What you'll need: clay, a cube mold, a pyramid mold, and the pencil/dowel used in the first method. Ideally, the exposed sides of the cube and pyramid molds should be the same size, or the pyramid's sides should be slightly smaller than the cube's.
2. Fill the cube mold with clay and smooth out the exposed surface.
3. Before the clay dries, remove it from the cube mold and stick the pencil or dowel into one of the faces. Push it through until it comes out of the opposite face of the cube.
4. Make sure you insert the pencil at a perfect 90-degree angle to the top of the cube and exactly in the center. This is the most challenging part of the whole project; if done improperly, your dreidel will not spin well.
5. Now pack the pyramid mold full of clay and smooth the exposed surface as before.
6. Before the clay dries completely, remove it from the pyramid mold and place the flat face of the pyramid onto the bottom face of the cube (the face with the pencil sticking out). Be sure the pencil is centered in the pyramid as you push it in.
7. Don't forget the letters! Carve them into the sides of the dreidel, or draw or paint them on.

And that completes Dreidel 101! Once you've made your dreidel, using a kit or your own creative energy, you're ready to play the dreidel game. Go for the gelt! But also remember, and tell all children who play, why the Hebrew letters are displayed on the dreidel. Together they stand for 'Nes Gadol Hayah Sham' - in English, 'A great miracle occurred there.' Happy Hanukkah!