12 Hanukkah Games for Kids, Families & Adults (All 8 Nights)

With the right Hanukkah games, everyone stays at the table after the candles are lit, from your 4-year-old to the grandparent who still plays dreidel for keeps.

Below are the TV games I play after the blessings, plus dreidel and the party games. Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ends on Saturday, December 12, so I've mapped a game to each night.

The 12 best Hanukkah games: TL;DR

1. Jeopardy!: Best for a post-dinner trivia showdown
2. Song Quiz: Best for families who keep singing after "Ma'oz Tzur"
3. Wheel of Fortune: Best for grandparent and grandkid teams
4. Guess the Emoji: Best for the last round before bed
5. Dreidel: Best for a quick round on any night
6. Gelt hunt: Best for toddlers and preschoolers
7. Latke toss: Best for kids who can't sit still
8. Hanukkah charades: Best for the performers in your family
9. Hanukkah trivia: Best for kids who know the story
10. Hanukkah scavenger hunt: Best for classrooms
11. Menorah build race: Best for office parties
12. Dreidel gift swap: Best for teens and adults after bedtime

Hanukkah games by crowd: Which should you choose?

• Little kids (2 to 6): My go-to Hanukkah games for kids this age are the gelt hunt (ages 2+) and latke toss (ages 3+), since neither needs reading skills.
• Mixed-age families: Dreidel, charades, and Wheel of Fortune are the best Hanukkah games for mixed-age groups. 
• Adults & big groups: For Hanukkah games for adults and large groups, run the menorah build race or gift swap, then add these games for a big crowd.
• Classrooms: Trivia and the scavenger hunt are the easiest Hanukkah classroom games I know.

If you're planning the rest of December too, here are more holiday activities for the whole family.

Hanukkah games: Quick comparison

1. Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! on the Weekend app is the official TV game, with licensed clues and the show's rules, timer and pace. You shout out your answer into your TV remote or paired phone in the form of a question.

Key features

• Casual, Classic or Expert mode, picked at the start of each game
• Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy! wagering for late comebacks

Pros

✅ Shy guests can feed answers to a team captain

✅ Categories change every session, so every night feels fresh

Cons

❌ Kids under 8 need Casual mode to keep up

❌ Trivia-shy relatives drift off between turns

Best for

• Families with a running trivia rivalry
• Grandparents who've watched the show for decades

Pricing

7-day free trial, then $12.99/month for access to Weekend’s full library of games.

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2. Song Quiz

Song Quiz is music trivia across decades and genres, with tens of thousands of songs. You hear a short clip and shout out your answer. I start it right after "Ma'oz Tzur" and switch decades so every generation gets a round.

Key features

• Naming both the title and artist scores the most points
• Pass the remote, or let everyone answer together

Pros

✅ A quick game fits between the candles and dessert

✅ Nobody needs to read anything

Cons

❌ The family music nerd tends to win

❌ Grandparents who skip pop sit out the 2010s rounds

Best for

• Teens who want to beat their parents at something
• Kids who already love music games

Pricing

7-day free trial, then $12.99/month for access to Weekend’s full library of games.

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3. Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is the TV word puzzle where you spin, call letters and solve the phrase, with the rules you know from the show. I pair grandparents with grandkids here: a 6-year-old can call a T while a grandparent solves the puzzle.

Key features

• Show categories like Before & After and Fun & Games
• The wheel-spin sound and the BANKRUPT tone from the broadcast

Pros

✅ Kids who know their letters can play

✅ The lead can flip on 1 spin late in the game

Cons

❌ Slower pace than Song Quiz

❌ Your best speller can lose on a bad spin

Best for

• Families with a crossword fan
• Guests who say they're bad at trivia

Pricing

7-day free trial, then $12.99/month for access to Weekend’s full library of games.

{{cta-fortune}}

4. Guess the Emoji

In Guess the Emoji, you decode emoji strings into movies, songs and sayings, so 🦁👑 is The Lion King. It’s ideal for fast and fun visual puzzle lovers of every age.

Key features

• An easy and a hard mode in every category
• Pop culture puzzles, where the teens have home advantage

Pros

✅ You can explain it in 1 sentence

✅ Grandparents catch the older movie titles

Cons

❌ Light for strategy fans

❌ Too quick for guests who like long games

Best for

• Families who quote movies at dinner
• A quick round between bigger games

Pricing

7-day free trial, then $12.99/month for access to Weekend’s full library of games.

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5. Dreidel

Dreidel is the classic Hanukkah game, a 4-sided top marked Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin. The letters are an acronym for Nes gadol haya sham, "a great miracle happened there," and Israeli dreidels use Pe for po, "here."

What you need

• 1 dreidel, or 1 per player for Dreidel Dash
• 10 to 15 pennies or raisins per player (a mesh bag of gelt holds only about 3 to 4 coins, so I save gelt for prizes)

How to play

I follow My Jewish Learning's dreidel rules.

1. Everyone puts 1 piece in the pot, and again when it empties or drops to 1.
2. Spin once and follow the letter you land on.
   
   • Nun: Nothing happens
   • Gimel: Take the whole pot
   • Hey: Take half, rounding up (7 pieces gets you 4)
   • Shin: Add 1 piece
3. Run out of pieces and you're out. The last player with any pieces wins.
4. For Dreidel Dash, each player uses their own dreidel, so nobody waits for a turn to spin.

Pros

✅ Kids learn 4 Hebrew letters while they play

✅ Any number of people can play

Cons

❌ Wooden dreidels wobble on carpet, so use a tray

❌ Long games drag once 2 players hold most of the pot

Best for

• Ages 4+ who can count to 15
• Grandparents who grew up playing it

6. Gelt hunt

A gelt hunt is a treasure hunt with chocolate coins hidden around a few rooms. Gelt is Yiddish for money, and coins have been a Hanukkah gift for generations. On other nights, I rotate these games for toddlers.

What you need

• 1 or 2 mesh bags of gelt per child, plus a paper bag for each hunter

How to play

1. Count the coins and hide them at toddler eye level or lower.
2. Start a 5-minute timer, then recount at the end. Chocolate is toxic to dogs, so make sure you find every coin.

Pros

✅ The prize doubles as dessert

✅ Works in a small apartment

Cons

❌ Gelt melts near radiators and sunny windows

❌ Foil wrappers end up all over the floor

Best for

• Ages 2 to 6
• Parties with a pile of young cousins

7. Latke toss

Latke toss is a carnival-style game where kids throw flat beanbag "latkes" into a frying pan from a tape line. You get a point for each one that stays in. It's one of my go-to party games for toddlers after blessings and dinner.

What you need

• A 12-inch frying pan and painter's tape
• 5 or 6 flat beanbags, or felt circles glued around dried beans

How to play

1. Tape a throw line 6 feet back, or 3 feet for 3-year-olds.
2. Give each kid 5 tosses per turn.
3. Most latkes in the pan after 3 rounds wins.

Pros

✅ Gets harder when you move the line back

✅ You can reuse the set every Hanukkah

Cons

❌ DIY beanbags need prep the day before

❌ Needs a clear stretch of floor

Best for

• Ages 3 to 7
• Preschool and kindergarten class parties

8. Hanukkah charades

Hanukkah charades is a version of classic charades with holiday words like "latke," "Maccabee," "menorah" and "sufganiyot," acted out without speaking while your team guesses.

When the Hanukkah words run out, I pull extras from my charades ideas.

What you need

• Slips of paper in a bowl, plus a phone timer

How to play

1. Write about 20 words, split into easy and hard piles.
2. Teams take turns acting for 60 seconds and score 1 point per correct guess.

Pros

✅ Costs nothing

✅ Works standing or sitting

Cons

❌ The same 2 performers hog the turns

❌ Shy kids need a buddy to act with

Best for

• Ages 5+
• Families with at least 1 member who’s the natural center of attention

9. Hanukkah trivia

Hanukkah trivia is a quiz on the story and traditions behind the holiday. I mix in a few trivia questions for kids so the youngest players keep scoring and don’t get bored.

What you need

• 15 to 20 questions, plus paper and a pen per team

How to play

1. Split into teams of 3 or 4.
2. Read each question twice and give teams 30 seconds.
3. Swap papers to mark, then total the points.

Pros

✅ Kids pick up the Hanukkah story as they play

✅ Teams can mix ages

Cons

❌ You write the questions ahead of time

❌ Needs a host to read and keep score

Best for

• Ages 7+
• Classrooms and Hebrew school groups

10. Hanukkah scavenger hunt

This scavenger hunt is built on trivia. You hide 8 pieces of gelt for each team, 1 for each night of Hanukkah. Each right answer to a Hanukkah question earns the clue to the next spot.

I make each clue harder than the last to keep the race close, and I reuse questions from a family trivia night.

What you need

• 8 pieces of gelt, 8 clue cards, and 8 Hanukkah questions per team

How to play

1. Hide the gelt and write a clue card for each spot.
2. Hand a team the next clue when they answer correctly.
3. The first team to find all 8 coins wins.

Pros

✅ Works in a classroom or a house

✅ Teams of 3 to 5 keep everyone moving

Cons

❌ A team that misses 1 answer gets stuck

❌ Teams finish at different speeds, so have a backup game ready

Best for

• Ages 6+
• Classrooms and cousin teams at a big family party

11. Menorah build race

Teams race to build a hanukkiah, the 9-branched Hanukkah menorah, from craft supplies. Eight branches are for the nights, and the 9th holds the shamash, the candle you use to light the others.

What you need

• Paper cups, cardboard tubes, clay or LEGO bricks
• Tape and 9 battery tea lights

How to play

1. Split into teams of 3 to 5 and set a 30-minute timer.
2. Score 1 point for each of these: 9 branches, 8 lights at the same height, a shamash set apart, and a base that stands on its own. Add 2 points for creativity.

Pros

✅ Every team leaves with a hanukkiah for the windowsill

✅ Scales to as many teams as you have tables

Cons

❌ Teams of 6 or more leave someone idle

❌ Craft supplies mean cleanup

Best for

• Teens & adults
• Office parties, followed by trivia for coworkers

12. Dreidel gift swap

The dreidel gift swap is a white elephant exchange where the letter you spin is your move.

• Gimel: Steal any opened gift (spin again if none are open)
• Hey: Open a new gift from the pile
• Nun: Keep what you have
• Shin: Swap gifts with the player on your left

It's my late-night closer, and these party games for adults keep the grown-ups going after it.

What you need

• 1 wrapped gift per guest with a $15 or $20 cap, plus a dreidel

How to play

1. Draw numbers for turn order.
2. Spin and follow the letter, and spin again on Nun or Shin if you hold no gift.
3. Cap steals at 2 per gift, and stop when every gift is open.

Pros

✅ Everyone goes home with something

✅ People talk about the steals long after their turn

Cons

❌ Slow with more than 20 guests

❌ Guests need a heads-up to bring a gift

Best for

• Teens & adults
• Friends who like a little trash talk

Hanukkah party ideas: One game for each of the 8 nights

My Hanukkah party ideas work best when we play 1 game per night, planned the way I'd host a game night. Here's how I'd spread these 12 across Hanukkah 2026.

Nights 1 and 8 both fall on a Friday. If you keep Shabbat, many families light the Hanukkah candles before the Shabbat candles and start the TV games on night 2, only after Shabbat ends.

Many families who keep Shabbat avoid writing (and writing down scores), so ask your rabbi about night 1's dreidel and write the night 8 charades slips before Shabbat begins.

On a night when you'd rather talk than compete, swap in any of these family bonding activities.

Keep your Hanukkah game nights going with Weekend Games

Once you've played through these Hanukkah games, you'll find the TV picks up top on the Weekend app. One subscription includes all supported games.

Here's the lineup:

• Jeopardy!: Licensed clues and categories from the show, with Casual mode for the kids at the table.
• Song Quiz: Name the song or artist from a short clip, with massive playlists across genres and decades.
• Wheel of Fortune: Call letters and solve the puzzle, with the BANKRUPT tone straight from the broadcast.
• Guess the Emoji: Visual puzzles where a string of emojis spells out a title or saying.
• Sketchy AF: Guess the doodle before the pencil finishes, using hold-to-talk on your phone.
• Spot On: Up to 4 players race to pin a city or landmark on a globe.
• Wit's End: A D&D-style adventure for teens and adults, where you create your hero by describing them out loud. Then the story’s built around your choices. 
• Meme Supreme: The after-bedtime pick for adults, with up to 8 players matching memes to a scenario one player writes, then voting anonymously.
• BFFs: A would-you-rather showdown for 2 to 6 players that scores how often everyone agrees.
• Bingo: The TV calls the numbers, and every player daubs a card on their phone.
• Spot the Gubs: A hidden-object hunt for 1 to 6 players in quick 5-minute rounds.
• Karaoke (on Roku): Sing into your Roku remote and get scored on pitch and lyrics.
• CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ: Early childhood edutainment for kids aged 2 to 4, with mini-games like Peek-a-Boo and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

There are games for your other plans, too, from a cousins' sleepover to an adults-only birthday. The Weekend app is on Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, and LG. Start your 7-day free trial, then it's $12.99/month for every game.

FAQs

What are some fun and interesting ideas for a Hanukkah party?

Fun and interesting Hanukkah party ideas include a dreidel tournament, a gelt hunt, a latke toss and a menorah build race, or 1 game for each of the 8 nights.

For a big party, set up dreidel, latke toss and the gelt hunt as carnival stations and rotate guests between them. Save Jeopardy! on the Weekend app for after dinner.

What are the best Hanukkah games for families?

The best Hanukkah games for families are the ones where a grandparent and a young kid play as equals. I start with dreidel, then switch to Wheel of Fortune when the kids want a TV game.

What Hanukkah games can toddlers play?

For Hanukkah, toddlers can play a gelt hunt (ages 2+) or latke toss (ages 3+), since neither needs reading. For a TV game, try CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ on Fire TV, Samsung or LG, which has sing-along games for ages 2 to 4.

How do I get the Weekend Games app on my TV?

Open your TV's app store, search for "Weekend Games," download the app and start playing. Your subscription stays with the platform you start it on, so start the 7-day free trial on the TV your family uses most.