EGG CARTON & CRAFT STICK MENORAH
Celebrate Hanukkah AND honor the Jewish values of shomrei adamah (guardians of the earth) and bal tashchit (do not destroy) by reusing an egg carton to make a festive menorah! This menorah is practical, too, because kids will be able to put the craft stick “candles” in and out each night of Hanukkah and also “light” the mini clothes pin “flames.” Add some extra joy to the Festival of Lights with this simple and colorful craft!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
-One empty egg carton
-Nine craft sticks (the standard size, as opposed to the jumbo size, works best)
-Mini clothes pins
-Acrylic paint in whatever colors you like
-Optional: glitter (I used silver metallic paint at first, but it still looked dull, so for the second coat, I added glitter to the paint and that made it very sparkly — perfect for Hanukkah!)
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
(1) Cut the egg carton as follows: two sets of four attached cells, then three individual cells that you will stack for the shamash spot. Then use scissors to put a small slit on the bottom of each cell (which will become the top of the menorah where you insert the craft stick “candles.” (2) Paint the egg carton parts with acrylic paint in whatever color(s) you like. (3) Paint the craft sticks with acrylic paint. Two coats on each side is a good amount, and it’s nice that you don’t have to paint the very bottom of the craft sticks because that part will be in the egg carton menorah. When you paint the craft sticks, you can put your finger on that bottom part to keep it in place while you paint. (4) Paint the mini clothes pins yellow. I clipped them to the top of the egg carton while I painted them. This part of the egg carton isn’t used for the main craft, however, it was the perfect spot to paint the mini clothes pins. (5) Allow everything to dry for a couple of hours, and then you can assemble the menorah as shown in the photos. (6) Each night of Hanukkah, set up your candles right to left, just like the direction we read Hebrew, and then “light” your candles from left to right by putting a yellow clothes pin “flame” on each craft stick “candle.” Chag Sameach!
