Hanukkah events for kids on Long Island
Get ready to spin dreidels and eat latkes. Credit: Bruce Gilbert
With five nights of Hanukkah left, there are still plenty of opportunities for families to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Here are some events geared toward the littlest children:
The Hanukkah Experience
WHEN | WHERE 2:30 to 6 p.m. Dec. 9; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 10; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 11; 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Dec. 12; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 13, 961 Broadway (formerly Southwest Fitness), Woodmere
COST $5 per person and $2 per craft ticket, or $10 per person including all activities
INFO 516-295-2478; chabadfivetowns.com
Participate in an interactive game show, see Hanukkah theater, visit the toddler corner, enjoy face painting, make latkes and more.
Hanukkah Song and Story Time
WHEN | WHERE 5:45 p.m. Dec. 9 at The Dolphin Bookshop, 299 Main St., Port Washington
COST Free
INFO 516-767-2650; thedolphinbookshop.com
Join the rabbis and cantor of the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore for holiday songs and stories geared to pre-K and young elementary-age children and their families. Includes hot cider and latkes.
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
WHEN | WHERE 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Mid-Island Y JCC, 45 Manetto Hill Rd., Plainview
COST $20 per family
INFO 516-822-3535; miyjcc.org
Kids ages 2 to 5 and their parents will make and spin dreidels, sing songs, and cook and eat latkes. While there, check out the “Create Your Own Menorah” entries on display in the lobby.
Hanukkah Wonderland
WHEN | WHERE 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 12 at The Chai Center, 501 Vanderbilt Pkwy., Dix Hills
COST $10 per person
INFO 631-351-8672; thechaicenter.com
Meet Judah the Maccabee and visit more than 13 Hanukkah stations including latke and doughnut making, menorah ring toss and photos with the dreidel mascot. Learn how olive oil is made at the olive press workshop at 11 a.m.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
