A dreidel for every child at the table
A paper dreidel is a small craft that ends in a game. Type the children’s names and each gets a dreidel with their name on the top, so the right one goes home with the right child, and the score sheet on the last page lists them all for the gelt. One large dreidel prints on a page; the small size fits two.
The dreidel on this page spins when you press Spin and lands on a letter, with what that letter means in the game. It is a good way to learn the four letters before the first night.
Making it spin
Fold on a hard edge, a ruler or the side of a table, so the corners are sharp, and use a glue stick sparingly so the tabs do not warp. The handle matters most: a short pencil, a lollipop stick or a straw pushed through the dot on the top and down into the point keeps the dreidel upright while it turns. If it wobbles, the point is a little off centre: press the triangles together once more while the glue sets.
For the rest of the season, the paper snowflake maker draws a snowflake to fold and cut, and the woven paper heart is a quiet craft for the long evenings.
Questions
How do you play dreidel?
Everyone starts with the same number of coins, nuts or chocolate gelt and puts one in the pot. Take turns spinning; the letter on top when it falls says what you do. Nun: nothing happens. Gimel: take the whole pot. Hei: take half the pot. Shin, or Pe in Israel: put one in. When the pot is empty or holds one piece, everyone puts one in. The printed rules page spells this out, with a score sheet for up to ten players.
What do the letters on a dreidel mean?
They stand for Nes Gadol Haya Sham, “a great miracle happened there”. Dreidels in Israel carry Pe in place of Shin, for Nes Gadol Haya Po, “a great miracle happened here”. Choose either set; the letter names print small under each letter, for children who are learning them.
How big is the paper dreidel?
The large one is a 4.5 cm cube on a 3.8 cm point, one a page; the small one is a 3 cm cube, two a page. Both fit US Letter and A4 printed at 100 % (actual size). Card stock folds crisper and spins longer than printer paper.
How do I fold it?
Cut along the solid lines and fold every dashed line. Fold the four sides into a box and glue the grey tab on the fourth side under the first, close the top with its three tabs, then fold the four triangles in to make the point, gluing each tab under the triangle beside it. Push a short pencil or a straw through the dot on the top, down into the point, as the handle.
When is Hanukkah 2026?
Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, with the first candle, and ends on Saturday, December 12, after eight nights.
Is anything uploaded from this page?
No. The dreidel and the PDF are drawn in your browser, the Hebrew letters included. The names you type are kept in this browser for next time, and no request carries them anywhere.