This paper dreidel is great to use as a Hanukkah decoration or as a holiday toy. The rules for playing dreidel are listed below.
- A printer and paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Crayons or markers
- A straw or short wooden dowel
- Optional – Thin cardboard (like from a cereal box)
Instructions
Optional: This step makes the dreidel sturdier (but it will be more difficult to cut out). Glue the printed template to a piece of very thin cardboard (like cardboard cut from a cereal box). Let the glue dry.
Decorate the dreidel, then cut along the edges. Cut an x in the tiny circle on the top
Fold along the inside lines, making a top shape. Glue the flaps inside the top. Stick a straw or wooden dowel through the tiny circle at the top (push it gently to the bottom of the dreidel).
Now you can play dreidel! Each player starts with about 20 markers (like chocolate coins, checkers, nuts, or raisins) and takes turn spinning the dreidel. On each spin, the players put 2 markers in the center. Do the following for each spin:
- nun - do nothing
- gimel - take everything
- hay - take half
- shin - put one in
The winner is the person who gets all the markers.
Nun, gimel, hay, and shin are the Hebrew letters used on the dreidel outside Israel (they represent the phrase, “A great miracle happened there”). In Israel, the letters represent the phrase, “A miracle happened here.”
