Eight nights planner

Free Hanukkah printables you can fill in first

Many Hanukkah printables are colouring pages and blank sheets. This set is a planner. You type your family name, the date of the first candle and the people on your gift list, and the pages are filled in for you.

It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. Choose A4 or US Letter, then print or save as a PDF.

A short word about Hanukkah

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, is the Jewish festival of lights. It lasts eight nights and remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Families light a candle on the menorah each night, adding one more until all eight are burning, and a ninth candle, the shamash or helper, is used to light the others.

Many families eat foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and jam doughnuts, play dreidel, and spend the evenings together. Customs vary between families and communities, so take what suits you.

In 2026 the first candle is lit on the evening of Friday 4 December, according to Chabad.org. Hanukkah begins at sundown, which is why the planner counts from the evening.

What is in the Hanukkah set

The set has up to three pages, depending on what you enter.

• The eight nights planner: a card for each night with the date, a menorah, an idea for the evening and a line to write who the gift is for.
• A gift list, added when you enter names: a table with columns for who the gift is for, the idea, which night and a tick box for wrapped.
• A dreidel score sheet with a column for each player and 14 rounds.

The eight nights planner

The first-candle date is the only date you set. The planner then counts forward and writes the day and date for each of the eight nights. It starts at 4 December 2026 and you can change it to any year.

Each night has a small menorah drawing. On night one a single candle is lit alongside the helper, on night two there are two, and so on until all eight are lit on the eighth night. Children can watch the menorah fill up as they work through the planner.

Each night also has an idea for the evening. They are simple, and you can write over them or ignore them.

• Night 1: make latkes together.
• Night 2: a dreidel tournament.
• Night 3: read a story by candlelight.
• Night 4: call family far away.
• Night 5: bake jam doughnuts.
• Night 6: give to a food bank.
• Night 7: family games night.
• Night 8: share a favourite memory.

A gift list for the eight nights

Whether you give a gift each night, a few over the week or small gifts to certain people, the practice differs from family to family. The planner has a gift line on every night, so you can write down who the gift is for. The gift list gives you a place for the details.

Type one name per line and you get a table with a row for each person, up to 16. Fill in the gift idea, choose a night and tick the wrapped box when it is ready.

1. Add the names of everyone you plan to give a gift to.
2. Print the gift list and write an idea next to each name.
3. Pick a night for each gift, spreading them out over the week.
4. Tick the wrapped box as you go, so you know what is ready.
5. Write the name on the matching night of the planner.

A dreidel score sheet for your players

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top. Each side has a Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, hei and shin. The score sheet prints the rules on the page, so nobody needs to look them up: nun means nothing happens, gimel takes the whole pot, hei takes half, and shin adds one to the pot.

House rules vary between families, such as how many tokens each player starts with. The sheet is simply a place to keep score. Type up to eight player names, or leave them blank to get Player 1, Player 2 and so on. There are 14 rounds and a space for the winner at the bottom.

Chocolate coins, nuts, buttons or pennies all work as tokens.

Printing tips and privacy

Choose A4 or US Letter before you print. The planner page is one sheet, so it is easy to pin up by the menorah. Use the ink saver option for lighter pages.

Names stay in the link after the # in your browser and are never sent to a server. Bookmark the page if you want to return to the same plan.