7 DIY Menorah Projects You Can Do in 1 Hour or Less

By Daniel Modlin

If you’re looking for a new way to celebrate the Festival of Lights, why not make a DIY menorah? Before you worry that it won’t look as chic as a store-bought menorah, know that with a bit of ingenuity and craftiness, your DIY menorah can actually be the pièce de résistance on each and every one of the eight Hanukkah nights. What’s more, the memories of making a DIY menorah with your loved ones—be it the kid-friendly flameless variety or the ornate floral gem—will get you in the holiday spirit pronto. Before you know it, you’ll be adding all sorts of holiday lights to your home decor. You might even want to make an extra one as a DIY gift idea.

Here are seven handmade DIY menorah projects that make the tradition so much more personal.

Blogger Jennifer Cohen makes a contemporary menorah with clay and coffee.

This absolutely stunning ceramic menorah will last for years to come. Jennifer Cohen of Our Happy Tribe outlines the steps to this contemporary spin on the classic. The addition of ground coffee (to add the speckles) also makes it the perfect craft for a coffee lover.

To make a clay menorah, you’ll need:

Line up the candle holders on top of the clay base to ensure they fit.

Roll out and flatten a large piece of clay. Spread the coffee grounds on top. Fold up the clay, and then fold again. Roll out again and work the grounds into the clay until evenly distributed. It should look speckled. Repeat the process as necessary.

With a rolling pin, create a flat sheet of clay—it should be about 1/8 inch thick.

With the precision knife, cut eight strips, about one inch wide and 4 1/4 inches long. Each strip should have an angled end on one side. Since the Shamash (or helper candle) is a little taller, make the strip a bit wider to give it height.

Take the wine cork and use it to shape the clay strips into mini cylinders. Start with the straight edge and roll it up with the angled edge on the outside. Smooth out any rough edges by placing a drop of water on your finger.

If you don’t have coffee-speckled clay left over, make a new batch and roll it out so that it’s about a quarter of an inch thick. This will be your base. Use a precision knife to make a strip that’s roughly 1 1/2 inch wide and 12 inches long.

Place the candle holders onto the base by dampening the bottom of the tube and then gently pressing it into the clay base. Cohen recommends starting with the Shamash candle holder at the center. Then, place four candle holders on each side. Allow to air dry, which can take about four hours. Keep in mind clay shrinks a little when it dries, so be sure you account for this when fitting candles.

This DIY menorah by Love Always, Audrey is a cinch to make.

This menorah from Love Always, Audrey is easy to customize and make your own. All you need are a few wood blocks, candles, and some metallic paint.

To make a clay menorah, you’ll need:

Painter’s tape to the rescue, as always

Use the painter’s tape to mark up the pattern on the blocks. Place it from corner to corner, at a diagonal. Paint with the color of your choice. This is a great way to use up that left over paint from your other DIY projects.

Once the blocks are dry, arrange them to create a pattern. Stack two blocks in the center to make the Shamash.

Place the blocks on wax paper, then glue them together, adding a dollop of industry strength glue on each side. You can place two book ends on each side to keep the DIY menorah base secure as it dries. Attach the copper tube fittings in the center of each block, and allow to dry before adding the candles.

A blooming DIY menorah by The House That Lars Built

If you’d like to transform your old menorah into a one-of-a-kind tree, try this DIY. This flower menorah from The House That Lars Built is fresh and beautiful. All you need is a bit of spray paint and paper flowers.

To make a floral menorah, you’ll need:

You can DIY the crepe flowers or buy mini artificial blooms.

Prepare your menorah for spray painting. If you’re using an old piece, make sure it is free of residual candle wax. Place the menorah and wood beads on old newspaper and spray paint. If you purchased green leaves, spray paint these as well. You may need more than one coat. Allow to dry for about three hours.

Brittany Watson Jepsen made their own crepe paper flowers and leaves using a template, but you can speed up the process with pre-made varieties. To make the berries, string the wire through beads to make bundles of four, twisting all the pieces of wire into one stem. Then wrap the wood beads with blue crepe paper. Secure with a dab of glue.

First, wrap a the foliage that’s on a wire around the menorah base. Then, attach the bundles of berries and the blooms. Add the gold beads to the flower centers (if artificial blooms don’t have a middle) and secure with hot glue.

Mr. Kate makes a vintage-inspired menorah with quirky bottles.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Mayer Rus

By Ariel Foxman

The creative duo, Joey Zehr and Kate Albrecht of Mr. Kate, created an unexpected menorah that looks like it came out of an apothecary. “Hanukkah is a great opportunity to DIY, and I love to upcycle,” Albrecht says. “These thrifted bottles of different shapes and sizes are united with a coat of paint to form an eclectically chic menorah!” You too can replicate and add your own twist, especially if you’re one to dig up vintage bottles while antiquing.

To make a bottle menorah, you’ll need:

Save those bottles!

Find nine bottles with a similar opening. They can be sample bottles or perfume bottles. Choose the tallest bottle to be the Shamash.

Albrecht chose primer, instead of regular spray paint, to give the bottles a matte look. Let dry at least 2 hours.

For this Mr. Kate project, Albrecht used an old port wine box and spray painted the top white to match the bottle display. You can also secure the glass with a hot glue gun to prevent the bottles from tipping over.

Place candles into the openings of the bottles. As the wax drips down, the matte bottles will look even more charming.

A DIY menorah that takes less than five minutes. Thanks, Forest Feast.

Erin Gleeson of Forest Feast loves a menorah made of citrus that’s easy on the environment. Although she uses oranges and limes, you could easily replace it with any other kind of citrus you have on hand.

To make a citrus menorah, you’ll need:

Prep the citrus.

Cut limes in half at the center. For the orange, slice off the bottom quarter so that it will sit flat.

Using the tip of a small paring knife, cut a small hole at the top of each citrus mound. It should be just big enough to insert the candle without it wobbling.

Place your citrus on a flat surface. You may want to put them on a long rectangular tray to prevent candle wax drips and citrus juices from accumulating on the table.

ProjectKid offers a super easy DIY you can do with the little ones.

This flameless menorah is so simple a preschooler can do it. Amanda Kingloff at ProjectKid says that event though the base is monochromatic, you can add more color with straws of different hues or even add real candles.

To make a flameless menorah, you’ll need:

Hand paint each spool to make the base.

Use a small brush to paint all the spools. Here, Kingloff chose white, but you can use any color to suit your decor. Place on old newsprint to dry.

Line up all nine spools, and use a hot glue gun to connect. This is not necessary if you’re using eraser candles, but strongly recommended for real candles to prevent tipping. Stack the small spool on top of one of the large spools and glue together.

Insert paper straps into each spool opening. Top with pencil cap erasers.

The DIY menorah steps from the Brass Paper Clip are crystal clear.

If you love thrifting this menorah is for you. Go on a scavenger hunt for nine vintage crystal salt shakers for a very granny chic interpretation of a DIY menorah inspired by The Brass Paper Clip.

To make a flameless menorah, you’ll need:

Arrange all nine salt shakers on a decorative tray. As an option, you can fill them with water and drop in food coloring to enhance the look of crystal. The options can range from all blue to ombre to a rainbow display.

Since the opening of the shakers may not match the candles exactly, you may have to play around with candle size or shave down the bottom to ensure the candles fit in snugly. Try adding mini candle holders to the opening for a tailored fit.