9 Fresh and Fun Hanukkah Decorating Ideas

Stylist Rita Brownstein, author of the blog Design Megillah and the book Jewish Holiday Style, shares a few beautiful and simple ideas for freshening up your Hanukkah table and mantel.

Try a new table setup. This year Brownstein plans to shake things up in her household by hosting her Hanukkah dinner in front of the fireplace. "I wanted a more cozy setup, so I pushed back the living room furniture to create more space," she says. "It also means that my grandkids can run around, sit and read on the sofa nearby and feel more relaxed than at the formal dining table."


Go for blue and metallics. Instead of the usual white, blue and silver palette, Brownstein is updating her look with various shades of blue along with shiny gold and copper metallics.

"It's important for your holiday table to reflect you and the style of your home," she says. Here she pairs gold bowls from Pier 1 Imports with white Mercer dinner plates from Crate & Barrel.


Brownstein used gold fabric paint to give each dinner napkin a number, symbolizing the eight nights of candle lighting during Hanukkah.


Add an extra menorah. Although many people place their menorah in a front window for all to see, Brownstein puts an extra menorah on the dinner table.

“I loved the clean, modern shape of this Tovah menorah from Crate & Barrel, but the polished nickel finish didn’t work with my gold theme,” she says. “So I gave it a quick spray using Krylon Brush Metallic in Sparkling Canyon.”


Use dreidels as vase fillers. Gold dreidels add weight to a vase and reflect the candlelight without taking any drama away from the white hydrangeas.


Set out an alternative candy bowl. Brownstein found this soap dish at Target. "The blue rock candy looks great with the glass mosaics and makes a lovely addition to the table," she says.


Have a mantel of miracles. She transformed the mantel with shimmery golds, with gifts wrapped in blue paper nearby.


String some grown-up gelt. Brownstein created this gelt garland with plastic coins she found at a party supply store.

To make your own gelt garland, you'll need:
Hot glue gunWhite string that can handle the weight of your coinsPlastic gold coinsThumbtacks1. Measure the width of your mantel with the string. Allow extra so that the string can hang loose in tiered layers. Brownstein layered four string strands for hers.

2. Glue two coins back to back onto each string, 3 to 4 inches apart.

3. Tie the string ends together and secure them to the side of the mantel with thumbtacks.


Send a special message. Brownstein painted chipboard letters with gold crafts paint and glued a wood skewer, also painted gold, to the back of each one. "They are sitting in glass votive cups filled with salt. The word "miracles" is appropriate, since the story of Hanukkah involves how a small group of soldiers, the Maccabees, defeated the entire Syrian army," she says.


Have handmade favors. Gift packages perk up the hutch. Brownstein made paper dreidels out of patterned scrapbook paper in her palette of blues and metallics.


She wrapped the dinner favors like a petite Hanukkah gift. "I filled them with blue jellybeans in keeping with the color scheme. A chocolate gelt coin makes a perfect tag," she says.


"When I was growing up, Hanukkah was simply lighting the menorah for eight nights and getting a few gifts," Brownstein says. "Today we are surrounded with so much more beauty and ingenuity in design. Don't forget: The holidays are a great opportunity to reflect your individual design style."

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