Our eight nights
“Every night of Hanukkah, Eli (5) and Hannah (3) take turns lighting the shamash, and we sing the blessings off-key. On the last night the whole family comes over for latkes. We'd love a book about our eight nights.”
Personalized Hanukkah books
A personalized Hanukkah book starring your kids.
Your menorah in the window. Grandpa's latkes, which are better than Grandma's (don't tell her). The dreidel game that always ends in a gelt dispute. Make a Hanukkah book about how your family celebrates, starring your kids and drawn from your photos. You tell us the story, and we turn it into an illustrated hardcover.
Free to preview. You only pay once you love it: $39 for one book, or $25/month.
A Hanukkah book about your family's eight nights
There are lovely Hanukkah books for kids, but there aren't many where your own kids are the ones lighting the candles. A personalized Hanukkah book shows the holiday the way your family actually celebrates it: the blessings you sing, the food you make, and who's at the table.
It makes a good gift for one of the eight nights, and it's the book that comes out with the menorah every year. Years from now it's a record of what Hanukkah looked like in your house when they were small.
Hanukkah story ideas for kids
Use a real memory, make something up, or mix the two. A paragraph or two is plenty.
A Maccabee adventure
“Make it up: Noah and his little sister travel back in time to help the Maccabees, and find the tiny jar of oil that lasts for eight whole nights.”
Baby's first Hanukkah
“This is Ava's first Hanukkah. She's seven months old and can't stop staring at the candles. Her big brother Sam wants to teach her to spin the dreidel.”
Hanukkah and Christmas together
“We're an interfaith family, so our house has a menorah and a tree. Maya (6) calls December 'the best month' and helps make latkes with Bubbe and cookies with Grandma.”
How it works
- 01
Tell us the story
Add your family once, with photos if you have them. Then write the story in a paragraph or two, the way you'd tell it to a friend.
- 02
Preview every page
We write and illustrate a 12-page picture book in the art style you pick. Edit any line or redraw any picture before it prints.
- 03
A hardcover arrives
Approve it and we print a hardcover storybook and ship it free anywhere in the US.
Tips for a personalized Hanukkah book
- Put in the details that are yours: the family menorah, the latke recipe, the song you always sing, the names your kids call their grandparents.
- Tell us the words your family uses, like Hanukkah or Chanukah, Bubbe or Savta, and the story will use them too.
- Hanukkah's dates move every year and can come early in December. Start early: you'll preview and edit every page before it prints, and printing and shipping take time on top of that.
- Put everyone at the table in your family profile, including grandparents, cousins and the dog who waits under it for dropped latkes.
Hanukkah is a great first book
Once your family is set up, every next book takes a paragraph: Passover at Grandma's, a birthday, or a made-up adventure your kids dream up.
Families who keep going get a new hardcover each month for $25, about anything that really happened or anything your kids dream up. Skip a month or cancel whenever you like. Or just make this one book. That's fine too.
Personalized Hanukkah book questions
Can I put more than one child in a personalized Hanukkah book?
Yes. All your kids, plus parents, grandparents and pets. Everyone in your family profile can be in the story, with their real names, drawn from your photos.
Can the book include Hebrew words or blessings?
You can include words like shamash, latkes or sufganiyot in your story, and you can edit every line before it prints. Hebrew lettering in the illustrations may not come out right, so we'd suggest keeping Hebrew in the text.
Does it work for interfaith families?
Yes. You write the story, so it can be about Hanukkah alone or Hanukkah and Christmas together, however your family celebrates.
Can I send it as a gift?
Yes. When you approve the book, mark it as a gift, add a short message that's printed inside, and ship it to any US address.
Can I see the book before I pay?
Yes. We write and illustrate the whole book first, and you review every page. You can edit any line or redraw any picture. You only pay once you approve it.
How much does a personalized book cost?
$39 for one hardcover book, with free US shipping and no subscription. Or $25 a month for a new book every month, if you want to keep going.
Can we make more books after this one?
Yes. Your family profile is saved, so the next book only takes a paragraph. It can be about any real memory or any adventure your kids make up. Order books one at a time for $39, or get a new one every month for $25. You can skip a month or cancel anytime.
Guides for parents
- Yoto Player Review: Great Screen-Free Pick, If You Budget for Cards
Kids slot in a card and run their own stories, and parents love it at bedtime. The player is a one-time buy, though, and the card habit is where the real cost lives.
- Grandparents Gifting a Trip for Christmas: What to Wrap for Kids
You're paying for the beach week, but the grandkids still need something to unwrap. Here are the photo frames, matching shirts, books, and trip gear that stand in for the real thing, and the one conversation to have with the parents first.
Make the Hanukkah book that comes out with the menorah every year.
Free to preview. Hardcover books start at $25, shipped free in the US.
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