We’ve recently posted about a lot of great Christmas ideas, from a non-tree Christmas tree, to Christmas Tree Cheese, but today we are excited to share some love with our Jewish readers by highlighting some of the coolest and most geeky Hanukkah ideas out there this year. All of the following products are fun, digital, and more creative ways to celebrate the festival of lights.
LED Motherboard Menorah ($20) – For the computer nerd, this menorah is made out of an actual motherboard and includes a 9-volt battery and manual instructions for assembly. Turn each candle on and off one-by-one.
Lustrous Silver LED Menorah ($60) – The prettiest of the bunch, this silver menorah has the same LED capacity as others in the category, but is easiest to use if you want something that blends into the rest of your home decor (unless, of course, your home decor is full of stuff like motherboards).
Lighted Rope Menorah Yard Decor ($60) – Celebrate Hanukkah outdoors with this stand-up lighted menorah. The one downfall of this one is that you can’t light each candle one-by-one.
Hanukkah Electronica Menorah ($20) – Only 5” long, this pocket-seized LED menorah will stay lit for 45 minutes before its candles start flickering as if it were realistically out of wax.
DIY Deluxe LED Menorah ($14) – The most geeky of the bunch, the Deluxe LED Menorah kit contains a soldering kit you can use to build your own menorah. Basic electronic soldering skill is required, and you provide standard soldering tools: a soldering iron + solder and small wire clippers. No additional knowledge of electronics is presumed or required – and no programming is required either, though the menorah is intended to be hackable if you so desire.
Menorah Deluxe – Ditch the physical menorah all together! This iPhone app is pretty but very simplistic, featuring realistic-looking candles and the ability to choose from slow burn, fast burn, or everlasting. From what I’ve seen, it’s the best designed digital menorah in the app store, and would look great on any iPad set on a stand on a shelf or mantle.
iGevalt 3D Dreidel Simulator – No dreidel? No problem. Just download this 3D dreidel simulator to spin the top all night long.
Chai on Chanukah – Both fun and educational, this app includes a dreidel you can spin, a menorah you can light, as well as games and rhymes about Chanukah. The educational text was even written by a Rabbai who wrote it as a supplement for rabbinical teaching. Definitely a great find if you have small children.
