Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers

This year for Hanukkah I was very excited about doing multiple kid-friendly activities that relate to the Hanukkah symbol of oil, just like these simple and sweet Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers. Essential oil is not the type of oil that many think of when they think of the Festival of Oil (please don’t fry anything in it!) but I loved that it encouraged a conversation about traditional Hanukkah oil and why we call this holiday the Miracle of Oil.

What You’ll Need

Air dry clay
Hanukkah cookie cutters
Rolling pin
Clay tools (optional)
Wax paper
Ribbon, yarn or embroidery thread (optional)
Essential oil in your choice of scent
Essential Oil Clay Diffusers Gift Tags (optional) free printable

Putting It Together

Give your child some air dry clay and a sheet of waxed paper (we did not use waxed paper during our first attempts and while we salvaged all of the diffusers, oh my gosh the wax paper makes it so much easier to remove and set out to dry!).
Model how to roll out the clay with the rolling pin.
Use cookie cutters to cut out different Hanukkah symbol shapes.
If you want to be able to hang up your Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers, make sure to make a hole at the top. We used chop sticks to make our holes.
Invite your child to decorate or make designs in the clay with their fingers or clay tools, if they want.
Let the clay shapes dry fully.
Squeeze essential oil of your choice onto the dried clay shapes. The dried clay is porous enough that the oil spreads and the air pockets absorb it. The oil will then gradually release its scent into the air.
Talk about why Hanukkah is called the Festival or Miracle of Oil (hint: it’s because when the Maccabees were rededicating their Temple after it had been destroyed by the Syrian-Greek army, they only had enough oil to light the menorah for one night but miraculously the menorah stayed lit for eight nights until a new batch of oil could be made!).
Hang up your Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers or set them around your house and enjoy the scent diffusing from them and the happy Hanukkah symbols!
If you’re giving them as gifts, pack them in gift bags and add these Essential Oil Clay Diffusers Gift Tags if you wish!

Finished & Loving It!

I am totally loving these Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers! All the kids had fun making them—even the oldest participated! And the youngest was all hands in as well! They loved them so much that they asked to make them for family, friends and teachers. So now in addition to our fabulous Hanukkah-themed diffusers, we have dinosaurs, dogs, and so much more ready to wrap and give. Love it!

Did you know that playing with clay is so great for strengthening hand muscles? It’s thicker and more resistant than playdough so involves some extra effort and strength. It’s always fun to change up our playdough play with some clay play.

And while these Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers allow for some creativity in decorating or etching, they are obviously Hanukkah-themed. This connection helped initiate conversations about Hanukkah, Hanukkah symbols, and the importance of oil to the Hanukkah holiday. And then the kids had lots of fun making whatever shapes they wanted for their teachers and friends 🙂

Adding the essential oil was another good fine motor skill practice. It is a practiced skill to understand and learn how to squeeze droppers like this. And of course concentration and control in transferring the dropper to the clay shapes and squeezing the essential oil onto them. Be prepared: the scent is obvious quickly haha! Let them dry, pack them in some sweet gift bags if you want to give as gifts, otherwise enjoy the smell as they hang or sit around your house.

I love decorating our house during Hanukkah with kid-made decorations. These Hanukkah Essential Oil Clay Diffusers were so easy to make, definitely kid-friendly, and now we have their sweet designs and a good smelling scent all throughout our house! Looking for some last minute gift ideas? These would be perfect for that too!