Hanukkah Word Search in Large Print
MENORAH, DREIDEL, LATKES — eight nights of lights in four puzzles with letters big enough to read by candlelight.
4 puzzles · 70 words · 12 × 12 to 18 × 18 grids · Free to print and photocopy, with every answer key included as page two of its PDF.
Puzzle 1
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Puzzle 2 — a fresh word list
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Puzzle 3 — Gentler 12×12 grid
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Puzzle 4 — Tougher 18×18 grid
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Make one with your own words. Grandchildren's names, this week's menu, the streets of a hometown: the free word search maker prints them in the same big letters, with an answer key.
More large print word searches
Eight nights, four puzzles
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, which is why it lands somewhere between late November and late December rather than on a fixed date. It lasts eight nights, one more candle each evening, lit from the SHAMMASH — the helper candle that sits apart from the others.
The first puzzle is the holiday itself: the menorah, the Maccabees, the Temple and the oil that lasted eight days. The second is what the holiday is like in a family kitchen — LATKES with APPLESAUCE or SOURCREAM, BRISKET, the JELLYDOUGHNUT, the dreidel letters NUN, GIMEL and SHIN, and a CHANUKIAH in the WINDOWSILL.
For mixed December groups
If you are running a December activity for a mixed group, it is worth having this alongside the Christmas sheets rather than assuming everyone wants the same one. The December word search is the in-between option: it carries Hanukkah, the solstice and New Year’s Eve as well as Christmas.
Like everything on this site, these print on one US Letter page each with the answer key on page two of the PDF, and are free to photocopy for any group.
Planning puzzles for a care home or senior center? The memory care activities page lays the whole year out as a printable monthly calendar, and activities for nursing home residents covers what works for a mixed group.
Which size should you print?
Every puzzle on this page fills one US Letter sheet. What changes is how many letters share it — fewer letters means each one prints larger. The gentler grid is the one to reach for if reading the page is the hard part; the tougher grid is for solvers who want a long hunt and find the standard size too quick.
Want a whole page at one size instead? The extra large print puzzles use 10×10 grids with our biggest letters, the jumbo and easy pages use 12×12, and the giant and hard pages pack 22–24 words into an 18×18 grid.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print these hanukkah word searches?
Click "Download PDF" under any puzzle for a print-ready US Letter file (the answer key is included as page two), or click "Print" to send it straight to your printer. Both print well on A4 too. Print at 100% scale — avoid "fit to page", which can shrink the grid.
How large is the print in these puzzles?
Each 15 × 15 grid fills a full US Letter page, so the letters print in about 20-point type, about three-sixteenths of an inch tall. That is bigger than the 16- to 18-point type used in large-print books. This page also has a 12×12 grid at about 27-point and an 18×18 grid at about 14-point. Everything uses the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface, designed by the Braille Institute for low-vision readers.
How hard are these puzzles?
Words run across, down and diagonally, but never backwards. There are 70 words to find across 4 puzzles, and every answer key is free with the PDFs.
Can I photocopy these puzzles for a group?
Yes — print and photocopy them freely for your family, classroom, library, activity group or care home. That is exactly what they are for.
When is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar and lasts eight nights, so in the everyday calendar it moves around — anywhere from late November to late December. These puzzles are worth printing at the start of December so they are ready whichever week it falls.
Is there a word search that covers Hanukkah and Christmas together?
Yes — the December word search includes Hanukkah, the winter solstice and New Year’s Eve alongside Christmas, which suits a library or care-home group where not everyone celebrates the same holiday.