Hard hats and hot latkes: Chabad’s Hanukkah event at Home Depot is back!

Published December 12, 2024

Let’s be honest, when you think of Hanukkah prep, your first thought probably isn’t, “I need to hit up The Home Depot.” But for the past 16 years, Chabad of Greater St. Louis has been flipping that script—and it’s been a glowing success (pun absolutely intended).

On Sunday, Dec. 15, the aisles of Home Depot in Brentwood will buzz with more than just the hum of power tools. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., families from all over the region will roll up their sleeves, pop on plastic hard hats (provided free of charge) and dive into the ultimate pre-Hanukkah Menorah Workshop.

“This is our 16th year partnering with Home Depot on this,” said Rabbi Yosef Landa, regional director of Chabad of Greater St. Louis. “What better way to celebrate Hanukkah than with a hands-on project that you can see and touch, and enjoy?”

Think of it as the intersection of DIY enthusiasm and holiday tradition. Kids and parents alike will work together to create their very own Hanukkah crafts. Meanwhile, the smell of fresh latkes will fill the air, accompanied by upbeat Hanukkah tunes. And if that’s not festive enough, there’s Hanukkah swag to take home, too.

Landa also sees this event as a meaningful way to express Jewish pride in a very public space.

“In the face of adversity, we must always show pride in our Judaism,” he said. “And what better place to do so than at the Hanukkah Experience—where Judaism reaches far beyond the synagogue to a public place.”

But this workshop isn’t just about glue guns and glitter. It’s part of a larger initiative—the worldwide Hanukkah campaign launched by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson in 1973. The campaign’s goal? To shine a light—literally and figuratively—on Hanukkah observance and awareness.

Event information