Eight nights of photos. One screen the whole family posts to.

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December 2026 and lasts eight nights, ending at nightfall on Saturday 12 December. Each night one more candle is lit on the hanukkiah (the Hanukkah menorah), and the festival is marked with foods fried in oil — latkes and sufganiyot — the dreidel game played for gelt, songs and gifts.

A Hanukkah party photo wall is a live screen — a TV or projector — that guests post photos and messages to by scanning a QR code with their phone. On QR Wall it needs no app, takes under a minute to set up, and each photo appears about a second after it is posted, so the candle-lighting, the latke table and the dreidel tournament end up on one screen the room watches together.

One thing to plan around in 2026: both the first and the eighth candles fall on a Friday, so those nights run into Shabbat, when observant families put phones away. If your guests keep Shabbat, hold the party on one of the six nights in between — Saturday 5 December after Havdalah, or Sunday 6 December, are the natural weekend choices.

12 Hanukkah party ideas

Hanukkah party ideas that work give each part of the evening a focus: the candles, the food fried in oil, a game, and something that brings in the people who aren't there. Pick a few; eight nights leaves room for more than one party.

1. Light the candles together

   Ask each family to bring their own hanukkiah and light them side by side in the window, as the tradition is to make the lights visible from outside. Say the blessings first; the photos can wait until the candles are lit.

2. A latke bar

   Fry potato latkes in batches and set out the toppings — applesauce, sour cream, smoked salmon, a sweet-potato or zucchini batch for variety. Plan on three to four latkes per guest.

3. Sufganiyot, filled to order

   Buy plain doughnuts and set up piping bags of jam, custard and chocolate so guests fill their own. It is the sufganiyah moment the kids remember.

4. A dreidel tournament

   Nun, gimel, hei, shin: a bracket of short games played for chocolate gelt, with a final at the end of the night. Write the rules on a card for guests who haven't played since childhood.

5. Gift swap, one night's worth

   Rather than eight nights of gifts, run one swap at the party with a set budget — or a book swap, where everyone brings a favourite book with a note inside.

6. Hanukkah trivia

   Ten questions on the Maccabees, the miracle of the oil, the letters on the dreidel and what latkes are called in Hebrew. Played in mixed-age teams so the grandparents and the kids are on the same side.

7. Songs after the candles

   Maoz Tzur after the blessings, then the songs the kids learned at school. Put the words on a printed sheet so everyone can join in.

8. A live photo wall on the TV

   Open a wall on the TV and let guests post from their phones: the candles in the window, the latke that came out perfect, the dreidel final. Family who couldn't come post their own candle-lighting through the same link, and it appears on your screen that night.

9. A tzedakah moment

   Giving is part of the festival for many families. Collect gelt-sized coins or a donation for a chosen cause during the evening, and say where it is going before dessert.

10. A crafts table for the kids

    Decorate paper dreidels, make a hanukkiah from clay or bolts, or colour Hanukkah cards for relatives who couldn't come. Ask parents to post the results to the wall.

11. One night for the neighbours

    Invite friends who have never been to a Hanukkah party for one of the weeknights, explain the candles and the blessings before lighting, and send them home with a bag of gelt.

12. The office Hanukkah moment

    At a workplace with Jewish colleagues, mark one of the nights with sufganiyot in the kitchen and a candle-lighting at the end of the day, led by someone who observes — not folded into the Christmas party.

Eight nights, and the photos scatter every one of them

Hanukkah is spread over eight evenings and several houses: the first night with your own family, a party with the cousins at the weekend, a community lighting, a night at the grandparents'. Each produces photos on a dozen phones, and almost none of them reach the people who weren't there.

A wall is a link, so it can last the whole festival. Keep the same wall open from the first candle to the eighth and the photos from every house land in the same place — and on the night of the party, everyone at it sees them on the TV together.

Live wall, family group chat or shared album

Where Hanukkah photos usually end up.

Hanukkah party questions

Dates, ideas and what hosts ask before putting a live screen up.

When is Hanukkah 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December 2026, when the first candle is lit, and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December. The eighth candle is lit on Friday 11 December. Because both the first and last nights fall on a Friday, observant families light before Shabbat begins on those evenings.

What are good Hanukkah party ideas?

Good Hanukkah party ideas are built around the festival's own traditions: lighting the candles together with each family's hanukkiah in the window, a latke bar with applesauce and sour cream, sufganiyot filled to order, a dreidel tournament played for chocolate gelt, Hanukkah trivia in mixed-age teams, songs such as Maoz Tzur after the blessings, and a tzedakah moment. A live photo wall lets family who couldn't come post their own candle-lighting to the same screen.

Which night is best for a Hanukkah party in 2026?

For guests who keep Shabbat, avoid the first and eighth nights (Friday 4 and Friday 11 December) and Saturday daytime. Saturday 5 December after Havdalah and Sunday 6 December are the natural weekend choices; any weeknight from 6 to 10 December works for a smaller gathering.

Is it OK to take photos during the candle-lighting?

Customs differ between families. A considerate default is to say the blessings and light the candles first, then take photos of the lit hanukkiah afterwards. If you run a live wall, mention it after the lighting rather than before.

How do I set up a photo wall for a Hanukkah party?

Create a wall at qrwall.live, open the display link on your TV or projector and choose the Elegant look. Guests scan the QR code on the screen with their phone camera — no app — and their photos and messages appear in about a second. You can keep the same wall open for all eight nights.