One of the most popular Hanukkah pastimes is playing the dreidel game. It is a form of an old German gambling game, and its name derives from the German word for top. The stakes are decidedly low-key during Hanukkah, however, with players betting their fortune in chocolates, buttons, pennies or nuts with each spin of a little wooden or clay top. The top has four sides, each marked with a Hebrew character: Nun, Gimel, Heh and Shin. The letters also stand for the words "Nes Gadol Haya Sham," or "A great miracle happened there."

MATERIALS 1 dreidel
Objects for the pot, such as chocolate coins, Hershey's Kisses, buttons, raisins, nuts or pennies

Evenly divide the betting objects among all players. Before each spin of the dreidel, each player antes up by placing one item into the pot. The first player spins the dreidel. There are four possible outcomes. If Nun comes up, the player gets nothing and the next player takes a spin. Gimel means the player takes the whole pot. If Heh comes up, the player takes half the pot. Shin means he or she puts another item in the pot. All players ante up again before the next person spins. Whenever the pot is empty or has only one object left in it, each player has to ante up again before the next spin. The game is over when one player has everything and everyone else is cleaned out.