Jonathan Adler brings polished design and accurate Jewish imagery to Michaels’ Hanukkah aisle, with an acrylic hanukkiyah and a standout dreidel bowl.
Michaels’ latest Hanukkah collection has a welcome advantage: Jonathan Adler’s eye for turning familiar objects into decor with personality. After the retailer’s 2025 garland featured the wrong Hebrew letter for a dreidel—and displayed it backwards in store photography—the accuracy of this year’s designs feels especially noticeable.
The garland misstep was a two-part failure, but the new collection shows a more considered hand. Adler has drawn on Jewish tradition throughout his career, particularly in hanukkiyot that look like sculptural objects as much as ritual pieces. His Mustique hanukkiyah stays out in my home all year. I was curious to see what he’d bring to Michaels.
There’s a personal thread, too. Adler grew up in South Jersey, as did my bubbe. His great-grandparents settled there as egg farmers, and his great-grandfather helped establish the Garton Road Shul in the 1890s. That history connects to the Jewish agricultural colonies of South Jersey, an often overlooked part of American Jewish life. The synagogue even resembles one of the Hanukkah “gingerbread” houses I spotted at HomeGoods; those houses made an impression, too.
Acrylic Hanukkiyah
New hanukkiyot have been scarce this year, which makes Adler’s translucent blue acrylic design an appealing arrival. A traditional curved branch pattern appears embedded inside the solid block, giving the piece a modern art feel while keeping it usable for the holiday.
What works: The design is distinctive without losing sight of its purpose. It feels unmistakably Adler: decorative, witty and functional.
What doesn’t: The hanukkiyah is heavier than it looks, and a few corners feel sharp. Weight is familiar territory for Adler’s designs—some of his brass hanukkiyot could pass for free weights.
Verdict: I bought one. The corners didn’t change my mind.
Hanukkah Candles
The candle range comes in three palettes: shades of blue, blue and white, and gold. The gold set is the strongest of the group, pairing three different finishes in one color.
What works: Adler makes a basic box of candles feel like a considered gift. The gold set’s mix of textures has the visual variety of a game of SET.
What doesn’t: With Hanukkah still ahead, I can’t judge how the candles burn or whether wax will come off the hanukkiyah easily.
Verdict: I bought two boxes. Silver would be a welcome addition.
Gelt Coins
The gelt comes in two decorative forms: translucent acrylic coins marked with Hanukkah symbols in blue and gold, and metal coins in two sizes.
What works: The metal coins nod to an older Hanukkah custom. Children received actual coins in the late 1800s; foil-wrapped chocolate gelt became popular in America in the 1920s. The designs here are attractive, and the holiday imagery is accurate.
What doesn’t: Decorative coins can’t replace chocolate during dreidel games—or in our annual Hanukkah hot chocolate.
Verdict: They’re ideal for a living room console, where chocolate gelt would risk melting into the furniture.
Ceramic Bowls
Both small ceramic bowls have gold rims. One repeats blue dreidels marked with the Hebrew letter shin; the other layers blue and silver Stars of David.
What works: A design centered on one dreidel letter can look like a mistake. Pottery Barn’s set of four dreidel-shaped appetizer plates, for instance, used hey on every plate, missing the chance to include all four letters. Adler’s bowl feels deliberate: the repeated shin becomes a visual pattern, and the letter itself is part of the design.
What doesn’t: The Star of David bowl is pleasant but less surprising.
Verdict: The shin bowl is one of my favorite pieces in the collection.
Hanukkah Table Runner
The reversible runner pairs blue and white geometric patterns with the nested Stars of David seen on the ceramic bowl. One side’s circular motifs remind me of tiny blue-and-white cookies, a Hanukkah cousin to the black-and-white classic.
What works: It’s colorful and reversible, with a pattern that ties it to the rest of the collection.
What doesn’t: The runner lacks the spark of the acrylic hanukkiyah and shin bowl. Its blue stars also bring to mind a blue velvet tallit bag.
Verdict: I wouldn’t rush to bring this one home.
The collection’s strongest pieces balance holiday meaning with Adler’s playful design sense. There’s plenty of blue, and the accurate details matter after last year’s garland. My wish for the next release is more of the unexpected: fewer Stars of David, perhaps, and a nod to the mah jongg sets Adler already designs for Michaels. A mah jongg-inspired hanukkiyah or dreidels with mah jongg patterns could give the range a fresh direction, provided the Hebrew letters are right.
And a Jonathan Adler Hanukkah garland would be a fitting next step. Michaels has shown why it could use his help.
Making Room for More Jewish Voices. Kveller is where funny, thoughtful, and unexpected Jewish stories find readers. A few dollars helps us keep telling them.
The post How Jonathan Adler Saved the Hanukkah Aisle at Michaels This Year appeared first on Kveller.
===
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.