Where to buy cute Hanukkah dog toys? Find the perfect holiday presents for your pet now!

So, Hanukkah was rolling around again, and I was thinking about my dog, Lucky. He goes through toys like nobody's business. Seriously, it's a graveyard of fluff and ripped seams over here most weeks. I saw some cute Hanukkah-themed toys at the store, little dreidels and menorahs, but man, they wanted a lot for them. And I just knew Lucky would shred 'em in like, ten minutes flat.

I got this idea – why not try making some myself? Felt like a good way to get something festive for him without spending a ton, and maybe, just maybe, I could make them tougher than the store-bought stuff. Seemed like a decent plan, anyway.

Getting the Supplies Together

First step was figuring out what I actually needed. I dug through my craft bin, found some leftover felt. Had some blue, needed some yellow or white. Also needed strong thread – learned that lesson before with other projects. Normal thread just doesn't cut it with Lucky's chewing.

• Went out and grabbed some thick yellow felt.
• Bought some heavy-duty upholstery thread. Figured that oughta hold.
• Decided to use stuffing from an old pillow we weren't using anymore. Reduce, reuse, right?
• Found a couple of squeakers I'd bought ages ago and never used. Perfect.

The Actual Making Part

Okay, so I'm not exactly a pro sewer. I sketched out some simple shapes on paper first – a basic dreidel shape and like, a round coin shape for gelt. Nothing too fancy because, well, my skills are pretty basic.

Cut out the felt pieces. Needed two of each shape, one for the front, one for the back. Used the blue for the dreidel, yellow for the gelt coin. Simple enough.

Then came the sewing. This took way longer than I thought. I decided to hand-sew because my machine is kinda buried somewhere. Used that heavy thread and tried to make the stitches small and tight. Doubled it up around the edges for good measure. My fingers were definitely feeling it by the end.

Before sewing them completely shut, I stuffed 'em. Packed that old pillow stuffing in there pretty tight, especially in the dreidel points. Popped a squeaker into each one. Then finished sewing up the last little opening. Had to really pull the thread tight to close it nicely.

The Result and the Dog Test

End result? Two kinda wonky-looking but definitely recognizable Hanukkah toys. A blue dreidel and a yellow gelt coin. They weren't gonna win any design awards, that's for sure. But they felt sturdy.

Then came the moment of truth. Called Lucky over. Showed him the toys. His tail started going like crazy. I tossed him the dreidel first. He snatched it right up and started squeaking and chewing immediately. Went for the corners, like always.

I watched him for a bit. The seams were holding! Okay, one corner started looking a little stressed after about fifteen minutes of serious gnawing, but it didn't rip open. The felt was tough, and that heavy thread was doing its job. The gelt coin got the same enthusiastic treatment.

So yeah, it worked out. Took an afternoon, made a bit of a mess with the stuffing, and my sewing is still pretty rough. But Lucky got his Hanukkah toys, they lasted longer than five minutes, and I saved a few bucks. Felt pretty good, actually. Maybe next year I'll try making a little felt menorah, but gotta figure out how to make those candle parts strong enough.