DICKSON CITY - A wooden menorah freshly painted in blue, purple and red sat drying on a table in a back room at Home Depot.
After the menorah was ready to travel, Karen McKeon, 33, said it would probably become the family menorah in her Scranton home.
"I think I might take the real one down," she said, smiling at her son John, 3, who created the masterpiece. "It's beautiful. He's an artist."
The pair spent their Sunday afternoon at Home Depot, where menorah-making was the featured workshop of the home improvement store's weekend how-to series. Home Depot teamed up with the Jewish Discovery Center to plan the event, which Mrs. McKeon's son said was quite important.
"If you don't have a menorah, you go to the workshop to build a menorah," the 3-year-old explained simply.
Rabbi Benny Rapoport said he was happy to join forces with Home Depot to offer a timely activity. Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, began at sundown on Saturday.
We try "to do something interesting and innovative where the kids are taking a personal interest," Rabbi Rapoport said.
The menorahs were crafted on-site by Home Depot employees, said Jeff Kaneski, operations manager of the Dickson City store.
"It was just a perfect fit to be able to ease in with what we do in the workshop," he said of the how-to events. "It's what differentiates us from other retailers."
"It's not just a place to get 2-by-4's," Rabbi Rapoport added with a grin.
Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter