Hanukkah Flowers: Colours, Timing and Delivery in Thornhill, Vaughan and Toronto

Hanukkah flowers aren't a religious tradition. The festival is about the menorah, the candles and the story behind them, and nobody's grandmother insists on a particular flower. But flowers have become a normal, welcome Hanukkah gift: for the friends hosting the latke night, for parents you're visiting, for family you can't get to this year.

Thornhill and Vaughan are a big part of our delivery area, so this guide is practical: the 2026 dates, the colours people choose, how to time a delivery around Shabbat, where flowers should sit when the candles are lit, and what to write on the card. For other celebrations through the winter, our holiday flowers page covers colours and customs from Diwali to Christmas.

When is Hanukkah 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, when the first candle is lit, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12, after the eighth night.

Two of those days overlap with Shabbat, which affects delivery:

Sunset in Toronto in early December comes at about 4:40 pm. On Fridays the Hanukkah candles are lit first, then the Shabbat candles, and both happen before sundown. That's why the Friday deliveries need to arrive early, ideally before lunch, when the kitchen is still calm.

Do people give flowers for Hanukkah?

Many do, though it isn't a custom in the way candles, latkes and sufganiyot are. The gift giving that is traditional centres on children: small presents on some or all of the eight nights, and Hanukkah gelt, which today usually means chocolate coins in gold or silver foil, often won and lost over a game of dreidel.

Flowers fit around that rather than competing with it. Many Jewish homes already like fresh flowers on the table for Shabbat, and in 2026 two Fridays fall inside Hanukkah, so a vase that arrives on December 4 or 11 does double duty. Flowers also sidestep a question that food gifts raise. If the family keeps kosher, a box of sweets needs the right certification. A vase of roses doesn't.

The practical takeaway: flowers are a safe gift for almost any Jewish family at Hanukkah, from the very observant to the not at all. What matters more than the flower is the timing, which we cover below.

What Hanukkah flowers should you send?

Most people choose one of three palettes. Here is what each looks like in December, when summer blue flowers like delphinium aren't around, and which of our designs fit:

We don't make a Hanukkah-specific design, and we'd rather say so than rename a bouquet. What we do have are blue, white and green designs that sit naturally next to a menorah.

Blue and white

Blue and white are the colours most people connect with Hanukkah. They aren't required by Jewish law. They come from the colours of the tallit, the prayer shawl, and the flag of Israel took them up later. Many families use them for decorations and wrapping, so flowers in the same colours fit straight in.

True blue is rare in flowers. Blue roses are always dyed, and delphinium and larkspur are summer flowers. Hydrangea is the reliable one in December. Blue Lullaby ($165) is our blue design: blue hydrangeas with roses and scabiosa. Macaron ($150) has 25 white roses with soft spray roses, and Ivory Script ($195) is 50 white roses with an initial, which could be the family's. Our hydrangeas collection has the other designs built around them.

All white

All white is the other easy choice, and it looks right on a table next to silver candlesticks. White roses read as calm and new beginnings rather than romance, which suits a family holiday. For a big gesture, Full Moon is 150 white roses ($550) and Cashmere Rose is 100 white roses with an initial ($410). For a hostess gift that doesn't upstage the host, Sage and Stock is 10 white stocks in white and sage wrap ($75), and stock smells lovely. Our roses collection has the full range of white designs.

What to bring to a Hanukkah party

If you're going to a latke night, think about the host's evening. They'll be frying in batches, lighting candles with the kids, and finding room for coats. A wrapped bouquet hands them one more job. A vase arrangement just needs a spot.

• Bring a vase arrangement. Mauve Pedestal ($95) arrives in a white pedestal vase, and Parlour Posy ($98) is mixed flowers in a vase. Neither is blue and white, but both go straight onto a side table. Our vase arrangements collection has more.
• Keep scent and pollen away from food. Oriental lilies are lovely, but the scent is strong in a warm room full of frying oil, and the pollen stains tablecloths.
• Go modest on size. Hanukkah tables are crowded. A piece that fits a side table or a kitchen counter is more useful than a tall one that has to be moved for every platter.
• Or send it that morning. Flowers delivered in the morning window are in place before guests arrive, and you walk in with nothing to hand over.

Hanukkah flowers and Shabbat: timing the delivery

This is the part people get wrong, and it's easy to fix.

• Friday, December 4 and 11: choose the Morning window at checkout (9:30 am to 1 pm). The flowers arrive well before the house gets busy and before candle lighting. Ordering the day before is safer than ordering on the Friday itself.
• Saturday, December 5 and 12: for a household that keeps Shabbat, skip these days. A courier at the door on Shabbat puts people in an awkward spot.
• Sunday to Thursday: any window works. If you want the flowers to be there for a particular night's candle lighting, Morning or Anytime gets them there in time.

There's a second reason to choose a vase for an observant home. Many authorities restrict putting flowers into water on Shabbat, especially flowers with closed buds, and some communities don't add water to a vase either, as this OU Torah explanation of flowers in a vase on Shabbat sets out. Practice varies, but a vase arrangement delivered on Friday morning arrives already in water, so nobody has to think about it. If you're not sure how observant the family is, Friday morning or a weekday is the safe choice for everyone.

Which night should the flowers arrive?

Hanukkah lasts eight nights, and most cut flowers don't. Our care notes give roses about 5 to 7 days in a vase and hydrangeas about 4 to 7, with fresh water and a cool room. Flowers delivered on the morning of December 4 can look tired by the eighth night, especially in a warm house.

How we'd plan it:

• For family you won't see, send for the first night, Friday December 4, in the morning window. It lands when the holiday starts and covers the first Shabbat.
• For a party, send for the night of the party, or the morning of it. Sunday to Thursday is easiest.
• For a client who celebrates, Monday to Thursday, December 7 to 10, catches them at the office in the middle of the holiday.
• If it has to last all eight nights, pick flowers that keep. Alstroemeria, carnations and daisy mums usually run 10 to 14 days, which is why we'd choose Parlour Posy over hydrangeas for a first-night delivery meant to see the holiday out.

Our same-day delivery works for most postal codes if you order by 1 pm, which helps when you hear about a party on the day.

Keep flowers away from the menorah

Hanukkah means eight nights of open flame. Many families set the menorah in a window facing the street or near the front door, so passers-by can see it, and that's often exactly where someone puts a new vase of flowers. According to Chabad's guide to lighting the menorah, the lights must burn for at least half an hour after nightfall, and on Fridays they're lit before Shabbat and burn for about an hour and a half, so flowers sit beside them for a good while.

• Set the flowers on a different surface from the menorah, not beside it or on the same windowsill.
• Remove the wrapping from a bouquet before it goes in a vase. Paper, cellophane and ribbon catch easily.
• Keep dried leaves, fallen petals and eucalyptus, which is oily and dry, clear of the candles.
• Health Canada's candle safety advice is to keep burning candles away from curtains and decorations, use a sturdy holder, and never leave them burning in an empty room. It also notes candle fires are most common during holidays. That goes double with children reaching for dreidels nearby.
• Keep the vase off the radiator too. December heat ages flowers fast, and so does a bowl of ripening fruit nearby.

Our guide to making fresh flowers last longer covers winter care in more detail, including what dry furnace heat does to a vase.

What to write on a Hanukkah card

You type the message at checkout and we tuck it in with the flowers. A few that work:

• "Chag Urim Sameach. Happy Festival of Lights."
• "Happy Hanukkah. Wish we were there for the latkes."
• "Eight nights, one bouquet. Enjoy every one of them."
• "Thank you for having us. Chag sameach."
• "Thinking of you all this Hanukkah. Love from far away."
• For grandparents: "Happy Hanukkah, Bubbe and Zaidy. Save us a latke."
• For a client: "Wishing you and your family a happy Hanukkah and a bright new year."

"Chag sameach" means "happy holiday", and "Chag Urim Sameach" means "happy festival of lights". Hanukkah is also spelled Chanukah, and either is fine on a card. If you're writing to Bubbe and Zaidy, check what the family actually calls them first. Some say Savta and Saba, some say Nana, and getting it right matters more than any greeting.

Where we deliver Hanukkah flowers

We make every design by hand in our studio in Oak Ridges, at the north end of Richmond Hill, and deliver seven days a week. For Hanukkah that most often means:

• Thornhill, on both the Vaughan and Markham sides of Yonge, about 25 minutes from the studio.
• Vaughan, including Woodbridge, Maple, Concord and Vellore Village.
• Richmond Hill, close to home.
• Toronto, for family in the city.

Order by 1 pm for same-day delivery to most postal codes. Delivery is priced by driving distance from the studio, from $12, and you see the exact fee before you pay. Free delivery applies to orders over $400 within 35 km. For condos, add the unit number, buzzer code and a phone number so the flowers don't sit in the lobby.

If you're sending to a business, or to a list of clients and staff for the holidays, our post on corporate holiday flowers explains how we handle gift lists.

A note on shiva

Hanukkah is a happy festival, but December brings sad news for some families too. If you're sending something to a shiva house, flowers aren't part of Jewish mourning custom, and food is the usual gift, often kosher, along with a donation in the person's memory or simply a visit. If the family has close friends you can ask, ask them first. Our guide to funeral flowers has more on what's appropriate in different traditions.

Frequently asked questions

When does Hanukkah start in 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The first candle is lit on the evening of December 4, which is also the start of Shabbat, so Shabbat candles and the first Hanukkah candle are lit the same evening.

Is it appropriate to give flowers for Hanukkah?

Yes. Flowers aren't a religious Hanukkah custom, but they're a common and welcome gift for hosts, parents and friends during the holiday. A vase arrangement in blue and white, or all white, is a safe choice for almost any family, including families who keep kosher.

What colour flowers are best for Hanukkah?

Blue and white are the colours most associated with Hanukkah, taken from the tallit and the flag of Israel. Blue hydrangeas and white roses are the easiest way to get there in December. All-white bouquets, or white with silvery eucalyptus, also suit the holiday well.

Can you deliver Hanukkah flowers on a Friday?

Yes. Order by 1 pm for same-day delivery, though ordering the day before is safer. Choose the Morning window, which ends at 1 pm, so the flowers arrive well before Shabbat begins at sundown, around 4:40 pm in Toronto in early December.

Will Hanukkah flowers last all eight nights?

Roses and hydrangeas usually last about 4 to 7 days, so a first-night delivery may fade before the eighth. If you want flowers to see the whole holiday out, choose a design with alstroemeria, carnations or chrysanthemums, which often last 10 to 14 days with fresh water.

Do you deliver Hanukkah flowers to Thornhill and Vaughan?

Yes. We deliver across Thornhill, on both sides of Yonge, and across Vaughan, including Woodbridge and Maple, seven days a week. Same-day delivery is available when you order by 1 pm, and the exact fee shows at checkout once you enter the postal code.

Should I send flowers to a shiva house?

Flowers aren't customary at a shiva house or a Jewish funeral. Food, often kosher, is the usual gift, along with a donation in the person's memory or a visit. If you're unsure, ask someone close to the family before sending anything.