Purim is coming too fast!

Last year I started preparing for Purim early and really worked hard not to leave everything to the last-minute. I was so happy not to be finishing my boys’ costumes right before the sueda! However, this year, with my new job, it has been hard to get started early. Now I am down to one week before Purim and so much to do: costumes to make, shaloch manos to assemble, and food to cook. Luckily we are not hosting a sueda, so that is one less large task.

Thankfully all of my past research and checklists will help me get through it all. Here is my Purim checklist that you can adapt for your needs: Purim Preparations Checklist.

We did our shopping today for our shaloch manos (mishloach manot) supplies (thank you Costco) and spent the afternoon making shaloch manos as part of a charity project we have done for the past 16 years. Now my goal is to get supplies for my kids’ costumes. I always have luck finding ideas at Family Fun or Parenting magazines’ websites, so I will check there again. Here are a few links to check out:

• Parents’ Magazine Costume Gallery – a variety of articles on making and buying costumes
• Parenting Magazine Costumes search results
  
• Spoonful (a new Disney website) – Halloween Costume Ideas
• Kaboose (another Disney website) – has an easy to use section with many categories of homemade costumes
• Pinterest – another great way to search for ideas, either general or specific (great if your child knows what he/she wants to be and you need the how-to)

Here are my kids from last year — my oldest as a knight and my little ones as superheroes.

If you are like me and are behind in your Purim preparations, here are a few of my older posts to help you:

• “Purim costume ideas”
• “Purim costumes and preparation” – includes costumes we have done over the years
• “Purim wrap-up” – thoughts and lessons learned after the holiday
• “Shaloch Manos Gallery 2012” – our favorite shaloch manos gifts from last year
• “Where do you find kosher recipes online?“ and “More kosher recipe sites” – kosher recipe sites
• Also check out the many Purim posts by my favorite blogger and friend Mara, at “Kosher on a Budget”