Looking back at 13 years of Purim costumes

I was feeling nostalgic today while showing a coworker the costumes I have made for my boys over the years. We still have not figured out this year’s costumes, but I had a nice time looking at all the cuteness from the past years!

Allow me to share!

2006: My oldest at 2 years old as Elmo in a store-bought Elmo shirt, red long-sleeved shirt, and red pants. Simple, but so cute!

2007: My oldest at 3 years old as Tigger. Costume was borrowed from our closest friends.

2008: My oldest at 4 years old as Buzz Lightyear. Again costume borrowed from our best friends. Our triplets, 7 months old, wearing cute frog onesies and bibs sent by my aunt Cathy.

2009: Thus began my reign as homemade costume designer. My oldest, now 5, as a king. I bought the crown and septer, but made the cape. I think I got tips from Family Fun’s website and other sources for how to use cord, velvet, and iron-on fabric tape to make this.

2010: These were my most time-consuming costumes. I was making them down to the wire. The store did not have enough orange duct tape, so my oldest (then 6) was a regular tiger, while my triplets (then 2 1/2 years old) were white tigers. Costumes were made with sweatpants and sweatshirts, duct tape, headbands, and colored foam sheets. The idea came from Family Fun’s website.

2011: My oldest (then 7) was a wizard, while my triplets (then 3 1/2 years old) were a bear, cat, and dog. The wizard costume was made with felt, layered yarn on felt, fabric, and a cord for the belt. The triplets’ costumes were made with felt cut and pinned to sweat outfits. I used headbands and foam again for the headbands. I think these ideas also came from Family Fun.

2012: My oldest (then 8) was a knight and my triplets (then 4 1/2 years old) were superheroes. See my post “Purim is coming too fast!” for details.

2013: My oldest (then 9) was obsessed with Rick Riordan’s books at the time, so he dressed as Percy Jackson. His shirt said Camp Half Blood (stick on letters). N (one of the triplets, then 5 1/2 years old) decided to recycle an old costume and go as a bear, A was a prince (new costume I made similar to the king one from several years go) and C was a king (wearing G’s old costume with a different crown and septer).

2014: N (then 6 1/2) was a rocker, C was bat dog, A was Robin, and my oldest (then 10) was Batman. See my post “Inspiration for Purim costumes and shaloch manos” for details on how I made them.

2015:  This was one of my easiest years of costume making. Three out of four boys decided to dress up as secret service agents. A wanted to be a mouse. The triplets were 7 1/2 then and my oldest was 11. See my post “Last-minute Purim preparations” for the details.

2016: Costume-making was very time-consuming this year as the boys each wanted something different. A – Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia, N – a bunny rabbit, G – an elf, and C – Puss in Boots. The triplets were 8 1/2 and my oldest was 12. See my post “Purim inspiration (Ideas from 2016)” for details.

2017: This was our first year doing a family costume (our triplets were 9 1/2 and my oldest was 13). It was fun to dress up together! We were chess pieces. See my post “Shaloch manos (and costume) gallery 2017” for details.

2018: This was our second year dressing up as a family. I was inspired by the World’s Fair we were having at the school where I work. See my post “Shaloch manos (and costume) gallery 2018” for details.

Now the question remains… What will we dress up as this year?

For other Purim posts (including many ideas for shaloch manos), click here! Good luck with your Purim preparations!