I can’t believe that Purim is just 5 days away! Are you feeling the pressure of getting it all done before Sunday? For the past 7 years we have done a family costume with matching shaloch manos. However, with teenagers, it has been much harder to find a costume that everyone agrees on. We finally settled on an idea (more later on that) and I am left with not much time to get it all ready.
If you are like me this year and need some inspiration, read on! Here is a recap of our family costume from last year and the wonderful shaloch manos ideas from friends and community members.
OUR COSTUMES:
We decided on a fruit theme for last year. We could not find any directions on how to make these costumes, but I did find a photo of another group that also chose this theme. We replicated their idea the best we could. Here is how we did it:
MATERIALS:
- T-shirts (from Michaels and Amazon) – 2 red and 1 each of pink, orange, and light green
- headband, for me for the strawberry costume (Amazon)
- Felt (from Michaels) – black, green, orange, and white; get a larger piece for the white)
- felt glue (from Michaels)
- fabric scissors (from Michaels, Amazon or any sewing store)
We cut the shapes we wanted and adhered them with fabric glue. Be careful to put cardboard between the layers of your shirts so they don’t stick together!
OUR SHALOCH MANOS:
To go along with our fruit theme, we found a several fruit items and some cute bags decorated with fruits. There were actually 8 different designs in the pack. I love finding bags or containers that can be reused, and these fit the bill! I designed an inside card on Microsoft Publisher that described our theme, listed the items and their hectures, and included a photo of our boys. I love to include a photo in our costumes, but that is only possible if I get our costumes ready earlier in the week before!
- fruit bags (from Amazon)
- Knott’s Berry Farm strawberry shortbread cookies (from Amazon)
- That’s It mini fruit bars (from Costco)
- Jelly Belly jelly beans (from Amazon)
- Nature’s Garden Healthy Trail Mix (from Amazon)
- fruit-flavored seltzers (from Schnucks, our local grocery store)
MORE WONDERFUL SHALOCH MANOS:
My favorite Purim tradition is to highlight all the creative shaloch manos and costume ideas that we received or saw during the holiday. We always enjoy opening each generous shaloch manos, photographing them, and sorting the contents. Check out the wonderful ideas our friends and community members had!
PEOPLE:
Three Musketeers – Our friends Bella & Yosef always come up with very creative and elaborate costumes each year – usually based on a place or type of people. This year they were “Musketeers,” and included fruit swords, a “3 Musketeers” candy bar, chips, and a castle box for their shaloch manos!
Arabic – R ‘ Yosef & Mimi created an Arabic/Israeli themed shaloch manos with several favorites – hummus, pita chips, and halvah in a burlap bag. Yum!
Mimes – Our neighbors, R’ Daniel & Rochel made a mime-themed shaloch manos that stuck to the color-theme of a mime costume. They included chocolate-drizzled popcorn, chocolate crinkle cookies, and a Coke.
Old people – Our friends Jessie & Daniel are always super creative with their shaloch manos (even writing clever poems). Some ideas I have even used as inspiration for teaching! This year they focused on being “old,” since they turned 50 and had a 25th anniversary. They included wax teeth, prunes, and candy “canes.”
PLACES:
China – Our friends Angela & Tzvi have come up with some very clever and delicious country themes over the years. This year included yummy homemade Chinese food, chopsticks, Chinese liquor, hamantashen, and a balloon (related to the time’s current events).
The moon – One of my students’ parents did a moon theme with Airheads candy, Orbit gum, a Space Fizz lollipop, a half moon cookie, and Blue Moon beer. They packaged it in a cute pencil bag.
READY-MADE MEALS:
My family always fights over shaloch manos that make a great lunch! This year included a deli lunch and a salad. Our friends R’ Josh & Chana made theirs look like a package!
ANIMALS:
Penguins – This year our friends Devora & Jonathan dressed up as penguins and had matching shaloch manos including a Sparkling Ice drink, Jello ice cubes, Rice Krispy snowballs, and a cute card!
ELEGANT and HOMEMADE BAKED GOODS:
Several of our friends and community members gave us elegantly-packaged baked goods and other treats! These are always great for a treat or Shabbos dessert!
OTHER THEMES:
Prescription for a happy and healthy Purim – R’ Menachem & Aviva created a very clever prescription/apple-themed shaloch manos. They even made their own prescription orders to include! They also included some special teacher treats since I taught their daughter!
Football – Our friends Vicki & Marc honored their hometown Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs, with a football-themed shaloch manos. They included football chocolates, pretzels, a root beer, and a cute poem.
Have a Poppin’ Purim – Our menaheles Racheli & her husband R’ Yitzie always make very elaborate, creative, and clever shaloch manos. This year everything revolved around the Poppin’ theme – even down to a popper keychain! They also included popping candy, several different kinds of lollipops, a popsicle, Pepsi (soda pop), popcorn, and a hamantashen.
“Be the light you wish to see” – My friend Amy always is super clever with her shaloch manos, making each detail fit her theme. Each family member dressed up in a costume related to light and she wrote an acrostic poem to go with their Purim light wish. Take a look at all the creative things she included above.
Teacher’s treats – Our early childhood director and assistant director put together a beautiful treat jar for our staff filled with goodies. The jars have the words “Teacher’s Treats” on them (made with a Cricut). Feel free to steal this idea for a teacher you want to treat! I still use the jar next to my computer for a pick-me-up while working!
May all your Purim preparations go well!
If you want some inspiration for your own costumes and shaloch manos, click here for my past Purim posts.
Please share your clever ideas in the comments section!
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