You might remember that I visited with you all at Sukkot and again at Chanukah, to share some frugal and creative crafts for those chagim (holidays). I’m very excited that Hannah has asked me back as a guest poster.
With Purim in less than one month, I bet you can guess what I’ll be talking about today?! Yes, Purim crafts! The more creative and frugal, the better. I also snuck in a few Purim recipes and simple costume ideas, too, hope no one minds!
Crafts
The quintessential Purim craft is, of course, the noise maker — also known as ra’ashan (in Hebrew) or gragger (in Yiddish). There are endless ways to repurpose your recycling bin and a bag of dried beans into a very noisy noise maker – most of which my kids have made one year or another in preschool.
Here are two of our favorites, although I’d love to hear about your best homemade ra’ashan, too:
o The recycled cups noise maker (isn’t everything the Creative Jewish Mom does amazing?)
o The paper plate noise maker (scroll half-way down the page)
Costumes
My children have worn homemade costumes every Purim thus far —“ which is something that I —“ a non-sewer —“ take a great deal of pride in. However, I suspect that this year, DS1 (almost 8) may put his foot down.
What is it about those store-bought costumes that is so appealing? He really wants to be a character from Pokeman. Or is it Bakugan? Not my choice, but I guess the older they get, the less control we have!
Even still, if time and child temperament permits, this photo gallery of simple no-sew costumes just charm your little ones. And you might get a kick out of Martha Stewart’s no-sew Coffee Filter Goddess costume. I know I did —“ shaking my head the whole while at how Martha can make even coffee filters complex and delightful.
And, of course, don’t forget about Hannah’s comprehensive list of easy Purim costume ideas.
Purim Recipes: Hamantashen
While poppy seed may be the traditional way to go, I like to mix it up when it comes to our hamantashen / oznei haman. (Perhaps that’s less about my urge for creativity than my intense distaste for poppy seed.) Either way, I am always on the look out for inventive ideas to replace the pereg (poppy seed).
We’ve done strawberry jelly, chocolate chips and even Nutella spread. But this idea from Adventures in MamaLand just bowled me over: Gingerbread Hamantashen with a Chocolate Brownie Filling. Oh my, yum. MUST TRY!
For more out-of-the-box ideas for your Purim pastries, check out this exhaustive list of hamantashen recipes from Gourmet Kosher Cooking.
Creative Mishloach Manot Ideas
When it comes to your Mishloach Manot, do you like to keep it simple, with a bottle of grape juice and a baggie of hamantashen? Or do you prefer to put your creative stamp on each Purim goody bag you deliver?
If —œgreen— is more your style, Creative Jewish Mom has you covered with her gorgeous recycled Purim containers, made out of everything from soda bottles to cereal boxes to empty cans. Incredible how a humble cereal box can look so regal!
Did I miss a favorite Purim craft, costume, recipe or other creative idea? Please share in the comments section!
And a Purim Sameach, to all!
Mara Strom blogs at Kosher on a Budget about how to live a rich and fruitful Jewish life, without multiplying your budget. When she’s not scouting out bargains or paying pennies for her groceries, Mara stays busy chasing after her three children and challenging her husband to a game of Scrabble.
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Love it! Thank you – already looking into some of this. And Mara, I am working on a super cheap and easy robot costume that I can’t wait to blog all about. I will let you know.
Awesome! I can’t wait to see your costume. Be sure to send me the link 🙂
I live the ideas thanks for pulling them all together. I’m so tempted by the coffee filter dress, and I’m printing out the recycled cup grafter. I’m posting cute crowns today check them out.
Great topic. I used to be really frugal with Purim costumes but now that my kids are a bit older I find that they just aren’t always willing to go with simple homemade fare. This year we lucked out, though. They are making their own costumes out of felt (no sewing required) – dressing as snack bags. And our shalach manos is pretty frugal too. A few snack bags wrapped in cellophane with a photo card of my kids. 🙂
Rivki:My kids toyed with bought costumes, but in the end chose something homemade.
Hannah, these are fabulous! I’m always looking for more ideas to get creative with my kids! And for Purim, to boot? Love. It! 🙂
I am a mother of an 11 year old girl. She came home yesterday and said that she is in a group of 4. Their teacher asked each child in the group to choose a menu from a nationality. So I suggested Lebanese or Israeli. What do you suggest for a 4 course menu for an Israeli lunch? It has to be suitable for an 11 year old girl to put together.
Pita, chumus, Israeli salad (cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers cut very small with lemon juice, olive oil, and black pepper. The chumus can be bought or made at home easily from canned chickpeas.
Thanks for the link! If anybody tries the Gingerbread Hamentashen – and I just might do them again myself! – be sure to WARN everybody that they are not chocolate. The brown colour gets everybody excited about chocolate, so make sure you tell them clearly or they will not only be disappointed, but slightly horrified at the unexpected flavour. :-)))
(like sipping Coke only to discover that it’s root beer!)
Sweet ideas… I’m going to fill up on those gingerbread Hamantashen.
What is everyone masquerading as on this Purim?
I love your suggestions, especially for the groggers. I’m not a good baker, but we’ll be making regular cookies from a bunch of cookie mix I bough on sale a while back. The kids have their costumes picked out. I just don’t have a clue what I should do. My husband wants to be a pirate, so I should be his damsel or something.