PURIM RESOURCES
We are so pleased to offer these activities to enhance your Purim celebrations; appreciating and protecting the beautiful gifts of this world.
Eco Mishlo’ach Manot
On Purim, we celebrate our community by sharing gift baskets called mishlo’ach manot. The mitzvah of mishlo’ach manot stems from Megillat Esther (9:19 and 22), which says that Purim was established as a day “of gladness and feasting, of sending gifts to one another, and presents to the poor.” Giving these gifts is a beautiful way to show our gratitude for our friends and loved ones. While we are sharing with friends and family, we can also be sure to do so in a way that is environmentally friendly. This allows us to act on our gratitude towards our friends and the earth on which we live. Gifts of mishlo’ach manot are often unhealthy and use a lot of resources to make. Today's project is to make an eco-friendly mishlo’ach manot!
Eco-Friendly Tips:
- Find something in your house that you can use as a container. Appreciate what you already have.
- When choosing the contents of your mishlo’ach manot, aim to find things that are healthy and that have reusable or compostable packaging.
- Examples of compostable packaging include brown bags from the grocery store, egg cartons, or cardboard boxes.
- Some foods even come with their own compostable packaging, including oranges which come in a peel and peanuts that come in a shell.
- Examples of reusable packaging include: jars, a box that came in the mail, and a food container (particularly those used to deliver food).
Pause for Gratitude:
Take a moment to feel gratitude for all of the people in your life. Spend a few minutes writing a personalized note for the person to whom you are giving your mishlo’ach manot. Receiving the gift can be even more meaningful and special when the recipient knows how much they mean to you. Make sure to share in your letter that you chose to make an environmentally conscious package and why you wanted to do so.
CRAFTY COSTUMES
When we dress up in a costume, we generally choose what we want to dress up as and then find the costume. The Purim concept “v’nahafochu” means to reverse or flip, and inspires us to “flip” our identity by donning a costume. In this activity, we invite you to reverse this usual way of choosing a costume. Explore your house to find a costume based on what you already have in your home. You might be surprised!
Eco-Friendly Tips:
- Go on a scavenger hunt in your house! Ask family members if you can look in their closets, too.
- Think about ways you can use trash to create your costume. For example: maybe a cardboard box in your recycling bin could make the perfect Spongebob SquarePants!
- Once you’ve found items in your home for your costume, put it on, and show your family your new creation! Offer to help them brainstorm ideas for their costumes as well, even if you are just wearing the costumes at home this year.
Pause for Gratitude:
Take a moment to appreciate all that you have. It can be easy to think about what you wish you had, and maybe feel disappointed that you don't have the costume you wanted. Instead, we invite you to feel joy and accomplishment in the fact that you were able to make a fantastic Purim costume from things around your house while creating less waste.
DIY Birdfeeder
🦅DIY Bird Feeder! Many have the minhag to eat seeds on Purim to commemorate how Esther ate seeds in an effort to eat kosher food while living in Achashverosh’s palace. Let’s share our seeds with the birds who have less food available to them in the winter months.
🕊We love upcycling projects- like this awesome bird feeder made by an adorable GrowTorah fan!
♻️Using items in non-conventional ways is a great way to start celebrating Chodesh Adar and the Purim concept of “vnahafochu.”
🎭You can upcycle items from your home to create your own groggers and costumes for Purim too!
Purim Memes
What do you MEME? We made some purim katan memes, enjoy!
