Category Archives: Purim

Recycled CD bowl: Mishloach Manot 2.0

Posted on 03/09/2012 by | 2 Comments

I like to think I’m picky about projects. They have to involve irresistible materials or a smidge of kitsch or flat-out, hands-on educative potential.

melted CD mini-Mishloach Manot bowl

In contrast, I present the CD Mishloach Manot.  I wasted a few hours of my life on this one.  Yep, I flatlined on these suckers and now I pass the tacky torch to someone, anyone else.

The idea seemed good at the time. I have a teetering stack of old CDs and DVDs, see, and even though “the disc is dead,” my stack continues to grow.  What if I could transform trash into Jewy treasure?  What if I could melt unwanted CDs just enough to coax them into ersatz hamantaschen that could hold actual hamantaschen?  Wouldn’t they be the cutest little recycled Mishloach Manot?

Melting cds is not recycling.  It is simply delaying the date at which the cd will end up in the landfill. Continue reading →

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Posted in Purim

Vashti Reframed: preschool midrash in Lego

Posted on 03/07/2012 by | 4 Comments

Two-faced: one side...

Yesterday, I discovered my preschooler playing Purim with the minifigs.  I had already assembled a few characters before I got distracted in the kitchen.  I came back to find him with a doll in hand.

“Who’s this?” he asks, “and why does she look so mad?”

It’s Vashti.  I remind him that she was fired as queen.  Although he finally gets that “fired” does not involve actual flame, the word still feels violent, and it worries him.

“Well, maybe she didn’t like being queen,” he said. “Maybe she’s much happier now she’s not queen.”  He took off her hair, gripped her face, and spun her head around. Continue reading →

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Posted in Jewish Toys, Purim

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Nearly instant Hamantaschen: for dorm, class or slacker home

Posted on 03/06/2012 by | 4 Comments

There is no substitute for slow food, and for making slow food slowly with kids.  Yada, yada, yada all the practical life experience and developmental skills: fine motor, following directions, reading, math, geometry, sequencing,
vocabulary, etc. etc.  Make it Jewish holiday slow food and you’ve got a content-rich, unforgettable Jewish education lesson plan.

Like Hamantaschen. There is a world of slow Hamantaschen recipes out there:  the soft, the crunchy, Continue reading →

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Posted in Edible Craft, Purim

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LEGO Gragger: a DIY version

Posted on 02/29/2012 by | 5 Comments

"EZ LEGO Gragger" with brick flange

The LEGO Gragger for Purim post was the official debut.  It’s a “Why-To” with pics.  This post is more of an extended How-To.

I’ve been asked for specs, so here are details that should get you started.  I’ve already heard from one mom whose kids jumped right in and built their own prototypes. Made my day, I tell you.  But some of us (adults) need how-tos, especially with moving parts.  So here you go… Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Purim

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LEGO gragger for Purim

Posted on 02/26/2012 by | 4 Comments

Lego gragger with canoe paddle flange

For Purim, we call it a gragger, but the generic and rather wicked-sounding term is “ratchet instrument.” Jews hardly have a monopoly on this thing.  Throughout the world it’s been a child’s toy, a police call, a poison-gas alert, a football (soccer) noisemaker, a percussion instrument, a scarecrow and a lure for corncrakes. And now, finally, it’s Lego.

World, I give you Lego graggers.  They spin, they make noise, and although Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Jewish Toys, Purim

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Purim game: Hit the Hamantasch

Posted on 02/23/2012 by | 2 Comments

Filling guide (for vocab and ease of bean bag selection)

Every Purim carnival or party needs at least one station that lets kids haul back and throw something. “Fill the Hamantasch” is a more accurate title, but I do like the alliteration of the H with “Hit.”

I made this for a Purim tot program a few years ago.  A giant hamantasch is the target, the middle of which is lined with velcro strips: the “hook” side.  The projectiles are blobby felt bean bags in colors that represent traditional hamantaschen filling: black for mohn (poppyseed), brown for lekvar (prune butter, YUM), red for cherry, orange for apricot.  The felt bean bag surface will stick to the  prickly velcro, no prob.

The giant hamantasch, lined with velcro hooks

I had to mount my fake hamantasch onto corrugated board (S-core board) and then tie that onto an old Little Tikes easel. No way could I mount it on the wall and Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Purim

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Edible Mishloach Manot Basket

Posted on 03/14/2011 by | 1 Comment

Edible Pretzel Basket for Purim

Of course the contents of a Purim Mishloach Manot basket are edible. But what if the actual basket was, too?

A Homeshuling post about kid-crafted Mishloach Manot containers that are eco-friendly, cheap and reasonably attractive utterly derailed my work schedule today.  I stopped everything to try the idea I posted as a suggestion, to make an edible basket from pretzel dough.   Continue reading →

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Origami Mishloach Manot for kids

Posted on 03/13/2011 by | Leave a comment

Origami basket for Purim Mishloach Manot

Just about any origami box, bag, envelope or basket can be a Mishloach Manot container, but this one is actually easy enough that little kids can make it.

Remember the origami paper cup pattern? It’s pretty common in schools and scouts and whatnot.  This is it, plus a stapled handle. (The cup can actually hold water, as long as you don’t need it to hold water for very long…)

The presence of staples immediately disqualifies this basket from pure origami, but kids don’t really care and neither do I. Continue reading →

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Posted in Jewish parenting, Purim

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Converting Valentine candy: Mishloach Manot

Posted on 02/16/2011 by | 1 Comment

Mishloach Manot

Whether or not you do Valentine’s Day at your house, there is a world of half-price Valentine candy in shops right now, and some of it can work just dandy for the next Jewish holiday, Purim.  Kisses, especially. Because of the chocolate preferences of certain grandmothers in our family, our Purim Mishloach Manot baskets always include Hershey’s kisses. Valentine kisses are usually robed in red: simple, bright, fun red.  Without the outer packaging, red kisses are deliciously generic and ready for conversion. And of course, they are kosher. (So are Tootsie Rolls, by the way, and I Continue reading →

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Posted in Edible Craft, Jewish Identity, Jewish parenting, Purim

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Purim shortcuts

Posted on 03/09/2009 by | 1 Comment


Happy Purim, everyone. If you’ve waited until the last minute to think about costumes, see the emergency kid costume ideas at www.JewishEveryday.com. Cheap paper plates and even a lunch sack can become a crown in seconds, and a bathrobe or towel can be royal garb and cape. If your kid is young enough, this is good enough. If your kid is old enough to use the word “lame,” this is not good enough. Continue reading →

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Let the Hamantaschen Begin

Posted on 03/09/2009 by | 1 Comment


Hamantaschen happen. And they start right about now.
If you are not a huge fan, you have not tried enough recipes. They vary.
I am extremely picky about hamantaschen, and have long championed a single type.
This has not lessened my curiosity and appreciation of the hamantasch as an art form, however. Below, I outline the major categories responsible for the infinite variety:

• Texture: soft vs. crunchy (or as I see it, cake-y vs. cookie-y).
• Fat: solid vs. liquid (butter, margarine, and the dreaded Crisco vs. oil, oil, oil).
• Leavening: yes or no (baking powder, soda or yeast vs. zero).
• Filling: traditional vs. whimsical
(the kind I like vs. the kind I put up with for the sake of wider participation).
• Taste: my mother-in-law’s vs. everyone else’s (icky vs. divine).

My mother-in-law’s recipe is unlike any I have seen or tasted. The secret is two-fold: grated carrots and Continue reading →

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