Origami Mishloach Manot for kids (with video)

origami cup + handle

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…)

this one’s made with double-sided paper (“Fadeless Duet” from Pacon)

You can use paper from grocery sacks, wrapping paper, construction paper, or
stuff from the recycle bin. (The Purim pages from a Judaica catalog make cute baskets, but small: 8.5 x 11 paper generates cups about 4 inches wide.) The thicker the better, to hold your goodies securely. And it needs to be a square.

For each of the examples here, we used a large piece of construction paper. The starting size  was a 12 x 18 inch rectangle, and the finished cup is 7 inches at the widest point, the mouth. We can fit several cookies and treats into this size.

HOW TO: To make a square from a rectangle, fold top right corner down to meet left straight edge and crease the new angle.  Cut off what is left at the bottom of the paper. This strip will be your handle (see below). Unfold the larger piece and you should have a square. The square will be your cup.

I uploaded a 2 minute YouTube video showing the whole process.  

Fold the leftover strip onto itself twice lengthwise to make a thick handle. Staple onto opposite corners of the cup, at the corners or on the flat sides.

origami cup with handle on flat sides

Kids can decorate the cup with glitter crayons, markers and stickers, and fill with goodies for Purim.

The finished baskets do not stand up by themselves, but if you push the base inward just a bit, they fatten up and fill better. They are perfect for hanging onto doorknobs.

origami cup with handle at corners

We made gift tags, too: Happy Purim in English and Hebrew, “Mishloach Manot: it’s a mitzvah to send portions,” and  space to write To and From.

a tag with English, Hebrew, instructions and To/From

Origami basket for Purim Mishloach Manot

upcycled newspaper mishloach manot bag: free, fast, fun.