How to Make Purim Costumes
As a single mom on a perpetual budget, holidays presented challenges. My kids wanted "store bought" costumes like their cronies. I wanted to make their outfits and save the cash for luxuries like dental bills. Happily, complaints stopped coming once they caught sight of my creations, ranging from offbeat to traditional outfits representing the main Purim tale characters: Esther, Mordecai and evil Haman, plus Persian royalty Queen Vashti and King Achashverosh. If you'd like to keep your budget on track and send your kids off to Temple or Purim parties in style, pick an idea from this article or check out the resources listed below.
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Things You'll Need
- Old sheets and pillowcases
- Recycled men's shirt
- Iron-on hemming tape
- Scissors
- Dollar-store crowns and jewelry
- Ornate curtain tiebacks
- Large cardboard box and extra cardboard
- Black paint
- Real or cardboard knobs and glue
- Coat hanger
- Dollar-store medical props
- Permanent marker pen
- Mop head
- Fabric dye (optional)
- Tea bags (optional)
- Tights (optional)
Instructions
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Turn your daughter into Queen Esther by using an old purple sheet or tablecloth--turn a white one purple using fabric dye--to create a simple robe. Fold the sheet in half, cut out a hole for the child's head and then turn the most ornate curtain tiebacks you can locate into a belt. Secure the sleeve and neck openings with iron-on hemming tape. Find a crown and scepter at the dollar store. Let your queen borrow your costume jewelry or drape the robe with multiple strands of dollar-store Mardi Gras beads.
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Crown your girl Queen Vashti, the king's ex-wife. Ancient images depicted Vashti looking just like Cleopatra, so grab a white sheet and drape it into an Egyptian tunic. This will take some practice but you'll get it after a few tries. Vashti needs jewels and a crown as well, but choose a tiara, bracelets and neck beads in colors other than the ones you picked for Esther to make certain nobody confuses the two at the Purim party.
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Use a king-size pillowcase to turn your son into the evil Haman. Kids love playing bad guys, and this one is the baddest. Cut out a neck hole from the top seam of the pillowcase as well as two armholes. Use iron-on hemming tape to bind the edges so they don't unravel. Make a dramatic beard using the body of a string mop dyed brown by boiling the mop head in tea bags. A piece of elastic will hold it in place. Use a permanent marker to draw a "name tag" on the upper left front of the tunic. Inject some whimsy by writing "Hi, My Name is HAMAN. Come here often?" on the tag.
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Confer the title king upon your son by using a purple pillowcase as a base for King Achashverosh's tunic. Follow the finishing directions cited in Step 3. Try to talk your son into donning a pair of tights--show him pictures of Robin Hood if he balks. Match the color of the tights with a swath of satin material made into a sash. If you're in the mood to go all out, cut a 6-inch-wide circular collar of cardboard. Glue glitter or sequins to the collar and place it around the king's neck over the tunic. Don't forget a dollar-store crown.
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Re-create a doctor's outfit if you have high hopes for your son or daughter but aren't quite certain whether or not medical school is in their future. Turn an old white men's shirt into a doctor's coat. Use a permanent marker to create a name badge on the lab coat and find a cheap toy doctor's bag to provide the stethoscope and other props. A large handkerchief or napkin makes an acceptable surgical cap, and if you add a cloth mask with string ties it can be pushed down when the hamantashen (Purim cookies) are passed around. Make your doctor look particularly scholarly with a large pair of dark-rimmed dollar-store glasses.
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Install your child inside a TV cabinet. Paint an appropriately sized cardboard box black, and then cut one hole into the center of the box top and two armholes into the side panels. Find a poster of your child's favorite TV star and cut out section that will serve as screen art. Glue the screen and real or cardboard knobs to the set. Find a realistic-looking remote control at the dollar store and glue it on the side of the cabinet. Cut a circle of cardboard to construct the set's antennae. Straighten out a wire coat hanger and feed it through two holes in the circle. Bend the wire so it sticks straight up and then top each with a small ball of foil. Use cord, ribbon or elastic to secure the antennae to the child's head.
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References
- Photo Credit Shemayisrael Company, Israel
