Today I have a guest post for you. Sarah Cohen asked if she could contribute her craft ideas. So here you go!
Celebrate Purim with These 14 Craft Ideas for Kids
Purim is a beautiful holiday. It’s a time to celebrate creativity, let your imagination run wild and have some great family fun while learning about and celebrating your ancestors. Here are some fun ways to dress up, make some noise and have a raucous good time at your next Purim party.
Purim Puppets from Wooden Spoons
1. Retell the epic tale of Purim with the help of these wooden spoon and spatula puppets. You can use leftover ribbons, felt or googly eyes from other crafts to throw these together. Ask your little ones to make them for you and then perform the story of Haman’s defeat after dinner. They’ll love being a feature in the party and putting their puppets together.
2. A Reigning King
For those less nimble on the sewing machine or who just want to make their child an interesting king costume, this quick and easy craft is the perfect solution. A red tunic is cut from a plain shirt — one that’s a bigger size than your tiny royal — given a crest and then worn over a grey hoodie. With pants and a nice pair of boots, your young king is ready for a party. Get ready for some gorgeous photos.
3. Plastic Bottle Noisemakers
Save any individual plastic bottles for the Purim season and then fill them with rice, pasta or rocks to shake and rattle at the sound of Haman’s name. Dye rice or pasta like the creators over at the blog Joyful Jewish have done. They recommend taping up the cap with extra-strength adhesives once your bottle is full. This will spare you a massive mess to clean up after the party’s over. Make your own labels at home to have personalized noise shakers.
4. Wearable Bells
Not a traditional noisemaker but these wearable noisemakers are very fun for small children or those with fine motor difficulties, this craft lets your little one put some bells directly onto their wrists or ankles. They can shake their hands to make noise or stomp on the floor. So fun! Note: this link includes a bonus craft of rhythm sticks for little children to hit together. Both make for a great time and are very easy to make.
5. Party Pit-zataschen
Have fun eating Haman’s hat with this great twist on the traditional recipe. Instead of making a sweet treat full with poppy seeds, try this cheesy, melty pita pizza recipe that your kids can help you create. This recipe turns pitas, sauce and mozzarella into a fun, Hanam hat shape that comes out warm and gooey. Make plenty; these treats will go fast.
6. Purim Ice Cream Clowns
While we’re in the kitchen, grab your ice cream scoop and marshmallow fluff to make these adorable ice cream clowns. These are yet another chance for your kids to express themselves. Bonus: they’ll each make their own desserts, saving you the trouble. All you need to do is scoop the ice cream and provide baubles to make the clowns truly outstanding. The marshmallow fluff doubles as glue to help make these fun faces.
7. A Princess Costume
Believe it or not, the base for a stunning princess dress can be a blank, white t shirt. You’ll need one bigger than your child normally wears, as it will be cut up and re-sewn. This craft is a bit complicated if you’re not a practiced sewer, so you will want to ask for some help. The finished product, however, will make for a very memorable day. Your little girl will love playing the part of royalty with the help of this gorgeous gown and hat to match.
8. Paper Crowns
A cute paper crown for Purim can be made pretty easily. With the right cuts, you can turn your average circle of paper into a complex, pointed hat and decorate it however your little ones like. It’s a crown meant for any tiny royal and a fun addition to your Purim celebrations. Find the tutorial here and then get busy decorating, coloring and cutting.
9. Felt Woodland Masks
If your family wants to focus more on the dress-up aspect of Purim and make it more fun, try some off-theme Woodland Masks. Run outside and enjoy acting out different animal personalities. Be sure to make some extras for the adults. These are way too silly and fun to pass up, no matter how old you are.
10. Free Printable Coloring Pages
If your little artists live to color, you’ll want to print out these Purim coloring pages and hand them out so the children can paper the refrigerator with their masterpieces. Download each of the characters of the Purim story and then grab the crayons. They’ll each want to color all the pages.
11. Colorful Brownie Bites
A platter of kosher brownies becomes a mosaic of color and texture with the help of a smaller size and plenty of toppings. Once the brownies are baked, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Ask your little artists to help you decorate them with crushed nuts, sprinkles, colored sugars and nonpareils. Be sure to display them out where everyone can ooh and ahh over them before gobbling them up.
12. I Spy Graggers
This craft makes a seek-and-spy game out of your noisemaker. Hide some key details inside, like a heart, alphabet tiles or cubes with the initials of the story characters, a crown, a tiny horse — any bauble that fits the story. After you shake your gragger at Haman’s name, freeze and see what you can spy. Each player gets a game sheet to check off each item, and the first to get them all wins!
13. Cardboard Castle
Help your tiny theater troupe get into character with a quick, disposable cardboard castle made of old boxes. Add a chair for a throne, a table and special dishes to help your actors feel royal. This blog explains how one teacher created a castle in her classroom and made it interactive. It looks like a lot of fun.
14. Fijuelas
Fijuelas are a delicious and wonderful way to mix up your Purim, but they’re a bit tricky for the kids. Rather than asking them to help make these doughy, fried flowers, put them on plating duty. Better yet, ask them to sprinkle on a dusting of powdered sugar to decorate or practice some sharing by allowing your little ones to serve them. The fijuelas themselves are reward enough for everyone.