In some ways, Purim is one of the most kid-friendly holidays in the Jewish calendar. Traditions include making gift baskets of tasty goodies to share with friends, shaking groggers or noise makers, and participating in a costume parade. If your children want to dress up for Purim this year, here are a few simple, easy, costumes to create, inspired by PJ Library books! Each of these costs very little to create and can be accomplished with no sewing whatsoever.
Are you dressing up for Purim? Be sure to share your photos with us, using #pjlibrary on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don't forget to "like" our Facebook page to see more holiday ideas and LIVE videos with costume-making tips.
A Little Gefilte
5 Little Gefiltes by Dave Horowitz
Being a Little Gefilte is pretty exciting
The reason we love this costume? It's the perfect, "oh no I forgot I had to make a costume, what the heck do I do?" creation. You'll need ten minutes to create the entire thing.
Supplies Needed
- A brown or yellow pillow case
- Black marker or fabric paint
- Black hat
Use an old pillow case and hat or find cheaply at a pound or charity shop. To create it, all you have to do is draw a face on the front, then cut holes for your child's head as well as arm holes. We also opted to round out the corners of our pillow case using scissors and hot glue. If you're feeling fancy, you could also stuff the bottom of the costume and either pin or tape it shut.
Beautiful Yetta
Beautiful Yetta: The Yiddish Chicken by Daniel Pinkwater
Beautiful Yetta meets Jean Laffite
There are so many ways to create this costume-you can use an old animal onesie, use some white footie pjs, or glue a boa or maribou trim, both available at any craft store, to a white sweatshirt to make the base of the costume. Be sure to brush up on your Yiddish for authenticity.
Supplies Needed
- Chicken pajamas or white onesie
- Red bow
Attach the red bow to the pjs using double stick garment tape or glue. Then put on and zip up. You're ready to go! If you really want to get fancy, you can also use face paint to create a beak, or wear a play one.
Ketzel and Moshe
Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed by Leslea Newman
Our Ketzel did not like wearing his hood
This is the only parent-child costume on our list. If you're celebrating Purim with a little one, this is a an excellent option as little Ketzel loves to be carried by Moshe in the story.
Supplies Needed
For Ketzel:
- White onesie
- Black coat with ears, or black hat with ears
- Black trousers
- Optional: Face paint for whiskers
For Moshe:
- Sweater vest
- Dress pants
- Collared shirt
Dress your baby in their onesie first, then add the black trousers and the coat, or a black sweater and hat with ears. (Luckily, a shocking number of baby clothes come with ears already attached). For Moshe, mom and dad can dress up in his every day look or don a tuxedo. Facepaint whiskers are optional for your little Ketzel.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
Sometimes showing off the costume is just as much fun as wearing it. Ezra the dog also made a guest appearance in this photo.
PJ families have been dressing like the "Notorious RBG" since the publication of I Dissent. There are many different ways to pull off this costume--just remember to nail the glasses.
Supplies Needed
- Large sunglasses without lenses
- Black robe or adult sized long sleeved tshirt
- Lace doily
- Optional: Copy of the constitution
To make the base of our costume, we found a "graduation robe" online for cheap. A local charity shop also had "wizard's robes" in the dress up section that would work too. If you don't have a robe, grab a long-sleeved adult-sized shirt and cut it up the middle to make your own robe. Trim the lace off the doily and attach it using craft or hot glue. Finish the costume off with the set of eyeglasses and you're ready to "disagree without being disagreeable."
Shmulik
Shmulik Paints the Town by Lisa Rose
Shmulik takes a reading break
This is one of the most fun costumes for kids to "make" with you. We dressed up one of our stuffed animals as Ezra the dog, too. If your little one has a white stuffed dog, use an old argyle sock to make his jumper and toss a pair of Mr. Potatohead glasses on his face and voila, Ezra the dog.
Supplies Needed
- An old white shirt
- Paint and/or markers
- A jeep cap or painter's hat
- Optional: stuffed dog as Ezra
If your shirt isn't a button down, make a cut up the middle to turn it into a smock. Pull out your paints and let the little ones have at it! We used a combination of a wet sponge to dab paint all over the white shirt and some waterproof markers to let the kids draw. Our model got creative and also "remixed" his costume to be Shmulik in space. Hey, on Purim, anything goes - right?
We had so much fun at our Purim photoshoot, head to Facebook to see outtakes and behind the scenes photos from our dress-up adventure with PJ Library families.
February 6, 2017