Male Friends – The cheapest container possible and whatever good nosh is on sale. Every store advertises great sales the week of Purim, so take advantage.
Kids – For my four-year old daughter, I will be shamelessly copying my sister’s idea from last year. A long laffy taffy rope taped to make a handle on a bag of chips, and voila, it’s a purse. My twenty-two month old son will be giving out a bag of chips and drink in a cute twenty-five cent drawstring bag. Don’t forget that each child needs their own mishloach manot to keep or they won’t be willing to give the bags away.
Last, but definitively not least, is the seudah. In my family, we have it down to a science, catering to each person’s specialty. As I’ve mentioned before, I hate cooking, but I can set and clean up like nobody’s business, even with our brand new little baby in tow. So like every year, I will host, and four or five families will descend on us, along with assorted single siblings and friends, all bearing pre-coordinated platters of something delicious. We all have a blast, and when everyone leaves, I have the house whipped back into shape before my children have finished unwrapping all their mishloach manot.
If such an arrangement is not possible for you, then enjoy the meal at home with your loved ones. Above all, please keep in mind the most essential aspect of Purim and Adar: the increasing of our joy.
And remember, for all working moms with small children at home, Pesach cleaning started on Tu B’Shvat!
Pnina Baim holds an MS.edu from Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Program and is a professional home organizer. Contact Pnina at [email protected] to set up a free home consultation to organize your home, office, and moving needs.
