Growing Up Creative

Dressing up+improvising= great purim party

Yesterday we had a pre-Purim party in my house to get the kids and the moms into the mood. I am sorry you couldn’t make it, but I highly recommend you have your own.

We started with:
a pile of an assortment of fabrics and scarves in the center of the room
6 high energy kids
3 weary moms
A couple of dozen Hamantashen.



We ended up with:
2 gorgeous queen Esters
one fierce yet sensitive tiger
a strong Batman
another very strong Batman/ Zorro
someone that looked like a gypsy
an eclectic dancer
a belly dancer
the cutest baby in the world (really)
the one who couldn’t decide what to be.
And a couple of Hamantashen (Oren ate most of them)



We made very simple outfits by wrapping ourselves with fabrics belts and scarves.
To make the dresses we took a large rectangle peace of fabric, we held it behind our backs with our hands stretched out (imagine when you start to wrap your self with a towel). We brought our hands to the front and crossed our hands around our neck and tied the ends of the fabric in the back behind our necks.
The result is a haltered dress. We tied scarves around the waist, and added a sparkly overcoat (see instructions here and here)

After finishing with the makeup we were ready for the entertainment part of the evening – the show:
We started telling the story of Purim and the kids were improvising as we went along. It was too much fun. Between the 3 moms we almost got the story right. Luckily we had the kids to correct us. If you need a reminder of the story you may open the Torah or read my previous post - a 'once upon a time story' with some new insight

The afternoon was such a success; we all had a great time. I think the key was NOT PLANNING, we kept it open ended and just went with the flow.

for those of you who hesitate, I will send you off with some encouragement: BE BRAVE, and have a dress up party for your kids, I know you can do it.

For more structured guidelines, templates and instructions you may ready my post from last year: “A Purim dress-up party”

I am looking forward to hear the stories from your dress up party.

Tali

A Purim dress up party

My creative take on Purim: an idea for an afternoon activity.

Since you know me a bit by now you should know that I am looking for any excuse to find creativity in celebrating the holidays. Purim is an easy challenge since there is so much creativity embedded within the holiday already.
The act of dressing up unleashes so much creativity as it is. But how about pushing it a little further…I am talking about imagining, planning, matching, cutting, assembling, and possibly acting; another excuse for a party. This activity would work great for a group if you have enough parents’ involvement. This activity is not intended to substitute the children’s Purim costume but it may very well become their favorite one.

The objective:
Kids make their own costumes, no stitching involved (really easy). Help of an adult is needed.

What you will need:
Inexpensive fabrics such as: sheer (chiffon), shiny fabric (satin), or anything that will spark kid’s imagination. Tip: the uglier and more grotesque the better…
Ribbons
Scarves
Belts
Men’s ties
Scissors
Safety pins
Paper/ sketch book and drawing tools

When I did this project with Zoe’s preschool friends I got the materials at a store in down town LA - Michael Levin’s every thing was $2/ pound. Fabric stores can be found in every city, don’t buy anything expensive. I have spent total of $20 for 20 kids (don’t forget to check your mom's closet for some hidden old fabrics, curtains, linens etc). It is important to get inexpensive fabric so you don’t feel terrified when your child starts cutting and experimenting, as he/ she should.

The process:
Below you will find illustrations of simple ways of making garments. This may help you and your child construct the outfit from his/ her imagination. (Make sure you read this all the way to the end before you start)

1. Gather materials: Pile up all the different materials you have collected.
2. Plan: Have the child draw what he/ she imagines. Try not to skip this phase since this is an important process of learning to translate ideas into reality, and communicating in a visual language. It is also very calming, and tends to slow down the already built up excitement.

guide your child with questions such as:
What are you making? A queen? A knight? Etc…
Is it a dress?
How long? How short? To the knee?
A vest? A crown? A sword?
Are you going to have a cape?
Do you want it tight around the waist and loose behind?

After drawing the costume, discuss the different options of how to go about and construct the costume. Together, try and Find solutions to some of the problems of assembly. Use ribbons, long pieces of fabrics and belts to tie up the outfit together. Encourage flexibility with the design of the costume, welcome unexpected happy accidents.

3. GO FOR IT

(click on image to enlarge)

  

finally, I had an excuse to play with Troy and Gabriela (from high school musical) I made them some cloth to demonstrate some of the patterns above. 

^{Troy is wearing a vested top belted, with a royal cape, a sword and a dazzling crown}

^{Gabriela is wearing a sleeveless pink gown, with an emerald broach.}

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for more help (pathetically, I am almost always online)
Send me a picture or upload on the flicker photo group pool

Have fun
Happy Purim

tali

Does the name Hamantash actually means Haman’s ears?

We tend to associate the traditional cookie of Purim, the Hamantash, with Haman the villain of Purim. In Israel they are called Oznei Haman (אוזני המן) which means Haman’s ears. As a child I remember placing 2 of them on my ears (prior to eating them) wondering if Haman’s ears were really triangular, and why would we even eat something that represents ears of an executed person (evil or no evil). They were so good, that those thoughts melted away as fast as I could eat those cookies up.

A little bit of research revealed the source of the name Hamantash. It is most likely a corruption of the Yiddish word ‘Montashn’ or the German word ‘Monhntaschen’ which means nothing else but poppyseed-filled pouches. How simple is that…this is something I will not reveal to my kids, it is much more fun thinking one is eating ears verses cookies.
The triangular shape, is known to be reminiscent of the hats worn by the officers of the Persian court, including Haman.

My favorite filling is poppy (a bit old school)…what’s yours?

Any good recipe anyone?