“Observe these as days of feasting and merrymaking, for delivering portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”
- ESTHER 9:22
Dressing up in costumes and partying with friends and community is a great way to celebrate Purim but creating and delivering mishloach manot (Purim gift baskets) adds special meaning to the holiday. Below you'll find suggestions for store-bought goodies to put in your mishloach manot, along with recipes for cooking with your children. You’ll also learn to make your own containers to deliver your special treats.
Deliver Food to Friends and Neighbors
The Purim practice of making gift baskets for friends and family is not just about fun and yumminess; it’s also about community — in Hebrew, kehilla (k’-hee-LAH). Traditionally, everyone in the community receives a gift basket, and in this way those in need or those who are more isolated don’t feel different from others. Also, the community has just read about Haman and his evil designs. To counter the spread of intolerance which Haman represents in the Purim story, everyone is called on to commit an act of neighborly love. Mishloach manot is a powerful way to demonstrate to our kids what community can look like.
What to Put in Your Gift Basket
You can put just about any ready-to-eat item in your mishloach manot. If your kids are taking charge of this year’s gift baskets, give them some guidelines about simple things to include. Hamantaschen and fresh fruit are standbys, while trail mix and fruit leather are healthy snack options that can be store bought or made from scratch. Check out each section below for recipe ideas or skip down to learn how to create your own special baskets.
Hamantaschen
Some of the earliest Purim cookies, hamantaschen, date back to 16th-century Germany, originally “pockets filled with poppy” (mohn taschen in German). Nowadays, you can fill them with jam, prunes, chocolate, and other good stuff. No gift basket would be complete without hamantaschen, and there are so many ways to make them!
Here’s the world’s easiest recipe:
Ingredients:
- Cookie dough
- Jam, chocolate chips, or whatever filling you like
Preparation:
- Roll out your cookie dough. (Psst ... you can also use premade pizza dough or pie crust. We won’t tell.)
- Use an inverted drinking glass to cut out round pieces of dough.
- Spoon about a tablespoon of filling into the center of each circle.
- Pinch the sides together in three different spots to form triangles. (Make sure they’re pinched tightly so they don’t open up in the oven.)
- Place the triangles on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake according to recipe instructions.
- Enjoy!
Trail mix or Granola Bars
Keep your kids occupied during your next grocery shopping excursion by letting them “shop” for their own trail mix add-ins. Older kids can hone their close reading skills while younger kids get to “help” the grownups with the errand. If you want to get a little bit fancier than trail mix, you can also try one of the recipes below:
Fruit Leather
Whether you enjoy the foot-long store-bought version or make your own, these dried fruit snacks are a hit with all ages. The video above features a super simple two-ingredient recipe.
Fresh Fruit
Who doesn’t like fruit? Toss in a clementine, an apple, a banana, or try something slightly more exciting like dragon or starfruit.
More Recipes
Super Easy Hamantaschen Recipes to Make with Kids
Easy Egg and Dairy-Free Hamantaschen
Creative Containers: Upcycle Gift Boxes for Purim
You can use just about any kind of container or gift bag to deliver your mishloach manot. Whether you DIY, buy, or do a mix of both, it’s up to you. If your kids like to get hands-on there are also crafty suggestions for creating your own gift boxes, baskets, and packages.
Get creative! No matter how you present them, mishloach manot are a great way to share the fun of Purim. Here are some ideas.
- Origami Mishloach Manot
- Decorate a small paper bag with markers and stickers.
- Wash out a large yogurt container and cover the exterior with washi tape.
- Wash out and reuse a cardboard Chinese food takeout container as is.
- Use an old newspaper to fashion a cone.
More
For more on Purim, download our winter holiday guide, A Time to Hope.
Family-Friendly Podcasts and Videos to Share the Purim Story with Kids of All Ages
All things Purim
February 2, 2025