Purim is one of the happiest Jewish holidays. It's festive, it involves triangle-shaped cookies, dressing up, and booing the holiday's villain, Haman.
This year, I went into Purim party planning and doodling mode. Here are my tips for throwing a great Purim party below with a video too.
How to throw a great Purim party
Encourage people to dress up for Purim or help them do it
Ask everyone to dress up or provide masks. I got fun masks of Haman, Esther, and Mordechai from my local Judaica store and gave one to each guest. One tip: make sure they're not child-sized, these were and I thought it was no big deal, but they weren't that wearable. Oops!
Make some noise
Get some noisemakers! My Judaica store had tambourines, and I got a few of those. They were kind of there for decoration. But they're especially helpful if you need to get everyone's attention!
Serve hamantaschen and triangular finger food
I bought Hamantaschen ahead of time from two local bakers - Orwashsers and Oy Vey Osteria. (Next time I want to try Bread's Bakery, too, which was featured on a segment on the Sunday Morning news show).
I also bought frozen Ta'amti burekas, which are triangle shaped! You can also serve samosas, pizza, quesadillas, chips and salsa (although so many of the chips I bought broke they didn't look that triangular), spanakopita, or perogies.
DIY hamantaschen
Make dough ahead of time and make or buy fillings like jellies and chocolate chips or nutella, and give everyone the opportunity to make their own! I kept the dough in the fridge, and took it out a little before it seemed like a good time to bake. I poured flour on a a table for guests and we cut out dough with a 3-inch cup, filled, placed on a baking tray, and baked. Everyone got to take some home.
Write Purim cards or letters
This year, I doodled some really cute Purim postcards. I knew if I sent people home with them, they may never do anything with them. So, I set up a letter writing station with a mail drop and stamps. My guests wrote letters at a little table with postcards, pens, and stamps, and put finished letters in a box labeled "mail drop" when they were done. I mailed them the next day!
You can download mine here! I'll have postcards available next year.
Send everyone home with a Purim basket
Ok, I didn't do this, but it sounds like a really nice idea. Send them away with a cookie or any other memorable treat.
Watch the highlights from my Purim party
Have a great Purim!
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