Today’s creative mishloach manot idea comes from Coby Glasserow, whose Childhood theme is a clever idea for young adults (and the young at heart).
This was my first year coming up with a theme for my Mishloach Manot. In the past I’d just put a bunch of goodies together in a bag and hand them out, but this year, I actually got myself together enough in time to put something really fun together!
Work and life had been crazy for me and I found myself longing for the simpler times of coloring books and pudding cups. I thought to myself, “well, if I long for it, I bet my friends do too”! That’s when my theme came together…Childhood!
I went to the Oriental Trading website during their free shipping period a couple of weeks ago and looked at what they had. I know I wanted something like a backpack to package everything in, but the backpacks were too expensive. I ended up getting cute messenger bags. I also got coloring books, fun pencils and erasers, stampers, stickers, and crayons to put in!
As far as the food went, I went to BJs and got some childhood favorites of mine. Everyone is getting some mini Hershey bars, Gushers fruit snacks, a pudding cup, some peanut butter sandwich crackers, tootsie pops, a juice box, a box of YooHoo, and some cookies.
I put in the following note:
Cost-wise, I was happy with where it came out. I made 24 bags and with everything I put together (food, bag, and random fun stuff) it came out to less than $8 per person! Hopefully my friends will enjoy getting these, as much as I enjoyed putting them together!
Coby is a 27 year-old nanny living in Washington, D.C. She will be starting culinary school in the fall.
These are lovely and wonderfully creative, but I just can’t see how spending almost $200 on Mishloach Manot makes sense? What am I missing? I guess I thought that the point was to share a plate of yummy foods with friends on Purim? Some hamantaschen, some nuts, some other good baked things, a piece of fruit, maybe a bit a chocolate…
Maybe I’m being a fuddy-duddy, but really, all the ideas for “themed” mishloach manot that involve buying cute gifts, seem excessive to me. Really great ideas, don’t get me wrong – I’m in awe of the creativity. But are we buying into an expense that we shouldn’t?
Has this become a “keeping up with the Joneses” thing?
Did you see my post with 101 Mishloach Manot ideas. I address issue of cost in the introduction. Some invest a lot – others invest a little. I never spend more than $25 on my mm — and usually less!
http://kosheronabudget.com/101-mishloach-manot-ideas/