Committed to Memory

Another year I was dressed as a baby, and the shalach manos was a “mini chair” stacked with (homemade) “miniatures.” Give a chair, cuz it’s a miniature, and a cheerful Yom Tov we will share.

That’s the landscape of my Purim memory lane. Months of brainstorming themes with my mother, scouring the aisles of The Rag Shop for shalach manos inspiration, baking and decorating goodies, crafting costumes.

And building the suspense! We wouldn’t breathe a word about our plans to anyone, and I was convinced the entire world was waiting with bated breath for the Weisses’ grand reveal Purim morning.

Well. There’s no secret — and no theme — to my kids’ costumes this Purim. Our shalach manos won’t relate to their costumes and won’t contain anything homemade. Even if I would bake, I wouldn’t take out the mixer before every last kid was fast asleep. So much for sweet batter-licking memories.