Have fun in the lead up to Purim festival with some handy DIY advice to make the perfect fancy dress costume.
Using materials stashed away around the house to create your own fancy dress costumes is a an easy way to make Purim a fun family affair on a budget. Take inspiration from some outfit formulas to get started and turn some heads!
Get regal
Ladies of all ages can’t go wrong with a regal theme to celebrate Queen Esther’s bravery. While any dress can make the base layer of this outfit, the extra details can also be achieved using a few crafting materials and basic objects found around the house. For a royal headdress, glue a long purple shawl to the bottom of a headband so that it flows behind you and cover the top of the band in rhinestones to create some royal jewels. Paint a long wooden spoon in gold or silver before decorating for an elegant sceptre, then throw on some more of your own jewellery to complete the look.
Animal instinct
The variety of shapes and sizes from the animal world makes dressing the kids up as their favourites a fun challenge and could perhaps incite some friendly competition between families. Using a clear foldable umbrella with some blue LED fairy lights is a clever way to make up a sparkly jellyfish and help lighten up the party. Carefully cut a hole in the centre of the umbrella to create enough neck space and attach the light strings around the underside of the umbrella with some clear tape.
Adding pink and purple ribbon strands to hang down over the edge will help complete the neon-esque outfit.
Film favourites
Creating a costume to match iconic characters from your favourite blockbuster movies is an easy and fun way to get in the fancy dress spirit. Following the recent comeback of the Top Gun franchise, it’s easy enough to unleash your own inner maverick with a used pair of cargo trousers or jeans, slim fit t-shirt, bomber jacket, and your favourite pair of aviator sunglasses. Decorating the jacket with a few badges will also add a personal touch to complete the iconic look.
Action ready
Every new movie or series appearing on Disney Plus widens the inspiration for colourful costumes and gets the adults having just as much Purim fun as the little ones. Easily create a family set to match The Incredibles using a set of red T shirts, leggings, or sweatpants combined with black shorts, boots, gloves, and a mask each to make up the bulk of the outfits. Throw some black, yellow, and gold felt together to achieve the family insignia.
Mask up
Matching the carnival spirit of Purim, a colourful Mardi Gras mask is also a quick and easy fix if getting to the party in a hurry. Start by drawing and cutting out your mask outline from a small sheet of cardboard before colouring it in using paint, crayons, or tempera. Decorate by gluing as many sequins, rhinestones, and ribbons as you like to accent the sides with a few feathers in the middle.
Glue a wooden chopstick or dowel to use as the mask’s long handle and decorate with more paint or fabric ribbon.
