My 5-point purim resolution this year!

Mrs Bissli

Fri, Feb 12 2010, 10:00 am

ok, call me a party-pooper.

1. have no-theme MM
2. stop feeling guilty about "MM deficit" (ie receiving more MM than giving)
3. spend more on matanot l'eviyonim than on MM
4. only give MMs to people who would not receive one otherwise
(many senior citizens living on their own)
5. don't force the kids to wear costumes. skip the costumes for that matter--saves money, my time,
my/DH/kids sanity...

ClaRivka

Fri, Feb 12 2010, 12:31 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

I'm so happy to see someone on my wavelength but ive got one question- do ur kids mind not dressing up? dont they want to b like theyre friends? how old r they? iv'e always had this point of view but get scared every time I think of it bc I kno they'll want to.. (dont have kids yet)

Butterfly

Fri, Feb 12 2010, 12:50 pm

ClaRivka wrote:

Mrs Bissli wrote:

I believe that most of the kids like to be dressed lekavod Purim. It's traditional, after all.
However, not all of them enjoy being dressed 'forcefully' in their 'theme' costumes...

One of my grandchildren had a very sour Purim evening, in my home, during the first night, after Taanis Esther.
He wanted to dress as a Policeman, but since it didn't go with the theme, he was forced to wear a costume he literally despised...

So there went 'his' happy Purim night.. Crying

curlyhead

Sat, Feb 13 2010, 2:36 pm

I am not a big MM giver. I give my kids teachers and kids friends. Make a few others to drop off to close friends. I decided that having my husband read megilla in Nursing homes, hospitals and elderly people's homes is more important then giving a lot of MM. I normally spend Purim driving my husband around to his various megilla readings and the my kids love it and the elderly people love seeing the kids.

Quote:

spend more on matanot l'eviyonim than on MM

Isn't that halacha?
I know someone who gives a shalach manos of seuda food including a whole chicken, maybe some salads to people who don't have $.

I think Purim has turned into a competition of who is the most creative.

happydw

Sun, Feb 14 2010, 6:44 pm

"I think Purim has turned into a competition of who is the most creative."

I totally agree. Sometimes we get MM that are super creative but totally unpractical and end of throwing out half the stuff in there. I am SO stressed this year with all the pressure of trying to be creative - why is it that giving a nice amount of non-themed candy/food in a nice bag won't suffice? It has to be something SUPER creative and SUPER put together that everyone will remember throughout the year...honestly, I think giving whole meal MM to underprivileged people or reading megilla to elderly and others, etc. should be remembered throughout the year, not whose theme outdid the other! grrr...very stressed

mumsy23

Sun, Feb 14 2010, 8:32 pm

I hear everything except not dressing your kids for purim. I don't get that - how sad for a child that his mother is too lazy to put some effort into his costume. Don't you have fun memories from Purim dressing up and going to school and Purim carnivals?!? It's part of the tradition of purim, why would you stop that?

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 15 2010, 12:17 pm

mumsy23 wrote:

This might be too late, but for people who feel overwhelmed by the prospect, check out thrift shops at the end of Oct., early Nov. The price may be right enough to just buy a few things, keep in a box, and who knows if and when they'll be used. Thrift shops are actually useful at this time of year; whenever I go this close to Purim I almost always see groups of bachurim trying to find some coordinating clothes for collecting.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Feb 16 2010, 5:26 pm

Funny enough, my kids are just not into dressing up. DD (7.5) adamantly refused to get dressed up as she doesn't want to look like everyone else (who would be variants of disney princesses, queen ester or ballerina) and she doesn't want to "look silly". She just wants to wear a "nice dress just like shabbat". Ergo no sense forcing her.

PinkandYellow

Tue, Feb 16 2010, 9:28 pm

mumsy23 wrote:

I take very strong offense at your using the word 'lazy'. I do not have the time to put effort into my kids costumes. I am not lazy. I am merely busy. I will get their costumes at little or no effort, and minimal costs, and thats that. How sad for the Moms of kids that get MM filled with candy and junk because thats the cheapest way to make a simple, uncomplicated, unthemed MM, and the Moms need to let their kids eat the junk or throw it out. How sad Rolling Eyes

How sad that one mother can so freely call another 'too lazy' Confused

louche

Tue, Feb 16 2010, 10:15 pm

Butterfly wrote:

louche wrote:

prettyme wrote:

does "MM" stand for Mishloach manos? not sure

Bingo.
Except when it stands for Melech haMashiach or lehavdil Moses Mendelssohn, I guess!

looks like you are already in the Purim spirit... LOL

Dollink, I am ALWAYS in the Purim spirit except for 16 Adar thru Acharon shel Pesach. It's my fave holiday bar none, bettter than my b-day, anniversary and mother's day put together. If there were a mitzvah to remember Purim "kol yemei chayecha" I'd be on the A-list for entry to the Heavenly club on the strength of my observance of that mitzvah alone. I usually start working on my Purimspiel the previous Shushan Purim (which is why my Purimspiels are rarely tied to current events, personal or global), and at any time of the year you may hear me exclaim, "say, that would make a good Purimspiel" or "I could use that for a Purim costume" or "If I buy chocolate coins at the pre-Chanuka festival, what are the chances that I will not have eaten them all before Purim?"

louche

Tue, Feb 16 2010, 10:40 pm

If louche were a math teacher:

Elementary School:
Chani has $1.50 to spend at the Purim fair. Chocolate coins are 25 cents each. How many coins can Chani buy?

High School:
Chocolate coins are 25 cents each at the pre-Purim fair; chocolate gragger-shaped cookies are 35 cents each. If Chani charges $7 an hour to babysit for up to three children plus an extra 50 cents an hour per child beyond three, how long would she have to work for the Kumsitz family (seven children) in order to earn enough money to buy two coins and a cookie for Mishloach manot for each of her classmates if there are 22 girls in her class?

College:
Chani works in a kosher confectionery where she earns $11 an hour plus commission of .02% of anything she sells beyond $100 a day and another .075% of anything she sells beyond $500 a day. College tuition is $20200 a year. Assuming that Chani can work 24 hours a week, what is the minimum number of weeks she must work to cover the cost tuition plus a blowout Purim Seudah for her 30 closest friends catered by Max and David?

Business School:
Chani has $8000 invested in Con Ed stock at 45.23 per share, earning quarterly dividends of .004%. She wishes to open up a Purim store at which she will sell Purim costumes, Mishloach manot supplies and accessories. rent and utilities will be $1000 a month for the three months that the store is open; salaries will be $9 an hour for the first 40 hours a week for each of three employees and $13.50 an hour for every hour over 40. Chani's accountant estimates that she can expect a profit margin of about 5%. Chani currently earns $700 a week at her present job. Is she better off quitting her job to work in the store herself, or better off selling off her ConEd stock to hire a store manager for 3 months?