Purim Basket Inspiration: 50 Edible Items

One of the most under-represented Jewish holidays is Purim, which starts this Wednesday. If you’ve never celebrated Purim before, I encourage you to try it. Purim is incredibly fun, and one of the best parts is the custom of Mishloach manot (exchanging baskets).

Mishloach manot means the “sending of portions” in Hebrew. These are gifts of food and drink that Jews send to each other for Purim. Sending mishloach manot is a mitzvah (commandment) that is meant to ensure that everyone has enough food to enjoy the traditional Purim feast. It is also thought of as an opportunity to strengthen relationships between people.

For those of us that live in America and are bombarded by Easter baskets, I think it’s doubly important to celebrate Purim. By giving your child a Purim basket, they will no longer be envious of Easter activities. We need to ensure that Jewish children are exposed to our customs/traditions, so that they will want to remains Jews as adults.

I’ve seen Purim basket range from extremely elaborate to bare-bones. Some folks are really into theme baskets, which are gorgeous but can be time consuming and costly to create. The best basket is one that’s tailored to its recipient. Think about the special people in your life, what they truly love and enjoy, then go from there.

Need some inspiration? Here are 50 edible items to put in a Purim basket: