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The Jewish holiday of Purim is a time for joyful celebrations, observed with parties, singing and dancing, festive food and drink and carnivals and festivals galore. It’s also a time for dressing up in Purim costumes, a favorite activity, especially for the kids.
Although the custom of donning costumes at parades and events evokes the tradition also associated with Halloween, that’s where the similarities end between the two holidays. The biblical book of Esther inspires the most traditional Purim costumes, which come from characters in the story — such as its heroine Queen Esther.
In the story, Esther is the Jewish queen and the wife of the Persian King Achaverosh — but she keeps her Jewish identity concealed. However, when Haman, an advisor to the king, tries to advance a plan to massacre all the Jews in the land, the Queen jumps into action with her own crafty plan to save her people.
Characters from this story, including Queen Esther, King Achaverosh, Esther’s cousin Mordechai and the villain Haman all make popular costume options. But they’re far from the only choice: Kids can pick just about any look that inspires them, whether it's a concept from pop culture, a TV character, a favorite Disney character or any other idea they can dream up.
You can buy a ready-made costume to keep things quick and easy, or go the DIY route to make a look sure to be one of a kind at the school, shul or another community event. Scroll through our gallery of great Purim costume ideas to inspire your family’s holiday plans this year. ( FYI! In 2024, Purim begins in the evening of March 23 and ends in the evening of March 24.)
The Little Mermaid
Get the look of Ariel from The Little Mermaid with a DIY costume made from a purple top they may already have in their closet, a shell necklace and green scarves for the skirt, plus an additional hair scarf as a belt.
Super Mario Bros.
This one's for superfans of the Super Mario Bros. movie or Nintendo game. Turn a set of siblings or friends into Mario and Luigi with some suspenders, hats and gloves.
Crayons
Kids can pick their favorite color and then choose pants, a shirt, and socks in the matching hue. Then DIY the stripes with electrical tape and make the simple pointed hats from construction paper using this template.
Wednesday Addams
Get Wednesday Addams’ goth look with a striped blazer, a collared shirt, a black dress and knee-high socks. Complete the look with a black wig fashioned into two pigtail braids.
Queen Esther
Whip up an adorable Queen Esther costume using a combination of thrifted items and upcycled goodies from your own closets: You’ll need a richly colored skirt, ribbon, a jeweled headband, costume jewelry and a thrifted or DIY wedding veil.
Get the idea at Creative Jewish Mom
Queen Esther is the star of the Purim story, but Disney star Princess Elsa is a fan favorite for the modern era. You can also make this costume at home using tulle and silvery iron-ons.
Mordechai
Transform your little one into the hero Mordechai with a few simple steps using supplies you may already even have on hand: Use heavy-weight paper for the crown, glue cotton to a beard-shaped piece of cardboard, and make a cape from a scrap of blue fabric. Voilà!
Plant Costume
Easy and cute! To make, cut a hole in the bottom of the basket wide enough for hips and legs to fit through comfortably. Download our leaf template below, and trace onto green paper. Trim and fold in half. Cut varying lengths of wire. Create stems by threading with green straws, dabbing hot glue as you thread to keep straws in place. Hot glue leafs to the ends of the stems. Hot glue the stems to the inside of the basket, avoiding the sides. You can reinforce these with duct tape if necessary once dry. Cut 2 lengths of green ribbon to use as shoulder straps. Attach to the inside front and back of the basket with velcro tape or safety pins. Dress in shades of green and slide the basket over your head, with the straps resting on your shoulders. Bend stems around you to create a natural look.
Sure, the hamentaschen is the pastry of the moment, but this adorable donut costume is equally sweet. You can DIY your own, and even adapt the idea into a triangle shape and add felt to reflect your hamentaschen filling of choice!
Minions
Get the whole family involved with this adorable costume idea taken from those lovably and mischievous Minions.
Astronaut
Next stop? Space! DIY an astronaut costume with white clothing embellished with a flag and NASA logo.
Balloon Anemone
This showstopping costume is surprisingly easy to pull off at the last minute: Just blow up a bunch of long balloons, and attach them by their knots with safety pins to a shirt. (No promises on how long it will last… so take that picture fast!)
This fun, colorful costume is a slam dunk. If you're looking to DIY it, all you need is a kid-sized box, a box cutter, small plastic cups, glue, and spray paint in the color of your choice.
With so much emphasis on food during Purim, a chef's costume is a perfect complement. This one comes with a coat, hat and an array of kitchen accessories (for playing long after the holiday is over, too).
Go big or go home! This inflatable dinosaur costume lets kids pretend to be riding a colorful T-Rex.
This colorful butterfly costume is so fun and easy to wear. Available in six colors, each comes with wings with elastic loops, plus a mask, hair clips and an antennae headband.
Marie Curie
Encourage little girls’ interest in STEM with an easy DIY version of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie. A long, black dress is the centerpiece of the ensemble; add some props to complete the look.
Why a sock monkey for Purim? Why not?! It's cute, wholesome and timeless, too (so plan to pass this one down to all the younger sibs and cousins!).
Alesandra is a digital travel and lifestyle journalist based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Prevention, Insider, Glamour, Shondaland, AFAR, Parents, TODAY, and countless other online and print outlets. Alesandra has a masters degree in journalism with an emphasis on cultural reporting and criticism from NYU, and a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. An avid traveler, she trots the globe with her husband and their twins.
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