The typical scrabble for reusable costumes on a pre-Purim Sunday is not for the Swiss. Mrs. Altmann’s costume gemach runs by orderly appointment. Recognizing the glorious anticipation in her little clients’ eyes for this highlight of their year — when everyone can be whoever they want to be, just for a day — the competent grandmother says, “I like to do it properly, to give each child a chance to look at the costumes in peace, make his important decision, and enjoy.”

The gemach’s grand opening is usually three weeks before Purim. From one week before opening, Mrs. Altmann accepts appointment requests by phone. Of course, there is a limited supply of certain costumes, so mothers are eager to get in first. “People ring me earlier to try and get appointments, but I have to be fair to everyone. I will only book people in one week before the gemach opening date, and during that week, it’s ‘first phone, first serve.’ ”

How long is a costume gemach appointment? Her years of experience help Mrs. Altmann estimate how much time each family will need.

“It depends,” she says. “Toddlers and babies are quicker to settle because their mothers choose their costumes. Older children have their dreams and opinions and take longer to decide on a costume. By now, I know which customers are very slow decision-makers, and I try to give them slots at the end of the day. Some families can spend an hour deliberating.”

Sometimes, the pre-Purim season coincides with a week of Swiss legal holidays in February. Then Mrs. Altmann devotes the entire day to her gemach, taking just short meal breaks in between appointments. This year, the gemach will be open by appointment during regular school weeks. Mrs. Altmann describes how this works.

“I work between 9 and 10:30 a.m. at my part-time job. Then, from 11 to 1, stay-at-home mothers with babies come in for costumes. At 1 p.m., the preschoolers finish, so more families come in. From 4 p.m., when school finishes, it gets hectic. I take a short break for supper and schedule more appointments for the evening. Everything else in my life just gets put on hold during gemach season.”

With one full room of boys’ costumes and another of girls’, all-boy or all-girl clans can come at the same time. There is such an immense selection that almost everyone can find something. Mrs. Altmann estimates that only two or three children a year leave the gemach empty-handed.

This year, Mrs. Altmann’s daughter got engaged midwinter. Along with the mazel tov wishes came slightly panicked comments: “When is the wedding? After Pesach? Will you still open the gemach this year?”

The answer, of course, was yes. Even after over a decade in the costume gemach business, it’s still Mrs. Altmann’s calling.

(Excerpted from Family First, Issue 633)