It hit me when Esther sent me a picture of her table with all the to-do lists and checklists laid out one Erev Shabbos that our annual awaited mishloach manos supplement requires a similar level of detail to what’s involved in making a simchah. There’s endless errands and hours and hours of conversations figuring it all out (I used to keep track just for fun, but I gave up on that a few years ago), arranging and working out the graphics, noticing that something is a slight shade off and then redoing it, until it’s all tied with the proverbial and literal bow.

Then comes every Motzaei Purim and I think about all the carefully selected ribbons on the packages in front of me, evidence of time spent browsing Papermart or AliExpress with tape measures, making diagrams to figure out how many cookies will fit in each box. There’s also the process of testing the glue dots and the glue gun, then wondering if you should go with or without the gold foil under the chocolates, in an endless cycle year after year. There’s no possible way you can do this unless you feel true satisfaction from the process itself, because the feedback is often hiding on the dining room table along with your two-inch, perfect-tone beige ribbon.

But there’s another layer here that I appreciate more as my kids get older: they are part of the process. I like challenging them to be creative and to think out of the box, and I want them to feel pride in what we created together. When I shared this with Esther, she added that it’s a family version of color war; everyone playing to their strengths with a challenge and an end goal. In both cases, what’s important is that there’s a larger goal to the package perfection process itself.

This year, we wanted to include as many ideas as possible that are “half-homemade.” You’ll see that most of the packages presented in these pages include an item that can be multiplied easily because, color war or not, we’re all leading increasingly busy lives and the available time for ribbon browsing diminishes each year.

One thing is consistent, though: Every package includes personal touches, because that is what we are here for, to think out of the box in a way that is doable and beautiful.

CHANIE NAYMAN
Food Editor, Family Table

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 729)