Many 30- and 40-something Israelis share a common memory: Leading up to Purim, during which children and adults don costumes, families would hold intense and creative discussions, sometimes under a cloak of secrecy, in which wild ideas would be thrown about to come up with unique costumes for the holiday. Afterward, the costumes would be prepared by hand, usually a labor of love by parents who would sit up all night putting together costumes for their kids and even for themselves.

The creative custom, which appears to be dying out, was replaced by the easier, simpler and lazier (but not necessarily cheaper) custom of buying ready-made costumes. Most are imported from sewing workshops in developing nations, made of cheap materials and, if truth be told, rather ugly.

Miri Gilad, mother of 2½-year-old Ofri from the Gaza border kibbutz of Nahal Oz, is one parent who wants to go back to the way the unique costumes were originally made. This year, several do-it-yourself (DIY) costume-making workshops were held for people like her. Gilad took part in one run by Ossi Gefen in the nearby Sha’ar Hanegev regional council. An advertisement promoting the workshop claimed, “You come in with an idea, and after two, three hours you come out with an amazing costume.”

“Ofri will dress as an owl,” Gilad told Al-Monitor with unabashed pride. “The store-bought costumes are not very beautiful, to put it mildly. But more than that, I want to teach Ofri that we make our own Purim costumes. You can come up with original ideas, and it comes out much nicer. This way the children are more in touch with their costume.”