Running a Purim Carnival can be a great way to bring the fun—and some of the facts—about Purim home to the kids in your community.

 Ideas for Purim Carnival:

Running a Purim Carnival can be a great way to bring the fun—and some of the facts—about Purim home to the kids in your community.

There are many ways of arranging a carnival—in conjunction with a school, a shul or a community center—all you really need is a room, some materials and plenty of PRIZES…Mostly however you choose to set it up, you’ll need some great booths!!

Try these on for size!

1. Find the Jews: (Jellybeans, flour, plastic bowls)

The Jews (jellybeans) are all mixed up with the Persians (flour) in a big bowl. Your job is to find them. The one catch is that you can’t use your hands.

Try racing your friends!

2. Soak Haman: (Sponges, garbage bags, buckets o’water)

Have your favorite madrich./a dress up as Haman, cover themselves well with garbage bags and act as a target for a sponge toss!!

3. Hamentashen/Oznei Haman Decorating: (Hamentashen, cake icing, sprinkles…)

This one is pretty self-explanatory…they take a hamentash, decorate it, and eat it…just make sure they say the bracha and al hamichya!

4. Souvenir T-Shirt/Tachposet Making: (White T-Shirts, T-Shirt decorating paint, sparkles…)

Purim’s all about costumes—at this booth they can make themselves a new one, or add something to the one they’re already wearing!

5. Shave Haman’s Head: (Ballons, shaving cream, Popsicle sticks)

This one’s all about Speed!! See who can clear a balloon of all the shaving cream first!

6. Baruch Mordechai/Arur Haman—Can You Tell the Difference? (Coke, Pepsi, cups)

Try a taste test—Coke is Mordechai and Pepsi is Haman—can you tell the difference?

7. Megillah Reading Contest (Megillah, stopwatch)

Who can read 10 Bnei Haman quickest? Who can remember them without looking?

 8. Get in the Achashveirosh’s Palace: (Masking tape)

Make up a maze of tape on the floor, kids must run through the maze to get to the palace without stepping on any tape…fastest one through gets the throne!!

9. Esther’s Makeup: (Face paint)

Esther didn’t need any make up to look beautiful…but we love wearing make-up on Purim. Come get your face painted!! (Be careful of negiah issues in this one.)

10. Prize Booth (Prizes, tickets)

Each of the above mentioned booths should be giving out tickets which the kids can then use to collect prizes at the end of the carnival at the prize booth.