What began as a simple search for inspiration among friends soon evolved into an all-out costume as freshmen Mae Stein, Evy Grunberger, Rachel Litwack, Miri Silverman and Sloane Mills committed to a head-to-toe troll transformation. The process required the next level of commitment, including neon hair dye and a layer of neon body paint that defined the look. “We definitely had to think about how far we wanted to go with it [their costume],” Stein said. “We just decided to go all out and we bought two shoes and body paint and hair dye so we would be all out.”

Originally supposed to be their own separate bush costume, freshmen Ryder Chesman and Zach Berman ended up becoming a part of high school learning specialist Brett Kugler’s group of bushes when they went up to him after ZK and asked to join. Although spontaneous, Chesman really enjoyed the experience of participating in the group. “I really liked getting second in the costume contest,” Chesman said. “I thought that was super fun.”

While casually shopping in a thrift store and brainstorming ideas for what to dress up as for Purim, juniors Molly Rose Cloutier, Naomi Kessous and Eve Kessous stumbled upon a blue sweater that immediately reminded them of Sadness from “Inside Out.” Cloutier already owned a shirt depicting Joy from “Inside Out” and topped off her costume with a blue wig, while Eve chose Anger and Naomi embraced Sadness. In the morning, the trio helped paint each other’s bodies and faces to pull everything together. “I’m really proud of our costume,” Cloutier said. “We put in a lot of work and I think it really paid off.”

Science Department Chair Raymond Hodges has an annual tradition with his Physics Two class: they always do a group costume. After weeks of debating and voting on various group ideas, the class ultimately landed on being the Things from Theodor Seuss Geisel’s “The Cat in the Hat”, with Hodges leading the pack as the Cat in the Hat. The group prepared for the possibility of Hodges being absent on Purim due to the seniors’ trip to Israel, drafting plans that involved remote video appearances and a cardboard cutout of the teacher. Ultimately, because the trip was postponed, the group debuted their look in person. “As a freshman and as a sophomore, everyone would see Mr. Hodges physics two class, dressing up all together,” Yarden Wilkenfeld said “It’s a very well known thing throughout the school, so it was just really special to be a part of it after knowing about it for so long and looking forward to it.”

What started as a joke of ranking every Cheez-It flavor on a shared spreadsheet turned into one of the most unique and creative group costumes of the day, ultimately leading to the group’s victory in the group costume contest. Sophomores Megan Poretsky, Hannah Jakabovics, Allison Fellner, Abby Feffer, Selma Teichman, Liat Netter and Jocelyn Fisher decided to dress up as their favorite Cheez-It flavors, an endeavor that required many lunches spent hand-making their costumes. “I loved how our costume was really unique and individualized,” Poretsky said. “It also shows the history of how a lot of us became friends.”

Inspired by his admiration for Timothée Chalamet, whom he dressed up as last year, High School Jewish Text Teacher Paul Blank returned to Purim this year with another carefully curated look: Timothee Chalomet as Willy Wonka. Blank was fully committed to the role, arriving in a detailed costume that ultimately won him the individual costume contest. However, the costume did not come cheaply. Blank admitted it was one of the more expensive costumes, but he has no regrets. “I think I did have the best costume this year,” Blank said. “I always have the best costumes.”

When sophomore Eden Kotok suggested dressing up as characters from “Sing,” sophomores Zoe Cohen, Noa Dvir, Evie May, Dalya Lurie and Kira Koplow all enthusiastically concurred. The group wanted something that would be funny, cute and comfortable, making animal onesies the perfect choice. They carefully picked characters each person wanted to play and made sure all of the onesies were the same style, keeping the look cohesive. “We really wanted a chill costume that was still in the Purim spirit,” Kotok said. “I think we really pulled it off.”

After juniors Emunah Simkovich and Brielle Bassin’s original costume idea of the founding fathers fell through, they quickly did some research and landed on an inflatable llama for two people. When the costume arrived in the mail, Simkovich and Bassin practiced their coordination, aware that the costume did not allow for much mobility. “It was difficult to get around, but it was still a lot of fun and we received many compliments,” Simkovich said.