I heard a funny anecdote recently. The wife was going crazy trying to figure out what theme she was going to do this year for her mishloach manot. Goldi (Golda) Locks (lox) and the three bears (beers) was last year’s hit, but now she was coming up empty. She just couldn’t think of something original and cute. Try as she did, she just drew a blank. Her husband, frustrated with all the fuss, tried to be the rational one and pulled out the Mishna Brura and told his wife, “what’s the big deal, the halacha is clear, all you have to do is send 2 portions of food to one person. Why are getting all stressed out for?” The wife was not impressed with his knowledge and curtly replied, “what does ruchnius (spirituality) have to do with shalach manos for crying out loud? We have reputation to live up to. We have to come up with something original or we’re doomed”.
Now, while we all chuckle at her comments, how true are they in our actions? Do we think about the mitzva of shalach manos or are we only interested in impressing our friends and neighbors? Has our Purim baskets taken on a life of their own and have little to do with the commandment of shalach manos given to us in the times Mordechai?
The answer is that while we have to keep in mind that we shouldn’t be just trying to outdo the Joneses but in fact fulfilling a rabinnic decree; there is an aspect to being cute and original. The whole idea behind mishloach manot is to increase friendship. If everyone would just do the bare minimum, the increasing of friendship would be minimal. By going that extra mile, and putting real thought and effort into the mishloach manot that we send we are in essence saying “you are important to me”. This makes the person feel good and respond in kind, hence increasing the friendship bond. The cute and sometimes corny themes also adds to the general Purim spirit. For a few examples of cute themes seehttp://www.shalach-manos.com/american.php and http://www.shalach-manos.com/fireman_mishloach_manot.php
So in conclusion, be balanced. The idea is not to outdo the next guy, but rather to increase the bond between our friends, family and neighbors. This will bring about real unity and we will merit the final redemption, speedily in our days.