Happy Halloween, ok a day late but I started this yesterday to no avail! Sunday we hosted our first ever Halloween Party. Now as any parent knows, fitting party planning and preparation into an already full schedule of entertaining, looking after, feeding, bathing and generally making sure children are safe is no easy task. So instead of intense planning and shopping for a week like I used to do pre-children, any event requires much notice so that this can be done over at least a span of a month.
On various daily walks we swung by the shops with the decorations, sweets and non perishable items and purchased a few each day (whatever could be fitted on the buggy and generally length of time in shops is determined by mood of J2 so usually visits are short and not-so-sweet). The food list was written and revised several times over (as numbers attending swelled) and undertaken in two 'big' shops whilst J2 was at his nursery afternoon. It bugs me to have to use the small amount of non-child free time I have to attack the shops but it was a needs must, either that or my visitors would have been offered dust bunnies as an entree.
As Hubby is still pretty much out of the equation due to recent surgery on the child care front, my mother stepped into save the day when the looming tasks of decorating the house, sorting the kids Halloween costumes, cooking food, displaying food and organising kids entertainment started to make me hyperventilate. She undertook the 'scary in itself' task of looking after J2 (who I am not sure if it has just been this Halloween themed week that he has been adhering too but has pretty much become the incarnation of a little devil for 75% of every day - a.k.a approaching the terrible two's...) for a couple of consecutive afternoons and the morning of the do.
All I can say 'In her we Thank'. And my goodness I never knew Pumpkin Carving could be so therapeutic, I was quite pleased with my first attempts, however, having seen some friends 'creations' over the last few days on facebook, I have to say they made mine look like J2 had done them, but hey, I now know to raise my game next year!
Although at times I doubted myself, my relentless organising, list making, task arranging (which fanaticism when I get started on something can be annoying to others but essential to me) did come into their own and I got everything done, phew! My family gathering certainly gathered the family from all over and everyone talked at 500 miles an hour to ensure all stories, rants and updates were given. As the hostess I don't think you ever really get to catch up with people, you are too busy filling cups, whisking dirty plates away, restocking depleted crisps bowls, stopping the kids from getting tooooo over excited as their sugar intake hits new highs, but it was lovely to see my older relatives get to see the whole brood.
The only part that made my stress levels hit screechy voice stakes was when 'our' (i.e. 'The Hubby's) 'surprise' of lighting wish lanterns for the kids nearly saw us setting fire to next door's brand new shed. An abrupt halt was called on those. My advice, take them to a beach when the wind is blowing out to sea.
So in short, an exhausting but successful first Halloween Party, I can see why they are becoming more and more popular over here. And top dibs to the kids that attended, they outdid themselves in the costume department! But I have to be biased, my favourite was J2...
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I would love for you to quack your thoughts along with me and will always try and quack right back.