On Saturday night, we had our annual family Halloween party. For years it's just been the four of us, and it was always a time to carve our pumpkins, bob for apples, eat fun food, and watch the Charlie Brown Halloween special. The kids were never all that thrilled with trick or treating, and we would only go to both grandparents' homes, the senior apartments and my childhood neighbors. All that running around made for tired, grouchy kids, and it wasn't all that much fun!
Thus began the tradition of the family party. Each year it has had to change, as the girls grow older. Last year we invited G & G, and had a fun scavenger hunt in the wind and rain. This year we planned a treasure map expedition, complete with clues buried in old fashioned root beer bottles all around the property. After finding all the clues, they had to put it together to find the "treasure", I-Tunes cards! Daddy was uber clever with all the rhyming clues, and the girls wondered why we drank root beer all day before the party!!
The menu was "frankenpizza", "Swamp Slime with veggies", "Dracula's punch", "sewer cake" (compliments of Grandma), "Crispy Snake", and lot of other disgusting and delicious snacks. The girls requested "spooky" but not scary decorations, so I used purple and black, lots of bats, spiders, bones, and lots of slimy gross stuff. It actually looked pretty cute in the kitchen, even though it was "spooky".
After we pigged out, we watched the girls play "Just Dance", and Grandpa played a little Monster Buck Hunt with the funny orange Wii gun. Sophie slept through the whole thing! I sure wanted to sleep after all that work. It is a lot of work and time, but I love to surprise the girls with the menu, the decorations, and the games. They always appreciate it, and it's worth it just to make them smile!
Halloween to our family is nothing but a day to enjoy little kids in cute costumes, eating our weight in candy, and enjoying some happy time together. Any other description of the holiday to me just gives it way too much attention. I'm keeping it about the candy, the pumpkins, and Charlie Brown, of course! That's not so complicated, is it??
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