...throwing a halloween party

The Halloween party was a great success. It was fairly low key. I told my almost 5-year-old that she could pick 5 friends to invite. (That's my rule to keep my social-bug daughter from throwing an enormous bash. A 5-year-old gets 5 friends; an 8-year-old gets to invite 8 friends. It was also all that my can-no-longer-bend-over-pregnant-belly self could handle.)

We had plenty of activities and the kids were adorable in their costumes. We had a fairy, a cat, a fighter-jet pilot, an astronaut, and a spider. Oh...and my youngest came as a nudist because he refused to wear his elephant costume to the party. (The joys of having an independent minded 2-year-old.) We ate plenty of sweets, thanks to my daughter who insisted on having cookies AND cupcakes at her party. The kids didn't seem to mind...

THE EVENTS:
01. Monster Posters: Each of the children were given a set of markers to keep and a monster poster to color while we waited for all the guests to arrive. I didn't realize that this would be the favorite event of the party, or I would have allotted more time towards it.
02. Pass the Pumpkin: Similar to hot potato. Daughter chose to play to the tune of "Monster Mash." Each child won a stuffed monster.
03. Monster Walking: Basically Red Light, Green Light, but with monster movement rules.
04. Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Decorating: Each child received a pre-frosted sugar cookie made by yours truly and a baggie full of goulish treats to decorate with. (Halloween colored M&Ms, Candy Eyes, Candy Bones, Candy Bats.)
05. Ghost Hunting: Think Easter Egg Hunting but with a Halloween twist. The kids ran off their stored energy outside while looking for "ghosts." (Lollipops wrapped in white tissue paper and colored-on eyes.)
06. Licorice Eating Contest: Ate licorice from a string without using their hands. A real feat for a 4-5 year old.
07. Cupcakes: The kids finished off the party by devouring a cupcake while waiting for their mothers to pick them up.

We gave each child a little favor bag to take home with a Frankenstein notepad, monster stamp and stamp-pad, pencil, glow-in-the-dark bracelets and pumpkin bubbles.

Thanks for coming, cute kiddos! We had a blast.