Our Halloween Party

A couple of weeks ago my oldest daughter came up to me and said "Mommy, can we go back to preschool?"  My heart sank just about as low as it could go.  I then asked her why she thought she wanted to do that.  Her response was so she could have a Halloween party and get candy.  I asked if that was the only reason and she said "yep."  Whew, what a relief!  I then suggested we have our own Halloween party, she got all excited and went about her day. 

I'm sure you're thinking what I was thinking.  I better have 1 heck of a Halloween party for the kids.  Well, today was the day and I'm feeling pretty good about it!  

I decided to put all school work aside for the day and just have fun!  We started the day with a craft.  I got the idea from Family Fun Magazine October issue page 13. 

Granted, ours didn't turn out quite like the picture (they never do!) but the kids had fun.  We got to glue, tape, cut and color all in one project. 

Next we moved on to making ghost cookies.  Now, this was fun!  Simplest recipe.  We melted some white chocolate and spread it on Nutter Butter cookies, then topped them off with mini chocolate chips for the eyes.  I don't know about you, but my kids love to spread things.  Anytime they can "help" in the kitchen, they are all for it.  Making PB J's, butter on toast, peanut butter on crackers.  Whatever it is, if they can spread, they are happy!  I would like to say that I don't think Max actually finished making a whole cookie, but I do think his tummy is full of sugar =)

 

 

Once we finished the cookies, we decided it would be a good idea to share with some of our neighbor friends, so we wrapped them up to deliver them.

To keep the day rolling, I decided we should make mini pizza's for lunch.  Again, spreading the sauce was a hit.  Remember, this day is all about the kids having a good time.  Did I mention this was the worst day possible for our dogs to be at the groomers?!?  There was a lot of extra clean up involved on my part!

 

 

 

 

So after lunch, the kids got their goody bags.  Inside they had spider webs, Halloween stickers, pumpkin bubbles, expanding capsules, slap bracelets (these were new for them, so they were occupied for quite some time) and of course, candy!!  I couldn't believe I said yes when they asked to eat it, but hey, what's a Halloween party without candy?

 

 

 

DOTS!!

 

 

Whew!  Nap time!  Yes, it is only 12:30.  The 3 big kids went to rest while I played with Ella a bit longer.  Got her down and got a quick shower in and it was 2 o'clock and the girls were up.  Time for another craft before Max wakes up.  Another owl it is.  Super easy and something they could do without much help, or clean up.

When Max woke up, we were able to soak our capsules and they turned into a ghost, a pumpkin, a bat and an owl. 

To end the afternoon on a high note, we got to go outside and blow bubbles, then play in the backyard for a while.  Plus, we got a video in there while I was making dinner. 

Once Daddy came home and we ate, we went right to work and started delivering cookies to our neighbors.  I just want to say what a wonderful experience this was for our entire family.  At first the kids were a little timid to walk up to strange houses, but by the end they were fighting to see who got to ring the doorbell.  We saw lots of friendly faces and even met a few new ones.  It was a great joy to see the smiles on every ones faces.

All in all, a successful day.  Did I mention I am EXHAUSTED?!?