In the fall of 1976, my Mother got it in her head that I was going to be Humpty-Dumpty.  She read this great tutorial on how to make a costume stuffed with diapers, and voila, it appeared on Halloween night.  Do you know what a 3 year DOES NOT want to wear on Halloween?  Diapers.  I couldn’t see my feet and tripped, screamed, and cried through our entire subdivision.  Hence, a good rule of thumb: the more a Mommy cares about the Halloween costume, the worse Halloween is going to play out.  That was true in 1976, and it’s true today.  Another good rule of thumb: any holiday run by children hyped up on sugar is sure to be a crap shoot of madness.

So let’s pick and choose the best of the memories from the day, shall we?  We’ll have to start AFTER the beginning, when this house all got up late with head colds, ran into school, where Kelly refused to march in her class parade or put on her costume.  After the part where Kelly cried so hard, I had to take it off of her, and she spent the day in her normal clothes.  YES, after THAT part.  After the part where I spent weeks sewing a costume to her specifications and she WOULD NOT WEAR IT.  Can I hear a collective, “Ahhhhhh!!!!”?

Let’s start with her class party when Princess Leia made bloody zombie hands to ice the punch bowl, because let’s face it, that’s pretty crazy awesome.  You can find directions on this neat effect here.  Kelly’s party was a load of fun, but surprisingly, the Mummy Wrap with toilet paper?  Not the hit it was when Sara was in Pre-K.  Not every class rides the same, you know?

However, Kelly’s class did love the skeleton puzzle race.  I had 3 wood skeletons, and the kids had to color and assemble them in teams.  This team was the fastest, but let’s just say, they weren’t as accurate as the other teams.  As is the case with all of my Halloween parties, everyone plays, everyone wins.

After a less than stellar demonstration by me, the kids enjoyed a very spirited bobbing for apples.  And wet.  It was very wet.

I really liked the craft, which I found at Sarah Jane Studios.  These Haunted Houses had several doors and windows that opened to reveal yellow light.  The kids could draw things inside their secret doors, and all around their haunted houses.  I wanted to put the houses on gray paper, but at 69 cents per page, NO THANK YOU JoAnn Fabrics! Jeez Louise, white will have to do!

Our school is really into Halloween.  And I mean…really into it, as witnessed here by our Head of School dressed as a french fry and driving the gym floor Zamboni.  The entire school parades into the gym, where the Music Teacher leads them in song and dance.  The gym is lined with parents going berserk with cameras, and then we all break to classroom parties, which, I might add, are intense.  If you’re going to Monster Mash, then by jinks, do it with excellence.

With 400 kids prancing about, it’s darn near impossible to capture anything on camera, but I did get to watch Sara happily dancing about in her costume for most of the afternoon.  I feel horrible for Kelly because while she loved the costume, she hates Halloween.  She spent the afternoon counting down the hours until we were in Thanksgiving season, telling me how she was looking forward to everything not related to this super scary holiday.

We had treats on the way home, had nachos with Avery, and then headed out to trick or treat with the world’s greatest cousin (who doubled as a gorgeous bride tonight)…and I wish it ended RIGHT THERE.  I wish it didn’t end with Sara having a total meltdown over how many times she did (or did not) get to ring doorbells; a meltdown so atrocious that I had take her candy and walk her home.  But hey, let’s pick and choose memories, shall we?

My best friend from high school was here for a visit.  We got to run around all day, in and out, between parties and parades, grabbing lunch and coffee.  The girls loved their costumes, even if Halloween proved a bit overwhelming this year.  The school day was fun, with or without being Rainbow Fairies.  And I learned a valuable lesson: next year we are going to Target to buy overpriced nylon get ups, just like everyone else.  Happy Halloween everyone, and I wish you well on your “Day After”, which looks a lot like a nationwide pediatric sugar crash.  Rest up…the ride gets a bit rough from here.