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Organizing the Home

How Did Your Halloween Party go?

shirleyinadirondacks

19 years ago

Jamie, you talked a lot about the party beforehand but not a word afterwards.

How did you do? what have you learned for a new one next year

shirley

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Comments (4)

jamie_mt
19 years ago
LOL Shirley...sorry to leave ya hanging...didn't seem like too many people were interested, so I didn't want to bore anyone with the details. But since you asked... ;-)

The party went just fine, as most parties do, regardless of my extreme disorganization. LOL I managed to get most of the decorating done, though not all - that stuff will be stored for next year. I managed to have good food on the table, though not nearly as nice as I'd hoped...a direct result of not good enough organization. I was ill for the two weeks leading up to the party, which didn't help (I didn't feel like doing much, and wasted a lot of time just laying around). And I misunderstood my DH's intentions to let me lead the preparations...I thought he wanted an equal say, when what he really wanted was for me to make the decisions and tell him what he needed to do to help me. No big deal (and it worked just fine once I figured that out), it just set us back time-wise a bit.

So I have a whole bunch of notes that I plan to type up today and stick in my binder under "Entertaining" and "Halloween Party", so that next year I can make sure to be more organized (and get started earlier). My biggest mistake was underestimating the time it would take to decorate and prepare food...but now that I've done it once, I think next time will go much more smoothly. :-)

But we all had fun - all but one couple (my sis and BIL) that we invited came, so that was good, and everyone dressed up and had a great time. One couple brought along their little girl, but it wasn't a big deal since I keep the house "dog-proof", and I have lots of fish and small animals that kept her entertained. But I will find a way to politely put "no kids" on the invitations next year - some adults were uncomfortable having a child see them in "adult" costumes, which is understandable.

I'm off work today due to the election, so I'll pack all the halloween decorations away this afternoon, and get ready for thanksgiving.

All in all, big sucess, considering it's the first time I've actually "entertained" more than a couple people at a time since high school! LOL

Some things I need to do differently next year:

- Start decorating *early*
- Pin down a menu early, and have all the food/cookies done by the weekend before the party to just heat up (I was still cooking when guests arrived this year)
- Plan *our* costumes earlier (we were shopping for costumes the day of the party)
- Have prizes on hand for both men and women before the holiday...it was really tough trying to find prizes just before the party
- Send invitations out at the beginning of the month, with RSVP on them so we know who's coming
- *Plan* house-cleaning time into the party planning stages...DH spent a lot of time cleaning just before the party because I was still working on the food, so he was late changing into his costume and joining the party.
intherain
19 years ago
Glad to hear it went well, Jamie! If I remember correctly (and I might not be!!), one of your new year's resolutions was to entertain more. It sounds like you did a *great* job of pulling together a party! And I'm impressed all but 1 couple showed up. Right after we moved into our last house, DH and I decided to have an Open House for our neighborhood. Only a few people showed up. It was painful! We didn't request an RSVP, so we had no idea. I put so much time into decorating and food prep - ugh. So I'm glad to hear yours was well-attended. As for the child who came, did the couple tell you in advance they'd be bringing her? Just curious!

Sheryl
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shirleyinadirondacks
Original Author
19 years ago
Look at it as a learning experience. And you had a good time too. I agree the best thing to do is write it all down while it's fresh.

congratulations
shirley
jamie_mt
19 years ago
Sheryl, nope...I don't think *they* knew they'd be bringing her, actually. He thought he was leaving town to go hunting, and decided not to leave until Sat. morning, so they decided to come anyways, but didn't have a sitter lined up. So they just brought her along. It was okay this time (two of the women invited are pg including her mom, so there were lots of non-alchoholic drinks and mild food), but I will put "no children" on the invitation next time, since it really is an "adult" party with adult costumes, themes, conversation, drinking, etc...not a place for kids to be (and I had to take things away from her like sharp scissors I keep in my crochet basket by the chair, etc - I don't want to have to worry about a child getting hurt or anything). But it all worked out okay in the end. :-)

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