Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween 2008

Most years on Halloween we dress up (one our most anticipated traditions!) and head to the elementary school for games and candy. A couple of my siblings usually join us, and we are home just long enough to hand out some candy. This year, Kylen wanted to stay home the entire evening and answer the door in costume! So I decided to have a little party. I wasn’t sure how it would all work out, so I kept the guest list short, inviting mostly relatives. Three families were unable to make it, so we had a VERY little group! But it was still lots of fun!

Here are the adorable handmade invitations I received as part of a swap. They were put to good use!

Inside were party details, which I made on the computer, printed and glued inside:
Candy Bowl Waiting . . .

A puzzle for "down time" entertainment (guess what my boys were just working on as I made this post?)

Appetizers included Triscuit Bruschetta Bites (average, best on regular crackers), store-bought Pecan Blue Cheese Dip from Costco (none of us liked!), Baked Onion Dip (a hit!), and homemade Italian Stew with shredded mozzarella and Ritz crackers. I will give the onion dip and stew recipes in future posts, as both are excellent and easy!

For dessert we ate store-bought chocolate pumpkin shaped cookies (yummy!), fresh sliced pears with fruit syrup drizzles and preserves (average), and Pumpkin Gooey (recipe below). The Pumpkin Gooey (upper left) garnered oodles of compliments!

Our costume contest winner was a shoo-in for cuteness!

King Greg, Fairy Farrah, Roman Soldier Kylen, and Caveman Ryan

Trick-or-treaters kept us hopping from about 6:30 to 7:30 pm. (We got lots of compliments on our carved pumpkins. Visit my husband's post here for pictures!) Around 8 we changed and played a few games. Afterwards, everyone got to pick something from prize bowls, which had a variety of small items such as a fall themed dish towel, stickers, novelty toys, and flashing glasses.

Straw Face: Everyone must race to move a straw from one side of the mouth to the other using only the lips and tongue. Great photo op!

Pumpkin Seed Spitting: The name is self-explanatory! Shockingly, Greg won! Who knew? He’s not exactly Mr. Gross, but the other guys were seriously impressed! My sister thinks he does it by explosion, as spittle was flying everywhere. My brother surmised that it had to do with his height and form. He would stretch himself up to his full 6’2” stature, tip his head back with neck stretched to its limits, and then thrust his entire upper body forward while expelling air from his lungs with as much force as he could muster. And my brother-in-law, on whose face I detected a glimmer of smugness, was asking by the end, “How does he spit so far??” Smugness replaced with a mixture of frustration and admiration, of course. Yep, that's my man! Despite the fun, we didn't linger long. I feared that our deathly quiet neighborhood might not appreciate the loud and obnoxious laughter coming from our driveway. Besides that, I was getting cold!

Oh! And, yes, I tried spitting. Let’s just say my score was in the negatives, unlike my sister's. Hey, I’m a real lady! (Shhh! No one tell my sister I said that!)

8 comments:

kari and kijsa said...

What a fun party!! everyone looks like they had a fabulous time (including the spitting!! LOL!!)
Have a wonderful weekend!!

blessings,
kari & kijsa

Anonymous said...

That is so funny! A seed spitting contest. My son would have loved to join in that. He is always trying to spit watermelon seeds on his sister, by accident of course. : 0
You come up with the neatest ideas. If you ever decide to move to Georgia, be sure to move near me!

Anonymous said...

That is so funny! A seed spitting contest. My son would have loved to join in that. He is always trying to spit watermelon seeds on his sister, by accident of course. : 0
You come up with the neatest ideas. If you ever decide to move to Georgia, be sure to move near me!

jeleasure said...

Hi Farrah,
I got your message on my "Love One Another" blog. Thanks.
I have to ask you to visit this woman, named Jody. Here is a link to her blog, Jody Lynne.
Ask her if she would like to exchange in hosting links. A link to her blog on your blog. And, a link to your blog on hers.
She is expecting visits. Just tell her I sent you.
Thanks,
Jim

Andrew Clarke said...

It's appropriate that you talk about fun, happy family time. As you say in your comment on my blog, it is really important that kids have quality time with their parents. It's not nearly as good for them to have lots to do, but outside the home away from their family all the time. In Australia some people are finally starting to realize that the best thing is for families to have good times together, NOT for the government to take control of kids from birth so that the parents can be busy doing other things. Your party sounds like an inspired idea. Blessings.

Kelli said...

That looks like such a fun party, Farrah! I love the invitations and the food looks delicious!
~Kelli

Wakena said...

Thanks Farrah. I know you wrote this years ago but I don't spit that far. I did lmost beat Greg but well... those were the good old days of spittin seeds!!!

Farrah said...

At least your score wasn't in the negatives! ;-)