Saturday night we hosted a Halloween party for our friends and family. I have been planning it for well over a month, and I was so happy with how it turned out. Everyone had a great time, and it was really nice to get everyone together again (we had the party instead of game night this month).
We started out with a game of Halloween bingo. I had made the bingo boards online, and the kids used candy corn for their markers.
We did a few regular games, and then did a last blackout game so that everyone who hadnt won before got to win. They got little candy bars for winning, and that was a big hit (and a great way to start their sugar feast)!
Next we moved on to the crafts. I had 5 craft stations set up, with 6 different crafts. They decorated goody bags to hold all their loot in.
Sophia:
Steve and Jessica doing the work for Cody, Cole, Rowan and Riley:
They also colored wood Halloween cutouts, and made pumpkin refrigerator magnets.
Trevor hamming it up with Riley and Steve:
Anna and Taylor coloring their magnets:
There was a candy necklace making station - Rowan was at this one for a long time working on her necklace. She got started with Killian:
Still there, but joined by Trevor:
There was also a Halloween tattoo station, but nobody managed to get pictures of that. Probably because we were all busy at the most popular station - cupcake decorating!! Kami gave me the Martha Stewart cupcake book on our last visit with them, and in there were directions for making these wonderful Halloween cupcakes. We bought all the supplies to make the faces, and Kami and I made the cupcakes and tinted the frosting. It was all laid out nicely before the party:
But that was before the kids got to it! It was really fun watching them get creative with their cupcakes, and seeing what creatures they came up with. All the adults got in on the fun too, and made cupcakes of their own.
Kyialynn daintily decorating her cupcake:
Kami, Rowan decorating with Matthews help, and Mike:
Kyialynn, Cody and Sophia:
Jessica helping Cole, Steve, Killian and Matthew:
The finished cupcakes, and then some of my favorites:
Matthews are the top two, mine is the one on the bottom that was supposed to be Frankenstein, but didn't quite work out. Matthew has all the creative genius in this marriage!
Mike and Kamis are cooool!
Killian:
Cole:
While everyone finished up with crafts, we sat the kids down for pizza and a movie. They chose Monsterhouse which was perfect for a Halloween party.
They quickly got tired of it, and most of them headed back outside to play. The grownups had some chatting and drinking time, which is always nice. Steve and I played a quick game of basketball with Trevor, Anna, Cody and Killian while we were waiting for Michelle, Jason and Riley to get there. Riley had a football game at the same time our party started, so he missed out on the first part of the party. We didn't want him to miss out on the finale though....a pumpkin pinata!! The kids got their costumes on and got ready to whack that pumpkin!
We started with the smallest kids, and worked our way up to the older (and stronger!!) kids. Here is Spiderman (aka Rowan) taking a turn:
The Scream guy (aka Killian):
As you can see, something doesn't look quite right about that picture. Killian ripped the pumpkin right off its holder! We rigged it up again, only to have the younger Riley knock it back down two turns later. Tanya kindly offered to hold it above her head for big Riley:
But he wisely decided the floor would be a better spot:
He hit it a couple times and it split, spilling out just a few pieces of candy so I quickly grabbed it up and shook it all around the garage, spreading out the chaos. It was still a pretty wild dash for candy though!
While the kids were still in their costumes we lined them up for pictures in front of the fireplace.
Rowan, Killian and Sophia:
Back row from left: Riley, Anna, Trevor, and Killian
Front row from left: Rowan, Kyialynn, Cody, Sophia and big Riley
Things quickly went from calm and peaceful to kids half crazed on candy:
After the kids changed back into regular clothes the older kids held a candy trade off in the living room:
Kyialynn decided that her candy was perfect as is, just like she is!
Meanwhile Kami and Tanya tried to be as flexible as Sophia. They failed miserably....but it made for a great picture!!
It was a fantastic night, and everyone had such a wonderful time that I think we will make this a yearly tradition. I am going to have to get pretty creative to top this year though!
We started out with a game of Halloween bingo. I had made the bingo boards online, and the kids used candy corn for their markers.
We did a few regular games, and then did a last blackout game so that everyone who hadnt won before got to win. They got little candy bars for winning, and that was a big hit (and a great way to start their sugar feast)!
Next we moved on to the crafts. I had 5 craft stations set up, with 6 different crafts. They decorated goody bags to hold all their loot in.
Sophia:
Steve and Jessica doing the work for Cody, Cole, Rowan and Riley:
They also colored wood Halloween cutouts, and made pumpkin refrigerator magnets.
Trevor hamming it up with Riley and Steve:
Anna and Taylor coloring their magnets:
There was a candy necklace making station - Rowan was at this one for a long time working on her necklace. She got started with Killian:
Still there, but joined by Trevor:
There was also a Halloween tattoo station, but nobody managed to get pictures of that. Probably because we were all busy at the most popular station - cupcake decorating!! Kami gave me the Martha Stewart cupcake book on our last visit with them, and in there were directions for making these wonderful Halloween cupcakes. We bought all the supplies to make the faces, and Kami and I made the cupcakes and tinted the frosting. It was all laid out nicely before the party:
But that was before the kids got to it! It was really fun watching them get creative with their cupcakes, and seeing what creatures they came up with. All the adults got in on the fun too, and made cupcakes of their own.
Kyialynn daintily decorating her cupcake:
Kami, Rowan decorating with Matthews help, and Mike:
Kyialynn, Cody and Sophia:
Jessica helping Cole, Steve, Killian and Matthew:
The finished cupcakes, and then some of my favorites:
Matthews are the top two, mine is the one on the bottom that was supposed to be Frankenstein, but didn't quite work out. Matthew has all the creative genius in this marriage!
Mike and Kamis are cooool!
Killian:
Cole:
While everyone finished up with crafts, we sat the kids down for pizza and a movie. They chose Monsterhouse which was perfect for a Halloween party.
They quickly got tired of it, and most of them headed back outside to play. The grownups had some chatting and drinking time, which is always nice. Steve and I played a quick game of basketball with Trevor, Anna, Cody and Killian while we were waiting for Michelle, Jason and Riley to get there. Riley had a football game at the same time our party started, so he missed out on the first part of the party. We didn't want him to miss out on the finale though....a pumpkin pinata!! The kids got their costumes on and got ready to whack that pumpkin!
We started with the smallest kids, and worked our way up to the older (and stronger!!) kids. Here is Spiderman (aka Rowan) taking a turn:
The Scream guy (aka Killian):
As you can see, something doesn't look quite right about that picture. Killian ripped the pumpkin right off its holder! We rigged it up again, only to have the younger Riley knock it back down two turns later. Tanya kindly offered to hold it above her head for big Riley:
But he wisely decided the floor would be a better spot:
He hit it a couple times and it split, spilling out just a few pieces of candy so I quickly grabbed it up and shook it all around the garage, spreading out the chaos. It was still a pretty wild dash for candy though!
While the kids were still in their costumes we lined them up for pictures in front of the fireplace.
Rowan, Killian and Sophia:
Back row from left: Riley, Anna, Trevor, and Killian
Front row from left: Rowan, Kyialynn, Cody, Sophia and big Riley
Things quickly went from calm and peaceful to kids half crazed on candy:
After the kids changed back into regular clothes the older kids held a candy trade off in the living room:
Kyialynn decided that her candy was perfect as is, just like she is!
Meanwhile Kami and Tanya tried to be as flexible as Sophia. They failed miserably....but it made for a great picture!!
It was a fantastic night, and everyone had such a wonderful time that I think we will make this a yearly tradition. I am going to have to get pretty creative to top this year though!