So you signed up for the school Halloween party...

I can think of no better time to kick off this blog than Halloween...it's scary, it's weird, and it's really odd when you think about it. Do people in other countries plan for months to decorate their yard with fake dead things? I'm not sure, but if I had a dime for every minute I've spent doing just that, I'd be at least $50,400 richer. Over the years, I've spent plenty of time on the fun stuff - decorating the yard, buying, and eating the candy, drinking too much while supervising the trick or treating - you know, the normal things. After I quit practicing law, I was excited to become one of those moms who signed up for everything. You know - the moms or dads who have just the cutest hors-d'œuvres ever - the perfect game to play. Yeah...I thought I could play that game. Needless to say, my efforts often ended up looking like that bad Titanic recorder music should be playing in the background.

Nevertheless, I persisted until I became a jaded middle school, and now high school mom who is just kinda over it. During my big time classroom volunteer days, I suffered from constant delusions of grandeur, thinking up all the amazing games, crafts, and food I would wow the kids with. And you guessed it - I would get to the night before and panic. You see, ADHD is great in the planning stages, not so great in the execution phase.

I came here to tell you that despite my feelings of failure, I'm pretty sure that 99% of the kids at the classroom Halloween party always had a blast. They really don't need much to have a good time, and often times we parents forget that. I am here to tell you to stop worrying about being perfect. It seriously does NOT matter. The fact that you are trying - trying to just put your best foot forward - is all that matters. In the end, no kid is going to remember what you brought to eat, or even the game that you played. They are simply going to remember that they had fun, and that you showed up. So, for my inaugural post, I shall share some of the knowledge I gained as I fumbled and fell through a lot of little classroom parties that actually turned out great, even when my efforts fell short. The bottom line is - keep your classroom Halloween party simple - I promise, it will be fine. All jokes aside, PLEASE remember to keep safety in mind and accommodate any allergies or sensitivities.

Games, food and Activities that require little to no effort:

Mummy Wrap: Divide the kids into teams and have them wrap a teammate in toilet paper to create a mummy. Fastest team wins! Seriously - all you need is toilet paper. It's not 2020 anymore, so go for it! Kids LOVE this. I LOVE this. It is just really fun, and couldn't be more simple.
Apple Bobbing: Just Kidding! Do NOT do this. Gross.
Candy Corn Guess: Fill a jar with candy corn (or whatever - just make sure that it is age appropriate/non-chokeable and pay attention to allergies!!!) and have kids guess how many are inside. The closest guess wins the jar! No need to make this grandiose - the jar can be small, and you can have more than one, if you want. Please note that winner's parents may also try to come for you when they eye that jar of candy, but who cares....it's their problem now, and you KNOW those parents are going to eat most of it at midnight, anyway.
Witch's Potion: This one is an activity AND a drink at the same time. Create a 'witch's brew' station with colorful punch, and gummy worms for an extra creepy touch. If you are feeling extra, add some dry ice for effect, but please don't let the kids touch it, eat it, or anything ridiculous like that - it's dangerous.
Halloween Crafts: Set up a crafting table with supplies for making spooky masks, paper plate monsters, or pumpkin collages. Just get a bunch of construction paper, glue, safe scissors, markers, etc. What could go wrong?
Halloween Pin the Tail on the Monster/the Spider on the Web, the Tail on the Cat: You can set this up yourself with a poster board, construction paper and some markers, if you are creative. If not, and you have time, Amazon has several options such as this pin the spider on the web game.
Music: Nothing sets the mood better than some simple Halloween party music in the background. Grab a Bluetooth speaker and search Spotify (or your favorite music streaming site) for age-appropriate Halloween party playlists. Please remember to charge your speaker the night before, so you don't have a dead speaker (no Halloween pun intended) at the party.
Old Halloween Stuff from last year: Grab that bag of Halloween junk you bought last year at the dollar store, and just spread it around the classroom. Or better yet, borrow those plastic skeletons you've got sitting in the front yard, and stick them in the classroom. Don't worry, you can return them to your Pinterest-perfect yard as soon as the party is over!
Turn out some lights: You can't get any more simple than turning out a few lights in the classroom. If you have time, grab some battery-powered flickering pumpkin lights to add an eerie glow, or just plug in a string or two of Halloween lights and hang them around the room.
Food: This always seems so complicated, but it's not. Just change the name of regular food items into Halloween-themed goodies. Some examples: grapes = ghoul's eyes, Doritos are witch's toenails, potato chips = goblin dandruff, chicken nuggets = rattlesnake bites. You get the gist. Seriously, do you think any child remembers the things I made from recipes found on those perfect mom websites? No. They just don't. If you've got the time and it is fun for you, go for it - that's awesome. But if you don't, remind yourself that the most important thing is that you are there, and you are trying. That's all your child really cares about, anyway (even if they seem mortified that you are there). Once again, PLEASE remember to keep safety in mind and accommodate any allergies or sensitivities!!!!!
Wear a hat: Now's your chance - put on that witch hat you KNOW you really wanted to wear all year. Or that monster mask that really gets you. That pirate outfit with the eyepatch? It's the one time we are allowed to be really whacky, so just do it. Bottom line - just have fun.

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