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Follow-Up re: Halloween Themed Birthday :)
Hi! Thank you all for your help with our event. Above are the photos... DH doesn't want me to post any of the girls or our guests so they look kind of like last year's photos. The Pumpkin Stew, Mac-n-Cheese and Pumpkin Cheesecake were my favorites... I did everything else listed on the menu. MIL was going to bring cookies and then forgot, but we did have cupcakes and plenty of food. 
Here are some of my thoughts to share:
Would def' do this all again - my only hesitation is that my kids' costumes got trashed with the bouncey house and face painting and running around outside in the mud. I'm OK with that and I think most of my guests were OK with their kids really enjoying themselves, but I could see some other parents being irked if their kids costumes were ruined before Halloween. (My girls both had princess costumes that kind of fell apart - but they didn't cost much to begin with). I also happen to be a freak for Halloween and have lots of hand-me-down costumes that kids could wear if they needed.
Re: Bouncey House - was great borrowing one. My friend offered to lend us hers - which was perfect. My husband set it up himself and staked it. Def' needs supervision during the party... we were also really lucky with the weather. It would kill me to rent a bouncey house and have it rain all day.
Re: Pinata - was awesome. Kids and adults really like it. This year I filled it with candy, glo-bracelets, cute pencils and erasers and broke a roll of quarters into it.
Re: Face Painter. Even though I work as an entertainer - this year I hired a really nice woman who did face painting and crafts for the kids. They decorated Halloween Tote Bags - which doubled as the favor. She was great and it really helped me focus on my guests and the food!
Re: Kid Parties at this age. I invited entire families and most of them came! I have been to some parties as a guest recently and parents are starting to drop-off their kids alone... I really wouldn't want to supervise someone's child like that - so we were lucky. I also had considered inviting their new classmates - but am glad I didn't. That might have been awkward because I haven't met most of the parents yet and we had almost 40 guests anyways.
Re: Halloween - love the dressing up! I wish I could share some photos of the kids. We had a Spider Man, Darth Vader, Construction Worker, Princesses etc. was so cute! I def' don't do the gore side of Halloween - but would if the kids wanted us to. It is also good using the same decorations every year. When and if my kids outgrow this party I can still use them to decorate for Halloween.
So... that's my two cents for now.
Best of Luck to all the Entertainers out there with all of the up-coming holidays and parties. Thanks again!
~"W".
Re: Follow-Up re: Halloween Themed Birthday :)
Souds like it was a fun party. That pumpkin stew looks pretty cool! I hope your guests were impressed.
Looks fantastic! (I think we had the same chandelier in our old house) Pinatas are always a hit. Pun intended.
How old were the kids again? We almost invited classmates this year, but he hadn't actually started school yet.
Thanks - Hi! 6fsn -our kids are 4 and 5. The younger one is in pre-school still and has mostly new classmates - my older one just started public K and has all new classmates. I think I would invite their classmates to something like a "Bounce House" Birthday Party place etc. - but not to our home. Just because that feels odd to me and we don't have quite enough space. Especially if it rains...
I also wouldn't mind parents dropping off their kids at a "Fun Factory" kind of place where they have staff and extra supervision there. I still wouldn't drop my own kids off like that yet. But I think parents like to do it when they multiple kids and need to get errands done and know their kids will be OK. If I did this too - I would invite the entire classes. I think that is what people do, though it isn't required at either school.
HTH
Re: Thanks for this post. We are also planning a Halloween themed birthday party for our child!
Oh please post! I would love to see your ideas, menus and pictures. Am already starting to think toward next year...
Oh, that all sounds great!! I still can't get over baking in an actual pumpkin
I bet the kids had a blast!
What'd you think of the pumpkin mac and cheese?
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Thanks! I had a great time, but am exhausted now...trying to find the energy I had before.
I really liked the Pumpkin Mac-N-Cheese - very creamy and rich. I also used Jarlsburg instead of the Fontina - just because Fontina is very expensive. I might try Swiss next time - which would def' give it more of a bite.
~W.