Ward Party
I love the idea of themed Halloween costumes. We have done it the past couple of years with Old McDonald & his chick, Peter Pan, Wendy & Tinker Bell, and Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, and Mother Gothel. The kids loved it and I loved being a part of it with them (we always tried to pull something together for Jeff too but it never ends up working out). This year were originally planning on being the Incredibles since our family was the perfect size. The kids were super excited about it but then we found out one of our good friends were planning on being the same thing and had already started on the costumes. So instead we decided to be a Clown family and I actually LOVE how it all turned out. Jeff was the best! He even had a trick flower and totally got some people. It was so fun! I'm only bummed that we did not get a family shot or a shot of Parker with all his stuff on. O-well. He actually was quite the sad clown all night.
Anyway, the ward party was a blast as usual! We had a chili cook-off and I actually had to be a judge. It was hard and scary and yummy and nasty all at the same kind. You never know what people put in chili. But there were some great contenders and it was fun to be a part of it. They had a few activities for the kids, but our kids were just kinda in a funk. Some days no naps are just killer. The kids were excited when it was finally time for the Trunk-or-Treat. They were a decent number of cars and the kids could go around until the candy was gone. Our kids only wanted to go around once and that was totally fine with me! We were also told the our kids were some of the few kids that actually said "trick or treat" and "thank you." That made me one very proud mama! This night certainly had its ups and downs in emotions but they got to end the day with a sucker so at least we ended on a good note.
Preschool Party
This year the Preschool party fell on my week hosting. I had fun planning a little carnival type preschool party and tried to toss in a little bit of educational stuff too. All the kids came dressed up which is always fun. Each parent brought a game to play. We had every thing from Pin the Tail on the Kitty to a Spider Toss. We even got to eat yummy treats. It was such a fun day!
Carving pumpkins
So I'm the only one who like carving pumpkins. The kids love HAVING a carved pumpkin, they just don't like touching the gunk. Lucky for them I think it is awesome and I don't mind doing all the work. I just let them pick out a face and then do my best to replicate it. I did make them this little felt Build-a-Jack-o-Lantern which they had fun with. They loved making silly ones. I'm so glad I did this, a perfect Halloween quiet time activity that they loved!
Since I knew the kids didn't like touching the gunk I let them paint their own little pumpkins. I also found these awesome inserts at the dollar store that allowed them to spice up their pumpkins a little bit. I think they came out so great! And I must say... I'm pretty proud of mine too. :)
When I was looking for fun educational pumpkin ideas I saw this idea to make a pumpkin puzzle. It was a hit! And actually kinda tricky. There is also an alphabet pumpkin hiding in this picture that you can use for all kinds of activities. I will definitely be doing both of these again next year!
One day the kids saw that I could turn them into a vampire and a witch and asked me to so I did... it is actually kinda freaky! HAHA, but they loved it!
Pumpkin Patch
After music time one day we decided to go to the pumpkin patch with some friends. We love this free little patch that is just in the next town over. They always have tons of pumpkins, a few animals, milking cows (fake ones of course), and a little hay maze that the kids just cannot get enough of. We had a great time and as always, it is so much more fun with friends!
It was also Riley's first trip to the pumpkin patch so we had to document it of course!
Playing Dress Up
So one day the kids saw a picture of one of their best friends with their face painted. So of course they asked if we could paint our faces. Luckily, I found these awesome crayon shaped face paint and we went to town! At first we were pirates, and then they wanted to be clowns which then resulted in Pirate Clowns which turns out can be cute and scary. Also, this is what happens when you let your children draw on your face. It was such a fun afternoon!
We ended up spending most of the month in costumes which was a blast as well. It makes me wish I had a costume chest so they could do this every day. Aren't they so cute! Em and Cinderella just about kills me. She would make the perfect Cinderella! These kids sure love playing dress-up!
Halloween
On actual Halloween I tried to be a fun mom and make Halloween themed pancakes... FAIL!
Lucky for me the kids have a VERY good imagination so they totally saw what I was going for. Believe it or not the above picture features pumpkins, spiders, bats and ghosts. Here's to trying!
Here are the kids all dressed and ready to go. Em is too adorable for words in these pictures! When she wants to be she can be quite the little poser. P was not a fan of his mask, so I think this is my only picture of him with it on. Grandma and Grandpa P randomly got Em this costume when they were on a trip to Utah. Then we happened to go to Costco with them one day and they let Parker pick out a costume too. The kids were very excited about them! Riley recycled Em's costume from 3 years ago and is the cutest little chick that I ever did see!
They both got an absurd amount of candy. We still have TONS left in fact. I'm kinda the worst and never let them have any... only special occasions, or maybe if they give service without being asked. O-well, it is better that way. What do you do with all your Halloween candy? I mean really... who invented this holiday? They clearly never had to deal with children on sugar highs.
Anyway, we clearly had a blast this Halloween and truly celebrated ALL MONTH LONG!
Holidays with kids is so much fun!!
Hope you had a fabulous Halloween too!
Comments