The Party

It went well! It was really fun and not stressful. We did not even have a babysitter to watch the kids so we could be host and hostess. That's how low key it was once it started. We had about 30 people from 4-6:30, the weather was amazing so we stayed mainly outside. It was happy and good.

The food prep was almost all finished yesterday--a must since this morning I had an appointment and then the school Halloween parties to attend. Thanks to some friends' emails of recipes at the beginning of the week, I finalized the menu Wednesday, and my sweet husband went to the store that night to get all the fixins.

With wonderful weather finally, our plan was to have food inside and drinks outside (the dining room opens onto the patio, so we could just keep the door open). I basically drew a map of my dining room table and had plates and napkins in the middle on both sides. Then I had sweet stuff on one side, and salty stuff on the other. Because the party was 4-6:30, it was a snackfest instead of a meal. BUT this group can eat, and I have got to learn this fact. Every time, we cut it close with food.

The food was a mix of easy and a little thought/time. Sweet: Gingersnaps with Pumpkin Dip, Caramel Apple Dip with apples and pretzels, Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Bread mini muffins, candy corn and candy sours (happy color on the table)! Salty: Mexican Pinwheels, Chips and Guacamole and Salsa, Cheese plate with crackers, Cashews.

The table centerpiece turned out cute, too, and was very low stress (took about 10 minutes to pull together). I had planned to get some flowers and berries to intersperse, but I ran out of time. Instead, we had a fall plant that I put into a tureen. Candlesticks and various votives. And lots of gourds and pumpkins and a few little Halloween decor items (stuffed witch, two stuffed pumpkins).

Finding all the serving pieces took a little more time, but thanks to my 4-year-old helper, we got it together. She created a "pattern" (thank you, Montessori education) of sticky note colors, and as I labeled the notes, she would stick them on the serving piece. All the serving pieces were shades of green or fallish yellow.

While we worked on the table, my husband was gussying up the yard. He took a half day today so he could finish mowing, edging, and all the yard work he does so well. Our drink table had pumpkins and galvanized tubs of ice with the drinks. Plus on the pation, a cool stainless steel cooler that my parents gave hubbie as a gift one Christmas (and stainless trashcan for trash!).

At 2:25, the baby woke up from his nap, which reminded me I needed to pick up my 5-year-old from school. When we got back at 2:40, my baby had an unusually long snack time in his high chair so I could keep working.

Hubbie finished his part at 3:45 and jumped in the shower. I finished about the same time and got the baby changed and handed him to my husband just as the first guests arrived (early! is that necessary?). Then I changed into my duds and could join the party. Except for a few times of replenishing the food, we could relax and enjoy the party.

Loved it. Thanks for the help many of you gave me.

And mom, sorry. I loved the idea of using carved-out gourds and pumpkins as serving dishes, but it sounded better on Tuesday than it did today when I was running late. And MK, the idea of using carved-out pumpkins as vases also sounded amazing on Monday, but today, it sounded a little hard to pull off. Maybe when the kids are older! For now, it's all good enough!