Kid's Halloween Party
Hey friend! Wow, it's been a busy one, I feel like it's the time of year where I sit down to write my Christmas card and reflect on the crazy year we've had. This summer was totally nuts. On top of being a full time stay at home mom and part time business owner, I hosted my son's 3rd birthday, daughter's 6th birthday, a destination bachelorette party, an over-the-top bridal shower, a huge end of summer favorite things party and was a bridesmaid in a wedding in Chicago 2 weeks ago. Did you get tired just reading that? Yeah, me too! I was partied out.
.....
But wait, didn't you come here for a Halloween party? Yup, I hosted one anyways.
I'm such a sucker for a party, and since our big kids have all started real school, they hardly get to see each other anymore, so Reese didn't have to try too hard to get me to say yes to throwing another celebration. When my party partner in crime Allison from Allison Carter Celebrates said she'd love to host, it was game on. We are both recovering from a crazy busy season of life, so we literally sent about 2 dozen texts to each other, I designed an invite, then we made a few stops at Target, Home Goods and the Dollar Store and put the party together in 24 hours.
My Treat to you...
Now I realize not everyone has 2 party planners in their close friends circle, and most people don't "throw together" parties like this, but I cannot stress enough from either of us, there is no wrong way to celebrate. Allison and I share a similar mission when it comes to creating celebrations. We want to make them approachable and FUN for the modern, busy parent. It's so easy to get caught up in the comparison game as a mom, so much so that sometimes you let lives amazing moments pass you by. I know I've been guilty of it. It's time to put the fun back into parties and say yes to more things that bring you joy so I am sharing all the printeables from this party (plus more) below 👇.
Here for the "Boos"
We really wanted this evening to be low key. The kids haven't seen each other in awhile, so we didn't want to corral them into activities (nor did we have time to organize anything), and truthfully, we both wanted a night off to hang with other adults and enjoy some "boos" so we decided to make it a movie night party and it was a smashing success, we asked our friends to help with the dinner and took care of the rest.
As far as I'm concerned, there is literally no such thing as too many puns or plays on words. I created these adorable flags to dress up the paper straws right before the party started, and thought they were the perfect touch.
Allison dreamed up this entire bar, and I absolutely loved how it came together. She is the queen of simple, yet impactful decorating when it comes to parties. These bats were an Amazon find for just a few bucks, and were the perfect background to the bar. Totally doable for any party hostess!
Halloween Treats
I can't get enough of Halloween Grazing boards. I'm going to be completely honest with you, I decided to say yes to hosting a party because I wanted a reason to put together this Halloween treat board where I wasn't going to be the only one eating the entire thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, you do you, boo. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but for the most part, Halloween candy isn't really my jam. Cookies, brownies and homemade cake tho? Sign me up.
Treat Board Tips:
- Props. The Skeleton Hand and little pumpkins (in groups of 3) surrounding the treat boards added the cutest punch to this pic. The skelly hand was from the Dollar store too! The ghosts and candy corn napkins are also 😍, but my cute free printables are a good budget friendly option instead.
- Shapes: The chocolate wafer cookies, yogurt pretzels and pirouettes break up all the circle treats adding some extra visual appeal
- Colors: I focused mainly on keeping the treat colors brown/orange/black and white to get the overall look of this treat board. If I could do it again, it would be fun to sprinkle some black and orange M&Ms around like confetti!
The kids helped "match" the food label cards to the treats and I loved what a good job they did! Their eyes got bigger and bigger with each treat we piled onto the boards. This was the first treat board that I've ever assembled, and if you're looking to recreate one, I'd suggest your first stop be to the dollar store! I totally scored there and got a good majority of the treats.
We asked the other parents to chip in for food, and divided the guests up with apps, salads, bread and soup. You can't do it all and there is no shame in asking for help and delegating, plus, sometimes you luck out and your friends bring amazing mini apps like these small bites that were to die for!
Kids Movie Night
Like I said before, we really wanted this evening to be low key, so we didn't have to play hostesses and could hang with our friends. But we still wanted something special and fun for the kids. These Halloween popcorn hands were the *perfect* activity to check all the boxes. Activity, snack and decor! Allison links all the supplies for this activity in her Halloween Traditions Guide too so you can throw this activity together quickly and without stress!
And that was it! The scene was set for the perfect Halloween party! We sent the kids upstairs to watch a movie with a few parents rotating in to check on them. Memories were made, the kids and adults all had a great time and I am forever grateful that I chose to say yes instead of "I'm too busy" or "there's not enough time."
In case you missed it, I want to make it easy on my fellow mamas and give you guys ALL the paper goods I made for this party so you can host your own Halloween celebration, make your family trick or treating a little more special, or maybe have a neighborhood potluck. Now you have a party planner in your friend circle!
I uploaded EVERYTHING to a Google Drive folder, so head to the bottom of my site and join my email list and they'll be in your inbox before you can say Hocus Pocus. If you do something special that makes it onto the 'gram, I'd love for you to tag me @palmtopinedesign so I can see it too! It makes my heart happy!
