Part of the reason we went with a Halloween themed birthday party for Coop and Cass was because Paul and I were asked to be in charge of the tri ward Trunk or Treat. I had Halloween on the brain and so it made sense to keep the theme rolling.
It was quite the undertaking to plan the Trunk or Treat. I decided to change it a bit from the way its been done the last couple of years. Because of that, I was really nervous about whether or not it was changes for the good or the bad. The planning was filled with lots of second guessing and several what-have-I-done moments.
To start the whole thing rolling, I needed a theme. You have to have a theme to design the invites and plan the décor so I couldn’t get going until I had that nailed down.
I looked everywhere for inspiration. Then I saw a picture of someone’s fireplace mantel decorated in white and black for Halloween. I immediately locked on to that idea. But I couldn’t get the phrasing down right for the invitations. I called Amy one morning and told her I wanted to do black and white and that I was trying to figure out how to say it. I said one or two lines of what I was thinking and then she interjected, “Black and White Fright Night.” Loved it instantly! It was exactly what I was trying to say.
I made the poster and the invitations and then got down to the planning.
We sent out sign up sheets and had a great response for the food. We met at the church Wednesday morning and started the set up. I am so thankful for the people who came and helped do the setting up and the decorating. It took most of the day to get it ready.
But it turned out AWESOME!
Cell phone pictures never do it justice. Just imagine dry ice spilling over the cauldron in the corner, spooky music blasting from the DJ’s speakers, and low dim light to complete the mood.
We put the food in the room across the hall. People formed the line down the hall and then entered the room with the food set up buffet style down the center of the room. The room was also decorated and it was very festive.
The flow worked really.
We had a huge turn out. I’m estimating here but probably over 300 people were there. We had great food and then sent everyone out to Trunk or Treat.
The night was from 5-7 so that families could head home and do some of their own trick or treating. Our Kids were excited to go around our new little neighborhood.
During the hustle and bustle of the day I didn’t really get a chance to take any Halloween pictures. After everyone was home and just before the candy high’s and tired melt downs were in full blown status, we snapped a picture of the family.
And just in time for Christmas, let me say……. Happy Halloween!
