In a bid to get them out of the house, we parked the cars in the street and decked out the garage. It all went swimmingly for a while, until a handful of the boys just started shouting at the tops of their voices! I don't think they were even shouting real words; just "Agh" noises. We were attempting to play "Wax Statues" (made-up name for musical statues) but all attempts to explain the rules were completely drowned out by the cacophony. My son and I looked at each other in despair just as one boy shouted in the face of a four year old girl who promptly burst into tears. And this was ten minutes into a 2.5 hour party.
We had organized several games, mostly of the elimination type, which basically meant that before very long we had the eliminatees standing around, shouting and hitting each other with garage objects. Why? It was when I saw a skateboard held aloft that I realized our garage probably wasn't the most kid-friendly place to be, so inside we went.
Many games were abandoned on account of the potential for damage or just lameness- (bobbing for apples and a Halloween Twister game). One that was quite popular was the "Guess what this is" game, where you blindfold the kids, stick their hands into bowls of gooey stuff and have them guess what it is. Peeled grapes for eyeballs, cut up red peppers for tongues, that sort of thing. I had them write down their answers on pre-printed sheets (oh, yes, I was that organized) which I then stupidly left on a table for later adjudication, allowing the criminal element to erase their answers and write the correct ones in. Sigh. There were so many "winners" we had to have a dance off!
Meanwhile the kids who hadn't wanted to join in (since when did participation become optional?) began hurling parts of my sectional sofa at each other. Not just the small decorative cushions, but the huge snap-your-neck ones you sit on. Hurled not only at each other but at walls containing pictures and a giant TV screen. Sigh.
I can't really remember the last hour (and I didn't have a drop to drink). It was all a bit of a blur. I did hear one of the main protagonists complain to his mother on leaving that "it was totally out of control". Flaming cheek!
This just about sums it up!
(And yes, I wore a scary snaky thing.)
You deserve a (vampire) medal. I've had parties like that and swore never again. Once a parent arrived at our house and said: "Lord of the Flies in here"
ReplyDeleteyou are a brave woman! and oh god, i laughed.
ReplyDeleteI hope that actual halloween is better - can't be worse right! Go and lie down in a darkened room with a large glass of something and the biggest bar of chocolate you can find!! xx
ReplyDeleteYou deserve a medal.
ReplyDeleteI had an "arts and crafts" party for my daughter when she was 7 - or 6, maybe. Just 5 girls invited. Easy peasy! Lots of sitting at a table doing girlie crafty quiet things. I got TWO mums to stay and help.
And it was just like that, until the last 10 minutes. Then the lid exploded off the top of whatever repressed birthday hype was packed down there. Daughter got out her disco ball (present from one of the friends), and kept putting on loud music, and getting the other girls to jump up and down and screech at the tops of their voices. Parents were arriving to pick up, and that was a complicated process because I had to give them a selection of home-made craft items - delicate and paint/glue not yet dry, and get the right one to the right parent. Every time I let go of my daughter's arm to answer the door, or sort out a parent, she rushed over to the music and turned it up to full volume, and incited the little arty-crafty girlies into a screaming rabble. I'd go and turn it down, and by the time I'd got back to the front door, she'd turned it up again. I think I might have shouted at her...
But back to you. What you really need is a fabulous mystery house guest.
But you know...I bet everyone of those kids loved every minute of it!
ReplyDeleteHalf the kids left without being given a party favor(u)r which probably makes it THE worst party in a long time. SHould have let the house guest loose on them!
ReplyDeleteOh my my! You were indeed brave to organize this in the first place! I just can't see myself having about 25 kiddos screaming and jumping at my house. I'm good enough with my two monkeys thank you. Hats off lady, but yeah, never again eh?
ReplyDeleteYou've made my day - just love the thought I am not the only OTT party giver - the OTT being unintentional every time. One of my real horrors was a small girl party where the craft scissors became a tiny trainee hairdresser's weapon of choice - difficult to explain to parents on pick up.
ReplyDeleteOh dear....but I bet those kids will remember the party for years to come! x
ReplyDelete1. Are you sure the "totally out of control" comment wasn't a compliment?
ReplyDelete2. I decided years ago (when my son was about 3 years old and my daughter 5 years old) that critical mass for boys is 2 of the little darlings, while critical mass for girls is 6+.
Parties and sleepovers were planned with that precept in mind. Thus no child was (permanently) harmed during these events.
Or so I tell myself.
This did make me laugh a lot! You poor woman, having to deal with that lot. You painted such a graphic picture, I just keep chuckling at the whole scenario.
ReplyDeleteWe gave up on this type of party when Rory was about 6 when all the boys just charged on the responsible adult - the husband - and jumped on top of him.