Cathy's Boo!Bash2 Journal

[Cathymac]

Last year's Boo!Bash was such a success that we've decided to make it an annual affair. I'm calling it Boo!Bash2, so that I can keep up with the number of year's we do it. It seems simple enough now, but I know me...if I don't number each one, they all run together!!

Thanks for this cool idea of an on-line planner/journal, Ginger!! Great idea! By the way, Ginger was the one who originally came up with the name BooBash!! She's so smart!!

I don't do a whole lot of spooky, Halloweeny decorations..more vintagey fall stuff. This year, I'd like to add some spooky stuff, though.

Since we grow our own pumpkins and hay, we always have an abundance of them! They make such great fall/Halloween decorations and cheap, too!

I know that I'll be doing lots of hurricane globes with either votives or tealights...we bought 17 for the recent Magical Wedding, so we have plenty of those. I like floating candles in them, too, so that might be cute-I have some pumpkin shaped ones and leaf shaped ones...maybe some of each, with fall colored or clear glass marbles in the bottom...oohh...pretty!!

I want to decorate the front yard a little more than last year...maybe a ring of little ghosts circling a tree...something like that.

Our menu is going to be expanded from just desserts (lol, no pun intended) to nachos, hot dogs and chili, Frito chili pie, and of course, desserts! We'll have our hot chocolate/coffee bar again, along with Lemon Cider and warm spiced apple cider. Yum, sounds great already!

Another big hit from last year that will be returning is the "photo spot". I set up a few mums, pumpkins and a mini scarecrow and called it the photo spot. I tried to take everyone's pictures as they came in. I only missed a few late comers.

My plan is to have that darned porch screened in and new cushions for the lawn furniture out there by then...of course, I'd planned to have that done last year, too! Either way, it'll be fine.

We'll have a fire in the firepit, throws to wrap up in and a trailer piled with hay and pulled by a tractor for hayrides!

I am so excited!! Fun, fun, fun!! :jack:

 

[Cathymac]

A few decorating ideas that are coming to mind!

Pumpkin topiaries-three graduated size pumpkins stacked on top of each other in a footed urn type flowerpot....with fall leaves around the bases. I think these would look great flanking the front door.

Back door and door into the house from the porch: drape each with fall colored berry garlands...a mixture of red, yellow, orange and gold berries, draped loosely and trailing onto the floor

Table decor-twisted crepe paper streamers-orange and black, of course!

Tablecloths are burlap, draped like a topper...

White pumpkins, sprayed with spray adhesive and dusted with superfine, clear irredescent glitter...

Fall colored bows on iron candle sticks, stuck into the ground with glass hurricane globes (we use these at Christmas-my dad made them for us when we married)

More to come!!

 

[luludou]

Love the pumpkin topiary idea!! ... how many people will attend?

 

[Cathymac]

Last year we had about 60. I expect the same number or more this year. It's outside, by the way!!

 

[Snowbelle27]

Your Boo!Bash2 sounds wonderful Cathy, you have some super ideas!

:flower:

 

[Pippi]

Cathy-
As I stated over on your Halloween Blog, you've got me sooooooo psyched about growing pumpkins!!!!!!!!! Trouble is, I don't know where to start. I've got the room, but I've heard they can be difficult. Can you give me any tips on creating a successful pumpkin patch?

Thanks!
Pippi

 

[Cathymac]

Welll.....I haven't noticed them being too difficult...I don't do a whole lot myself..my brother is the pumpkin grower. I do know that he plows them about twice during the summer to keep the grass and weeds down, but that's about it. He grows them on our farm in the river bottoms, so they get plenty of moisture most of the time..that's about all I can tell you! He grows anywhere from 2-5 acres every year, depending on how busy he is elsewhere, so he certainly doesn't baby them. Hope this helps a little!

 

[Cathymac]

More random thoughts...

* the one thing that didn't go too well last year was the costume contest-not the participants, they were great. The problem was I hadn't thought it all the way through and figured out a good voting method and a good place/time to have the contest. Also, the prizes were kind of...well, sucky! I gave bags of candy...seemed like a good idea at the time!! So that's an area I want to improve on this year.

I'm thinking about getting some good prizes-Starbucks gift cards, movie passes or Sonic card for adult prizes; movie passes, McDonalds or Sonic cards for kids-but what could I do for the "group" prize? Last year we had the entire cast of Annie-about 8 or 9 folks. The one little bag of candy didnt' go far divided 8 or 9 ways!! Any suggestions?

* rain date will be the next week, which will actually be Halloween this year.
* I need to start thinking about our costumes this year. Last year Benjie and Jonah were Spider Man and the Rifleman; Jacob was a Blues Brother (or something...) and Lynn and I were Mr. and Mrs. Zorro. Fun!!

 

[Cathymac]

Menu ideas:
Nachos-get the plastic containers from Sam's
Hot dogs-roasted over the fire
Chili-can be eaten from a bowl or poured over hot dogs, nachos or even individual bags of Fritos for Frito-Chili pie
Desserts-I'll do some brownies, and ask guests to potluck the rest

Snacks:
popcorn-big hit last year...I popped about 10 batches (the old fashioned way, with oil and popcorn on the stove-so good)
caramel apples-rolled in nuts and/or drizzled with chocolate if i get real industrious!
harvest yummies in snowcone cups or waffle cones for easy snacking-candy corn with salted peanuts
Marshmallows to toast over the fire, with S'Mores makings available

Drinks:
Iced tea-a staple with our family
coffee-with add ins of flavored creamers, syrups and sugar
hot chocolate station-with whipped cream, flavored coffee creamers and syrups (caramel is yummy), marshmallows (regular and ghost Peeps), and cinnamon to sprinkle over
Hot apple cider
Cold lemon cider-a gallon of apple juice and a gallon of lemonade mixed together, garnished with apple and lemon slices-very good!!


I'm getting very excited about this!! I've been scouring my Gooseberry Patch fall books for tips, ideas, recipes and decorating ideas. So fun! :hat:

 

[teachermomof2]

Boo!Bash2 sounds great! You are so creative!

I love the menu!

Lisa

 

[jackfrosty]

You are getting us very excited about this too!! TFS! Your excitement is contagious! Fab ideas! arty:

 

[Cathymac]

Today while we were chatting about Halloween party planning, the Ghost Host decoration idea came up. It's from an old post on another board. For a picture and a link, go to Haunted Hamlet and check it out!


Ghost Host
craft materials:
*6 dowels
*small white garbage bags
*newspaper
*masking tape
*old white sheets
*string
*black permanent marker

Time needed: under 1 hour

1. First, find a good location for your gathering of ghosts. They look especially good when circling a central pole, such as a tree or lamppost. (I plan to use the sycamore tree in our front yard...)


2. Next, cut your dowels to the height you'd like your ghosts to be. We've seen them in every size, from toddler height (quite cute) to larger than life (quiet spooky). Remember, the larger the ghosts, the more sheets you need to use.


3. To make a ghost head, stuff a white garbage bag or paper bag with crumpled newspaper or leaves to the size you like. Push one of the dowels into the bag, then wrap masking tape around the neck to secure it. Repeat for the rest of the ghosts.


4. Drape a sheet (or half a sheet, if you're making small ghosts) over each head and tie a piece of string around each neck. You may need to experiment with cutting your sheets to the right size. (In the picture they used a queen sized sheet for each ghost and rounded the bottom edges to the desired length).


5. Use permanent black markers to draw a face on each ghost.


6. Gather your ghosts around the tree or pole...with a foot or two around each one...and push the dowels into the earth so that the sheets touch the ground. Angle the ghosts so that they are leaning slightly backward, then knot the corners of the sheets together as if the ghosts were holding hands.

 

[Cathymac]

Happy Great Pumpkin Day, everyone!

I've decided to send invitations this year for Boo!Bash2!, so today my GPD planning focus is just that. I made a guest list yesterday, and it's over 100 people, if you count each family member. That works out to about 30 invitations, so I guess that means the most practical thing to do is to make a Word document, ghoul it up with clipart and send it to Office Depot to be printed on orange paper. The other option was to hand make an invitation with scrapbook supplies, vellum, etc. Not going to happen for 30 of them!

We didn't send invitations last year, but I thought it would be fun this year. However, if it gets to be too much of an expense or if my time gets too short, I'll go back to phone calls, emails and word of mouth.

So, for today, my GPD chore is to work on an invitation in Word. I'm a bit under the weather, so that may be all I can manage, energy wise!

Happy GPD!! :hat:

 

[luludou]

Way to go Cathymac!! :applause:

 

[Jessica]

Hey Cathy!

Your party sounds awesome. DH and I are considering one ourselves!

Just wanted to drop you an idea. We used to go to a "Pumpkin Party" where we used to live. Each guest was asked to bring a carved pumpkin for judging. It was really neat, and it ended up they added to the decor. They were all lit and the lights were dimmed. Too cool! Just thought I would share!

 

[Cathymac]

That's a good idea, Jessica. I did think about having a pumpkin carving station last year, but I wasn't sure we were going to have enough pumpkins. As it turned out, we had plenty, but they were delivered by my handy-dandy pumpkin grower (my brother) at the last minute, and I already had everything set up, so I just decorated with them. It's worth considering though. The kids would have a blast. Thanks for the idea..I'll make a note in my planner to work on this!

 

[Jessica]

Anytime!

The lady that hosted the party, had mentioned that she orginially had the pumpkins carved at her home, but as the party grew, so did the mess! This way she had little to clean up!

 

[Cathymac]

Ok, now I need some help! I'm trying to think of prizes for the costume contest, and I'm drawing a blank. Last year, and I'll do this again this year, I gave all the "Little Goblins" (under 12 years of age) a prize-a treat bag of candy. They are not a problem. It's everyone else...I have three more categories-
Teenage Werewolves
Mummies and Daddies (adult single costume contest)
Gruesome Twosomes (couple costumes-the people don't have to be couples, just the costumes)

Last year I ran into a small problem-we had a fabulous group that won a unanimous vote and I only had a bag of candy for the whole bunch. It was my brother's family, so they obviously could share, but...it was skimpy, to say the least.

So-I'm kind of thinking about $5 Sonic cards for each winner, with of course, the couples catagory getting a card each. Any better ideas out there? It needs to be in that price category, for obvious reasons. Come on, creative partyers! Help me out!

 

[Cathymac]

Just a little update...

I've been working on the party plans a little. Seems like fall and Halloween is all that I want to think about right now, especially since the wedding I was helping with has been cancelled.

So, updates!
*got the makings for at least two batches of chili (minus the meat) in my pantry
*made the guest list and plan to send out "save the date" cards and emails next week
*I have made lots of banners and signs for vintage style decorating
*I have finally decided on the fabric to use for the cushions for the back porch furniture. I'll start purchasing and my mom will start sewing this weekend! Whoo hoo! Solid black cushions with toile and checked throw pillows, with Halloween print throw pillows for the party!
*made a list of pot luck items needed, and will ask each family to bring something specific-marshmallows, chips, drinks, hot dog buns, etc.
*We've all decided on costumes, except DS8 who says that everything he wants to be, he's already been. I told him he was allowed to repeat, no one will care. I'm sure he'll be some sort of cowboy!!
*We need lighting for outside...we have little white Christmas lights lining the fence and tube lights on the porch, and tons and tons of candles, but we still need lights. This has become DH's problem, as of now!!