Halloween Party Night

At about four o'clock this afternoon, when I had so many last minute things to get ready for tonight's party, I was asking myself "Just whose idea was it to invite so many people here...."  (I always say that just before any of our parties.)  But then two hours later when you see your house filled with friends having a great time, all of that pre-party work has been forgotten.

We've never had a Halloween party right on October 31st.  In Clear Lake, we had so many trick-or-treating kids in the neighborhood that trying to have a party and give out candy and surprises to the kids would have been impossible.... plus our friends with children and grandchildren tended to spend Halloween night with their families.  We don't get trick-or-treaters out here, but with Halloween falling on a day when some people have to work, a week-day night just isn't a good time for a party.  As a result, our Halloween parties are usually the Saturday night before the actual holiday.  And tonight was the night.

So many good costumes...... G was Santa's Mistress: she wore a red blouse, red and black zebra-striped slacks tucked into black boots, a long blonde wig, and of course a Santa hat, and lots of over-the-top rhinestone jewelry. (G flashed her jewelry and said that Santa treats her very well.)  We gave G the prize for the Funniest Costume.... she looked great, but the funny part was that she stayed in character for the entire night and everything she said about Santa had everyone laughing.

J and J were a dancing couple.... Judy Newton John and Jim Travolta.... they looked like they stepped out of the movie "Grease."   J wore a short black wig and (oh my goodness!) movie-worthy makeup, and her husband had on a tee shirt with a fake pack of cigarettes rolled up in his shirt over his bicep.

JS was Judge Judy, complete with a long robe with a lace collar, and a rubber mallet that she used to make a legal point here and there, and it also came in handy to control bad jokes during the night.  M was a sparkling witch tonight..... all in purple and black lace, with silver and purple jewelry.

GS was a Down-and-Out Farmer.... old overalls, holes in his shirt, a hole in his hat, didn't shave........ we told G that he was wearing the clothes that he uses when he mows his fields or plants his corn.

B came as a Van Gogh Ghoul...... that white mask in Van Gogh's painting, that she dressed up with a long black gown of satin and lace.  When she first came to do the door, I had no idea who it was till she started talking.   Her son J was in a bright orange shirt and black slacks, and the scariest monster mask I'd ever seen..... dripping with fake gore and he even put some real bandages on parts of the mask.  We gave him the prize for the Scariest Costume.

JS came into the door with yellow tape down the front of his shirt and slacks.... and stuck to the yellow lines were little stuffed animals.  We all looked at him and said "What?!"....... He called his costume "Texas Road-Kill."  Which makes sense when you think of it...... no matter what highway or road you're driving on here, there are always dead animals all over it.  J's wife L came as a Rodeo Clown, with white face make-up, the over-sized shorts, western hat and boots.... we asked her if the horses ran the other way when she left the house.

My husband wore his "Chick Magnet" costume..... when we were in Clear Lake, he cut out a horse-shoe shaped magnet from poster board, painted it to look like one of those old magnets from school days..... and then glued fluffy yellow Easter chicks to it....... he wears that with a nice shirt and slacks and presto--- he's a Chick Magnet.   

My costume was Queen of The Forest, as my husband called it.  I used my long black skirt that's part of my witch outfit..... and I sewed autumn-colored silk leaves all over it. With that decorated skirt, I wore a black top with bronze beaded swirls all over it..... plus I made a headband covered in leaves and sparkling spiders, and put some silk leaves on my black heels...... and a big corsage of leaves and bronze silk ribbons..... and I had even found a magic-wand studded with rhinestones at the thrift store..... every Queen needs one of those.  My costumes are always pretty ones... I just don't do silly or scary costumes... and every costume has to have a city-spin to it.  Always a city girl..... guilty as charged..... (just ask Judge Judy).

We had new neighbors here tonight..... they didn't come in costume, but I'm sure they will next year.... it's always nice to have some new faces in the crowd.  And we missed some of the old faces......... like our special Miss C, who is busy now with her big-girl job and couldn't drive up here for the weekend.  We'll see her another time, the sooner the better.

Another Halloween party come and gone...... I've lost track of just how many Halloween parties we've given over the years.