Since I seem to be having trouble e-mailing these out, here are some Halloween pictures!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Halloween 2012
For my family:
Since I seem to be having trouble e-mailing these out, here are some Halloween pictures!
Since I seem to be having trouble e-mailing these out, here are some Halloween pictures!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
All Saints Day Party
So this is my inaugural post! Woohoo! Let's get this blog started right with a wordy, picture heavy entry!
I went to Catholic schools from K-12 grade. One of the perks was always being out of school the day after Halloween for All Saints Day (a holy day of obligation). I only recently found out that in some Catholic circles people have, wait for it..............All Saints Day parties. That's right! Am I the last person to find this out? Actually, don't answer that.
I am seriously baffled as to why I had never known about such a thing? You'd think that a Catholic school would have a little celebration or something, right? Nope, nada, zilch. At least not that I can remember.
I clearly didn't want to deprive my children of this event, and while our local Catholic homeschool group apparently hosts an ASDP (All Saints Day Party...too much? Yup.), it happened to be on a day that we had other plans (big brother's 30th birthday partay!). So I decided to host one myself and invite a few friends.
After much research and googling, I came up with some ideas that I found on various blogs (sorry, I can't remember specifically!), modified a few things, and make a little bit up along the way.
First Up: Crafts!
We first made a rosary hanger. Apparently I didn't take a picture of the final product, but use your imagination. Also, I didn't ask my friends' permission to post these. You're welcome, friends. Kidding aside, this project ended up going better than I anticipated. The kids' ranged from 2-5, and while they all needed a bit of parental assistance, all the hangers turned out seriously great.
**Random note: I covered the table in a newspaper end roll I got from our local newspaper for $4. It's a huge roll with I don't even know how many yards of leftover, blank, newspaper. They're great for crafty things like this, and I also sometimes just roll out a sheet for the girls to color or paint on. It's been one of my favorite frugal finds ever!**
Next up: Games!
I typed up a little information sheet with a picture and story about each saint to hang with the games. After all, the party should probably be a bit educational ;) If anyone is interested in these, I'd be happy to post them or e-mail them to you.
We played a St. Therese Rose Toss using a few roses that I crocheted and an old Easter basket. I propped a baby gate up against the fireplace and draped it with some pretty fabric I had in my sewing stash. The picture of St. Therese was just one that I found on Google images, enlarged, and laminated.
Fishing with St. Peter. This was the biggest hit! The kids tossed their fishing lines (with a clothespin attached to the end) over the sheet and my husband attached a piece of candy to it.
St. Anthony's Lost and Found. This box was filled with packing peanuts and little prizes such as candy, scapulars, holy cards, holy medals, holy water bottles, etc. They could keep whatever they found. This was also a big hit!
I also apparently forgot to take a picture of the other game, St. Francis's Friends. I set up a small kids' table with crayons and different animals to color (birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits). The children colored the pictures and then taped them onto a poster I made with a few trees (a "forest").
Next: The Food...
I used the food ideas and downloadable tags from www.catholicicing.com. The cupcake toppers are from www.happysaints.com. Also, a couple of the guests were on a gluten free diet, so much of the food was gluten free, except for the cupcakes (although I bought a couple GF ones too), flower cookies, and goldfish crackers.
Next: The Costumes...
And here are my daughters, dressed up as Mary! I made floor length peasant style dresses from a sheet found at Goodwill. The blue lace was on clearance at JoAnn's. My older daughter then told me she needed flowers at the bottom of her dress because "that's how Mary's dress is." Okie dokie. So my mom made some simple yo-yo flowers from the excess sheet fabric, and voila!
Finally: Small Details...
I had party favors/goodie bags for the children, filled with candy, holy cards, medals, rosaries, bracelets, and some other odds and ends items. I also gave little favors to the mothers as well consisting of a small statue of the Blessed Mother and a tiny booklet of St. Therese's sayings.
I went to Catholic schools from K-12 grade. One of the perks was always being out of school the day after Halloween for All Saints Day (a holy day of obligation). I only recently found out that in some Catholic circles people have, wait for it..............All Saints Day parties. That's right! Am I the last person to find this out? Actually, don't answer that.
I am seriously baffled as to why I had never known about such a thing? You'd think that a Catholic school would have a little celebration or something, right? Nope, nada, zilch. At least not that I can remember.
I clearly didn't want to deprive my children of this event, and while our local Catholic homeschool group apparently hosts an ASDP (All Saints Day Party...too much? Yup.), it happened to be on a day that we had other plans (big brother's 30th birthday partay!). So I decided to host one myself and invite a few friends.
After much research and googling, I came up with some ideas that I found on various blogs (sorry, I can't remember specifically!), modified a few things, and make a little bit up along the way.
First Up: Crafts!
We first made a rosary hanger. Apparently I didn't take a picture of the final product, but use your imagination. Also, I didn't ask my friends' permission to post these. You're welcome, friends. Kidding aside, this project ended up going better than I anticipated. The kids' ranged from 2-5, and while they all needed a bit of parental assistance, all the hangers turned out seriously great.
**Random note: I covered the table in a newspaper end roll I got from our local newspaper for $4. It's a huge roll with I don't even know how many yards of leftover, blank, newspaper. They're great for crafty things like this, and I also sometimes just roll out a sheet for the girls to color or paint on. It's been one of my favorite frugal finds ever!**
 |
| That's me with the koala baby. |
 |
| If you look closely, you can see an example of the finished product at the bottom middle of the picture. |
Next up: Games!
I typed up a little information sheet with a picture and story about each saint to hang with the games. After all, the party should probably be a bit educational ;) If anyone is interested in these, I'd be happy to post them or e-mail them to you.
We played a St. Therese Rose Toss using a few roses that I crocheted and an old Easter basket. I propped a baby gate up against the fireplace and draped it with some pretty fabric I had in my sewing stash. The picture of St. Therese was just one that I found on Google images, enlarged, and laminated.
And Pin the Shamrock on St. Patrick. Again, the photo was found on Google images, enlarged, and laminated.
Fishing with St. Peter. This was the biggest hit! The kids tossed their fishing lines (with a clothespin attached to the end) over the sheet and my husband attached a piece of candy to it.
St. Anthony's Lost and Found. This box was filled with packing peanuts and little prizes such as candy, scapulars, holy cards, holy medals, holy water bottles, etc. They could keep whatever they found. This was also a big hit!
I also apparently forgot to take a picture of the other game, St. Francis's Friends. I set up a small kids' table with crayons and different animals to color (birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits). The children colored the pictures and then taped them onto a poster I made with a few trees (a "forest").
Next: The Food...
I used the food ideas and downloadable tags from www.catholicicing.com. The cupcake toppers are from www.happysaints.com. Also, a couple of the guests were on a gluten free diet, so much of the food was gluten free, except for the cupcakes (although I bought a couple GF ones too), flower cookies, and goldfish crackers.
 | ||
| Saintly Halos (pineapple rings) and St. Bernadette's Firewood (pretzel sticks) |
 |
| Saint Cecilia's Keys (wafer cookies with chocolate bar) |
 |
| More firewood and St. Francis' Friends (animal crackers) |
 |
| St. Isidore's Pumpkin Patch (candy corn pumpkins) |
 |
| St. James' Fish (goldfish crackers) |
 |
| St. Therese's Little Flowers (flower cookies and flower shaped cheese using 0.50 cent small flower cookie cutter from Hobby Lobby) |
 |
Next: The Costumes...
And here are my daughters, dressed up as Mary! I made floor length peasant style dresses from a sheet found at Goodwill. The blue lace was on clearance at JoAnn's. My older daughter then told me she needed flowers at the bottom of her dress because "that's how Mary's dress is." Okie dokie. So my mom made some simple yo-yo flowers from the excess sheet fabric, and voila!
 |
| St. Francis' Box is irresistible... |
Finally: Small Details...
I had party favors/goodie bags for the children, filled with candy, holy cards, medals, rosaries, bracelets, and some other odds and ends items. I also gave little favors to the mothers as well consisting of a small statue of the Blessed Mother and a tiny booklet of St. Therese's sayings.
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