Today is the first day of November, so I guess I better finish up the Halloween Party recap. That is, if I can drag myself upright after a long night of trick-or-treating with the heathens.

Since our Halloween party  was probably going to be the most people I’ve ever hosted at once, I knew a sit-down meal was out of the question. I tried to come up with a menu of appetizers and pick-up foods that was still hearty enough to keep the masses satisfied. Here’s what we had:

This was the Great Pumpkin cheeseball from the Gooseberry Patch Halloween cookbook. This looked great, but we were split on the taste. I did not really prefer it, but my sister loved it, as did many others.

Next we have:

Boiled shrimp. This is Louisiana, after all. If I had a little more time, I probably could have arranged these in some cute way to resemble a brain, but it just wasn’t happening that day.

We also had some Rye Party Pizzas:

Andouille Sausage Dip with crackers galore:

Sweet Mustard Smokies:

Spicy Tortilla Roll-Ups:

Smokey “Pimento” Cheese finger sandwiches (these were made with smoked Gouda, smoked Cheddar and sun-dried tomatoes instead of pimentos…yummers!):

My famous Bourbon Meatballs:

And finally some Corn Dip, of which I have no picture. Overall, it was quite a spread:

Once the food was taken care of, we had more pressing matters to figure out.

One of the biggest challenges we faced for the party was trying to come up with entertainment for all the kids. We knew the adults would be fine; we had plenty of food, booze and a giant flatscreen broadcasting the LSU game. However, 20+ kids can only jump on a trampoline for so long before they decide to come in and dismantle the house.

We solved this issue in three distinct steps. First, we already planned on having a pumpkin carving contest with prizes. We instructed guests to bring a pumpkin to carve, and I picked up the $1.00 bare bones carving kits (kid-safe mind you) to include in the kids’ party favor bags, as well as a votive candle so each kid could light their pumpkin at the end. However, since this was by far the messiest activity imaginable, it was the last thing we would do before the party wrapped up.

In the meantime, my husband planned a pumpkin hunt, which was basically an Easter egg hunt, Halloween-style. He found little plastic pumpkins, cauldrons and skulls, and filled them with treats. Once this idea came about, I amended the treat-bag plan, and got the kids these felt buckets as party favors:

(note the candles J and I made for the adults)

The pumpkin hunt was a success, and allowed the 20+ over-excited children the chance to burn off some energy.

Finally, my husband did this:

This is our very own balloon dart game! He filled balloons with small treats, staple-gunned them to some spare plywood we had left over from our Halloween silhouettes, and situated this in the yard far from all things breakable. He also had tons of extra balloons, and was able to continuously refresh this so all the kids had opportunities to play.

In the end, the party involved a great deal of planning and work, but it all paid off, because everything went off without a hitch. Well, except for one thing…

I was so tired that I forgot to check the boys’ pockets before I started the laundry. You’d think that after the Crayon Apocalypse I’d know better.

I now have a dryer full of melted chewing gum residue and no idea how to get it out.

*bleep*