Tuesday, October 14, 2008

How do I get myself into these things?



It's that time of year...Halloween/Fall Parties at your childs school....guess what?
I inadvertently signed up at the beginning of the year, to help with the fall party for my son's 2nd grade class..um, yeah..I did...but, I didn't elect to chair the party, coordinate the party, plan the party...and, um...guess what? I was appointed "person in charge"....what the heck am I going to do..the party is in 9...yes, 9 days.....I have never planned a classroom party before..

What am I going to do? There are only two other mothers on the list that was assigned to help me, as of this morning, um...can't reach either of them...
Am I responsible for the cost? What kind of food do I serve? I don't know if it should be Halloween themed or specifically just fall....do we have games?
Do we have time for games? I don't know...on the note from school, it said Fall Party (20 minutes).....

I have always been the "helper"...the mom that sends in the cupcakes,or the candy...that's about it....

Please, someone out there in bloggy land, help me!!!!!!!!
Leave me a comment with any ideas you may have to get me out of this hole I have dug myself into!
I would forever be grateful..
Sincerely,
Dixiechick

6 comments:

the planet of janet said...

calm down, honey. there are answers to all your questions.

1) leave a msg for the teacher or the parent association prez or room mom and find out if there are funds for this. sometimes classrooms collect $$ at the beginning of the year for parties.

2) if no $$ are collected, check with the same 3 people about sending out a flyer to collect a few bucks from each family. attach an envelope with your name on it.

3) it's FALL, not halloween. so dont go for the candy, but cupcakes would be acceptable. pumpkins are neutral. :-) ... and juice. juice boxes are quick and easy.

4) find out if anyone in his class is musical. i used to bring my guitar into roo's classroom for parties. anyone who does kids music can dredge up some singalong'ish stuff.

5) when in doubt, go for a craft project. check (again) with the teacher if she has anything that can work. see about collecting leaves on the playground (make sure the class can handle the outing) and doing a collage. or bring in stickers and let them decorate their brains out.

enough? need more? email me.

the planet of janet said...

oh, and 20 minutes is NOT a long time. relax, deep breathe and have a mojito. :-)

DIXIECHICK said...

Janet...thanks doll...I am calmer, and you are right, 20 minutes isn't long...I am going to keep it totally fall, and I have already left the teacher a message to call me. I figured cupcakes, pumpkin bread, candy corn/m & m's (only candy)popcorn, apple cider, maybe some little turkey sandwiches, cut like pumpkins or something....I made a printable fall activity booklet, figured we would play some kind of bingo, with a prize and treat bags....sound good?

Anonymous said...

My sister is a school teacher (public school). I know she has rules as far as not "offending" religions so they have to call it a fall festival. No witches/ghosts etc that sort of thing but leaves and pumpkins are okay. I'd check with the teacher on that. Good luck--I remember my school Halloween parties--cupcakes, chips/dip, drinks and cookies that was about it. Oh and we played the "BUCKET GAME". You set a plastic jack-o-lanturn about 15 feet away from a kid and let them try to hit the bucket with sweet gum balls (the prickly little balls off sweet gum trees). We got prizes at the end.

Sicilian said...

I would say check your school rules. Our public school doesn't allow any home made goodies. Everything has to be prepackaged from the grocery store.
Next, I think this will be a shocker, but you have to know that you are going to fund everything. NObody will help you so when you volunteer be ready to dole out the cash.
Remember that the good news is that your child will be the proudest kid at school because you planned his party.
Ciao

Toni said...

Check with the teach to see what the rules are. Also, we have a whole group of "Room Parents" who sign up at the beginning of the year to help and donate things. Usually one of the moms ('cause it is always the moms, y'know) will be the Head Parent and she calls around to the rest of us and gets things together. You should have a minimal expense and should only have to come, organize and coordinate with others, IMO. My experience, unlike Sicilian's apparently, has been positive and fairly inexpensive. I hope yours is too!