It is an annual custom here at Shirasagi Residence to put on a Halloween party for kids in the local community, and who are we to mess with tradition? We all spent time decorating the apartment block with spider webs, skeletons, pumpkins, black cats, streamers and the like in preparation of last night's big event.Everyone managed to rustle up some great costumes and I was told by a Japanese friend that this was the best effort yet. We had elementary and Jr High students, a workman, witches, cat woman, Cleopatra, Scream, Arabian night, the devil, a cowgirl, Lilo and Stitch, a waitress, a nun and one of the Blues Brothers and that was just the adults!!!!! It was actually my first Halloween to dress up so I was very excited to dress in my new costume and join in the fun.
At 6 the kids started arriving and they lined up at the door to collect their colour-coded wrist band and enter the party. The first part of the night included lots of games. The kids were split into their coloured groups and rotated through the following games:- fishing for points. There was a tub of green water with dry ice on top and small jack-o-lanterns floating. The kids had to hook a jack-o-lantern with a fishing rod and collected the points inside.
- Trick or Treating bag decorating.
- The Marshmellow Suck game. This was a relay where kids had to run to the table, suck up a small marshmellow from their cup and return it to the other end without dropping it. The first team to remove all of their marshmellows won.
- Eyeball Toss. Kids had to toss the eyeball ping pong and bouncy balls into the jack-o-lantern container.
The kids were really well behaved, though there was one really feisty princess who kept kicking and shoving people! Next there was the jack-o-lantern carving viewing an the costume competition. They all looked just gorgeous. The last activity of the night was the much anticipated "Trick or Treating". Jono and I were on duty for this one so we waited in our apartment for the doorbell to ring. Jono, in his Scream costume simply stood in the doorway and slowly opened the door. One little girl opened the door, took one look at Jono standing there and screamed her lungs out as she hightailed it down the balcony!!!! Poor kid, though it was classic!
All in all a pretty successful party.
