Halloween is a fantastic carnival of fear. Perhaps it’s fitting then that, for the last fifteen years, the approach of this holiday has inspired a certain mixture of dread and excitement in Jason and me. Yes, October means it’s Sabin party time and that means a lot of work. However, as tiring as it is to host, our Halloween gathering has become a diverting tradition for us and numerous of our acquaintances so it’s unlikely to ever fade into an apparition.

Our bash was well attended again this year. Nearly eighty friends and family members joined us for an evening of gruesome gaieties. We had all the standards: crafts, a piñata, a photo studio, piles of food, games, movies, Bingo, a costume contest…you know the drill.

The task of putting on this event was, as ever, a bit overwhelming but this time we did have a tad more help than we are accustomed to. Lee and Jacob came over one evening to give us some decorating assistance and Jacob, having not completely digested his creative juices yet, aided us a second night. That additional evening, he worked on a spooky scene in our basement for hours and was shocked at how little he accomplished in that time. Jason and I were not shocked. Such is the creeping pace of this inventive process. I’d guess that at least one guest at our shindig this year (probably one named Jacob) had some appreciation for the effort involved in our October enterprise.

And, wondrously, the help continued. During our party, a number of our visitors lent a hand with the children’s games. This assistance was crucial since Jason and I have yet to figure out how to be in four places at once.

We also had some post-revelry relief. Andrew and Simone stayed after the other guests left to help pick up the cup corpses and disemboweled food strewn about our house. Thank you!

Even after those labors, our house was still goopier than Slimer on a lunch break. For instance, our kitchen looked like a ripper scene from an M&M’s horror picture. The floor had to be swept and mopped three times in order to properly inter the chocolate and potato chip remains smeared about. But I think the cleanup is under control now…just hours and hours of de-decorating to go and we will have all of our skeletons put away in their proper closets.

Our Halloween party doesn’t come about easily. It seems like perpetual preparations are required to pull it off smoothly. Could we scale back? Yes, but anything worth doing is worth doing perfect. Just ask me.

Many thanks to our various helpers. You were instrumental in staving off “the institute” for another year. And thanks to everyone that joined us for our annual tribute to the terrifying. Minus you, we’d be crazy without cause.