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Hosting Halloween

Jason and I just held our annual Halloween bash. As always, it was a tremendous undertaking. The planning for this event usually begins sometime in August and escalates as it approaches. Thinking of putting on a Halloween shindig of your own? May our terrifying process convince you that that would only be lunacy. Every year is a little different but here are the 26 steps that were required to produce and recover from our festivities this time:

1. Create and order invites.
2. Buy prizes for the costume contest, bingo and various other games with all ages considered.
3. Order costume contest medals.

Jason and I went steampunk this year.
Jason and I went steampunk this year.

4. Buy fabric and sew costumes. One sentence doesn’t seem adequate to represent the work involved in this. Good thing I just made it three.
5. Tag and decorate 48 bottles of butterscotch beer as party favors for the adults.
6. Buy a piñata and its fillings. Stuff it.
7. Arrange for food. This year’s sustenance came in the form of catering from Waffle Love. They brought their delicious waffles, and waffle truck, to us.

I don't even want to acknowledge how lont it took me to tag and decorate these 48 party favors.
I don’t even want to acknowledge how long it took me to tag and decorate these 48 party favors.
Silas dressed as a possessed doll and played the part quite creepily.
Silas dressed as a possessed doll and played the part quite creepily.

8. Buy supplies for the kids’ craft table.
9. Build a custom playlist with all those Halloween favorites and some lesser-known creepy beats.
10. Buy kiddie goodie-bags plus an assortment of innards and cram them all in. This year we put together almost 40 of these bags and all but a few were given out.
11. Address and mail invites.

What a darling family.
What a darling family.

12. Gussy up costume contest prizes with ribbons, feathers, eyeballs and anything else bumpy in the night.
13. Prep craft table by constructing examples of all the finished products so that the little folk will know what they’re trying to make.
14. Go to a patch and handpick pumpkins. Paint these pumpkins black and white so guests can decorate them with chalk and decals. All this jack-o business took way too long so don’t expect it to happen again next year.

Never underestimate the eeriness the right lighting can add to a scene.
Never underestimate the eeriness the right lighting can add to a scene.
Eden took undead to the animals with her zombie cat costume.
Eden took undead to the animals with her zombie cat costume.

15. Create costume contest ballots.
16. Buy utensils, plates, napkins, drinks and all those other eating niceties.
17. Move couches, rugs, kitchen appliances, pictures, etc. upstairs or into the garage, anywhere they are out of the way.

Drew and Simone came as Dr. Who?
Drew and Simone came as Dr. Who?

18. Vacuum, dust and straighten the basement. Everything has to be tucked away somewhere to make room for the people explosion that’s about to occur.
19. Decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, decorate, and decorate. I feel like I should say “decorate” a few dozen more times because decorating is a monster of a job. We meticulously arrange creepy cloth, candlesticks, bones, potion bottles, pumpkins, lights, ravens and so forth throughout our yard and two floors of our home. Every year we display our extensive Halloween collection differently and every year gallons of creative juices get consumed in the process.

These serving-dish fingers may be proof of a twisted mind...mine.
These serving-dish fingers may be proof of a twisted mind…mine.
This graveyard scene was a design of mine.
This graveyard scene was my design.

20. Arrange studio lights and a background to form a makeshift photo spot. I didn’t have a clue how to work and situate studio lights before this little experiment. It took some messing around and research to figure it out.
21. Rent space heaters so that the backyard can be a toasty hangout location.

Thirty-one feet of ruffles were squished into the back of this skirt.
Thirty-one feet of ruffles were squished into the back of this skirt.

22. Clean. Everything has to be spick ‘n span before it’s thrown into chaos. It’s a lot like nursing a patient back to health before serving out their death sentence.
23. Throw party!

Waffle Love catered our party via their food truck.
Waffle Love catered our party via their food truck.
Penny's no garden-variety gnome.
Penny’s no garden-variety gnome.

24. Clean up the raspberries smashed into the sidewalk, the sticky goo left on the kitchen floor, the blob of who-knows-what dripped on the carpet. Cleanup is lengthy and not especially fun.
25. Put relocated furnishings back where they came from.
26. Pack away the dozens of boxes of Halloween décor so that they are ready for the vicious cycle to begin all over again next year. (This step has not yet been completed and will still take us weeks.)

Bart and Brandi cleverly used a bulging belly to their advantage and came as Juno and Bleeker.
Bart and Brandi cleverly used a bulging belly to their advantage and came as Juno and Bleeker.

Too many steps for you to follow? Not to worry, you can come to the Sabin party and enjoy all the fun and fright without rattling your work bones. So why do we do it? The obvious answer is that we are crazy but, besides that, we love Halloween and conjuring the spooky magic of the season up for the wee ones. We also enjoy reminding adults that costumes aren’t just for kids.

I made sure this jar was crawling with centipedes. The gruesome details are never overlooked by yours truly.
I made sure this jar was crawling with centipedes. The gruesome details are never overlooked by yours truly.

This year we had considerably more help pulling this madness off than we’ve had in the past. Many thanks to Lee and Jacob for lending us a hand with basement prep one evening. Keith, thanks for the pickup service. A big thank you to Drew, Adam, Jacob and Lee for helping the kids bowl and Jenny and Simone for assisting with some of the other games. And muchas gracias to the various people that collected many of the cups and craft fragments scattered throughout our house: Abigail, Simone, Drew, Adam and Jeremy. Since Jason and I are a tiny team, any bit of assistance from others goes a long way. Maybe we aren’t quite mad yet…

Rachel October 31, 2013 No Comments

Back to School

A few weeks ago I randomly heard from a high school buddy of mine, Missie, that I hadn’t talked to in almost a decade. She was traveling to Utah on some family business and wanted to get together. I was all for a little catch up. I decided to organize a meeting between not just the two of us but a couple of our other high school chums as well. While this arranging took a lot more calling and texting back and forth than I had anticipated, all that communication and miscommunication eventually ended with success and an overdue reunification.

While only a fraction of our "gang" was present, it was still great to catch up with old friends.
While only a fraction of our “gang” was present, it was still great to catch up with old friends.

Missie hadn’t changed much in the last ten years. She was still her cheery and direct self. As for the rest of us, we may have gained a few pounds, gray hairs and kids since high school but, under those accumulations, I’d say that we’re pretty much the same quirky individuals we’ve always been…plus or minus a little maturity. And, speaking of maturity, our togetherness seemed to revive a few of our discarded adolescent tendencies, which explains the many exaggerated expressions Cameron concocted for the camera that night.

The return of high school friends means the return of high school habits.
The return of high school friends means the return of high school habits.

It was great to see a friend from my youth that I’ve been disconnected from for quite a while. And although I hang out with Cam and Jim on a pretty regular basis, their conversation and antics completed the nostalgia and jollity of this reunion. I’m glad our wee group got to do some reminiscing and updating. Yeah for enduring friendships!

Rachel August 6, 2013 No Comments

Oh Snap!

Those of you who have been around me for any extent of time understand that I am prone to excessive picture taking. I’ve always been a big fan of immortalizing life’s moments through photographs so when Jason bought me an SLR camera for Valentine’s Day this year I was thrilled. However, I didn’t want to be one of “those people.” You know, the people that get a fancy camera because it’s “fancy” but use it like a point-and-shoot because they have no idea how to operate it. Thus, to prevent wasting a wonderful piece of technology, I signed up for an SLR class this summer at a local university. I learned an unbelievable amount about using my SLR and about photography in general through just six short weeks of instruction. Picturific!

I’m quite comfortable with my big hunk of lens delight now but I find myself perpetually in the middle of a shooting dilemma. I can take much better pictures with my SLR, however, it’s bulky so do I lug that immense and inconvenient camera around or carry my compact and not so wonderful one? I have to resolve that inner conflict every time I cart a camera anywhere these days.

Below are some of my favorite pictures I took while experimenting for my class. None of them have undergone any editing whatsoever in Photoshop or any other shop. While their web versions don’t really do the originals justice, they’ll still give you a feel for the picture magic even a novice can create with a little knowhow.

I used a technique called panning to create this photo. Basically, you put your camera on a slow shutter speed and follow the movement of whatever is in motion. This makes everything else in the photo blurry except the moving object and produces the illusion of great speed.
I used a technique called panning to create this photo. Basically, you put your camera on a slow shutter speed and follow the movement of whatever is in motion. This makes everything else in the photo blurry except the moving object and produces the illusion of great speed.
These blooms may have been on their last leg but I still love the colors and details of this picture.
These blooms may have been on their last leg but I still love the colors and details of this picture.
Sunset is a fantastic time to shoot pictures because the light is much warmer and richer.
Sunset is a fantastic time to shoot pictures because the light is much warmer and richer.
Camera-2013-II-Rae
I didn’t actually take this picture since I am in it but I set everything up on the camera so all Jason had to do was push the button.
I created this ghostly photo of a fountain by slowing my shutter speed down to two seconds.
I created this ghostly photo of a fountain by slowing my shutter speed down to two seconds.
This is the exact same shot as the one above only I changed my shutter speed to a mere fraction of a second, thus freezing the motion of the water.
This is the exact same shot as the one above only I changed my shutter speed to a mere fraction of a second, thus freezing the motion of the water.
I may be a little biased but I think Jason + the Jordan RIver made for some fantastic pictures.
I may be a little biased but I think Jason + the Jordan River made for some fantastic pictures.
A slow shutter speed turned the motion of my running buddies with their glow sticks into a color trip.
A slow shutter speed turned the motion of my running buddies with their glow sticks into a color trip. Notice that they have no bodies.
My niece Abigail was happy to be the subject of some of aperture experiments.
My niece Abigail was happy to be the subject of some of my aperture experiments.
Although this is just a picture of a statue's hand, the textures, lighting and hues intrigue me.
Although this is just a picture of a statue’s hand, the textures, lighting and hues intrigue me.
The Reeds are some of my favorite ladies. I wanted to capture the girly energy of our night out and I think I succeeded.
The Reeds are some of my favorite ladies. I wanted to capture the girly energy of our night out and I think I succeeded.
I panned while taking this picture of my nephew running.
I panned while taking this picture of my nephew running.
Clearly, this was another instance where I setup the camera but did not click the button.
Clearly this was another instance where I setup the camera but did not click the button.
By tweaking the aperture, which is the pupil of the camera, you can make backgrounds fuzzy and put extra emphasis on your subject.
By tweaking the aperture, which is the pupil of the camera, you can make backgrounds fuzzy and put extra emphasis on your subject.

I can guess what some of you are thinking right now, specifically you cheap someones, and yes, I would be willing to take pictures of you or your family for your Christmas cards and whatnot. And no, I would not charge you for my services. (Assuming I like you enough.) Though I would expect excessive gratitude.

I plan on continuing my photo education with additional classes and more practice. I’m always ready to snap!

Rachel July 30, 2013 7 Comments
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