So, I’m either the greatest mom ever – or totally insane. I’ll go for the latter. This past weekend I threw a Halloween party for my son and what seemed like a million kids ranging in age from four months to twelve years.

Shaun Hegarty and his adorable family joined in on the fun. So did my parents and many of our neighbors. In all I believe there were fifteen or so children and nearly as many adults.

I began making plans at the beginning of September. Once I started, I realized I had no idea where to begin. So, I simply thought back to what I would have wanted to do if I would have had a Halloween party when I was a little girl.

I took the dozens of gourds I grew over the summer and bought lots of craft supplies at the dollar store. The kids did great coming up with creative ways to decorate the gourds just like they were pumpkins. I purchased two piñatas (so everyone would get a turn.) And I arranged to have a mini hay ride. I bought lots of snack items and enlisted the help of my mother and mother-in-law to make sure I was armed with plenty of cupcakes. Then, just as I was worrying the kids wouldn’t have any fun, a firefighter from the Napoleon fire department offered to bring a fire truck over for the kids to check out.

Needless to say, everything worked out great. The fire truck was a hit. And everyone got to hit a piñata.

Check out a little of the video I took of the event – be sure to keep your eye out for Shaun: