Saint’s Day And All Hallow’s Eve party for first graders

 

Every year we have not one, but two costumes to put together for the kids; one for the All saint’s Day performances at school, and another for Halloween Day.

Gigi as Saint Kateri. The first Native American to become a Catholic Saint.And on Halloween as a  vampire Rapunzel.Lily as Saint Catherine , who appeared to Joan of Arc in her vision. This was Lily’s fist time costuming a school play and she did a great job! They reenacted Saint Joan’s story.And here in her Halloween costume, a fairy.

For me, celebrating both days is the perfect mixture of the true spirit of Halloween, which began as an Ancient Celtic feast which celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the dead, the evening before  November 1. During this feast, the Celts believed that the souls of the dead returned to mingle with the living, so they dressed in scary costumes and lit bonfires.

Then the Romans conquered the Celts, adding their own touches to the Samhain festival. They bobbed for apples, drank cider, and made centerpieces from apples for Pomona, the goddess of the orchards.

In 835, Pope Gregory moved the celebration for all the martyrs and saints, All Saint’s Day,  from May 13 to November 1. The night before came to be known as the Holy Evening, or All Hallow’s Eve. Eventually it became shortened to Halloween.

The purpose of the feast of Halloween was to remember the Saints and all the dead, and to scare away evil spirits lingering with creepy costumes.

A perfect excuse to throw a Pinterest inspired party for Gigi’s class. Here are a few ideas I’d love to share with you!

Orange Crush Halloween punch

I made punch from equal parts Orange Crush mixed with seltzer water. Then I added orange sherbert on top to make it fizzy.Spider cheese crackers

This recipe is about as junky as they get. Canned cheese on Ritz crackers and canned olives on top. Ha!Tulle table cover

I had several yards of black tulle in my garage and sewed a table cover. I love how it turned out. The pumpkin with the smooshed top hat I made a few years ago and it won a contest sponsored by JoAnn. the tutorial is here.Halloween Pom poms

We made pom poms froma a Martha Stewart kit we bought at Jo Ann for sixty per cent off the day before Halloween, a great day for Halloween deals if you’re a last minute party thrower like I am.Vintage card Halloween banner

I made this a few years ago with some free downloads and Mod Podge. Tutorial here.Gigi decorated some boxed mix cupcakes.Apples for bobbing….And a bean bag toss game we borrowed from our talented friend Jim, who happens to be adding a master bath to our bedroom.I’ve been sharing one bathroom with four kids for the past ten years, so this is going to be amazing!