10 Things You Should Know Before Committing to Running a School Halloween Party

I’ve decided to become more involved this year at our school’s PTO. My husband warned me that I wasn’t going to have enough time, but I thought to myself… “I’ll show him…” My mother was able to do it with 4 kids and working full-time, why couldn’t I?

Well, right… “why couldn’t I?” I’ll tell you why, I just don’t think I’m nearly as good as my mother. 🙂 She did everything with a smile. I don’t remember her complaining ONCE about anything when she was on the PTO at my elementary and middle school. Not ONCE.

I decided to volunteer to help run the Halloween Dance Party at William and Alexander’s school. I thought… this will be easy, what do they need – a DJ? Food? Decorations? Check. Check. Check. I can do that stuff. I swear to God.. I even remember saying to Matt, “I’ve run Getting Gorgeous events and a Style School event… I think I can handle a Halloween Party.” Oh. How. I. Am. Eating. Those. Words.

So here’s my list of 10 Things You Should Know Before Committing to Running a Halloween Party (or any function) at your child’s school… this is to protect you, your school and your children:

1. Make sure you can actually be there the day of the party. Yeah… a little mistake on my end that I made. Once the date was booked (I didn’t book it), I realized I had a work thing that day and that I wouldn’t be able to be there until after the Party started.

2. Make sure you have the TIME to commit to this kind of undertaking. I don’t know who I thought I was thinking I had the extra time to plan this massive party. I’m not kidding… I have 338 people on the list as coming.

3. Don’t be afraid to ASK people when you need help. The moms that head up the PTO have been incredible in allowing me to ask, beg and vent about anything and everything. They even gave me the floor at our most recent PTO meeting where I essentially said that I would pay people to help me. 😉 (I’m kidding…)

4. If you’re going to volunteer to help run something, it may be a good idea to make sure it’s something you’ve actually been to in the past. You see, I volunteered for this Party and I have never been to one of the school’s Halloween parties before. I’m asking people questions left and right… I mean things like, “Will there be tables there? Are there bathrooms close by? How big is the gym we’re having it at?”

5. Pull out all the stops. It’s always good to make money at the events you’re running at the school. I’ve been like a fanatic emailing people asking them to help me out by donating candy, toys, decorations, balloons, pumpkins, etc. It’s the only way. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

6. Find that go-to girl. My friend Cathy has been a huge help to me. She helped me even when I didn’t ask for it… which was exactly what I needed. Find that kind of person. She took me shopping with her yesterday and wouldn’t let me leave the store until we ironed out all the details for the party. It was exactly what I needed.

7. Admit when you’re in too deep. It helped me a ton. As soon as I let moms know that I should never have taken this project on, like bees to honey… everyone was there to help.

8. Before you approve an invite that your friend so kindly made you — double check the date and the spelling of the school. (Whoops!)

9. Don’t let your kids see you sweat. Throughout the last month and a half, I have not let my sons know that I wish I had never signed on to do this. I’m telling them this is the best thing we’re ever done and I’m having so much fun putting it together. Oh, yes.. never let them see you sweat.

10. Don’t let your husband try and talk you into running it again next year. Smile and kindly decline when asked if you want to take it on again. Not because you don’t want to… because you just don’t have the time. There are a bunch of other ways to be involved and to make your kids proud.