Great Night!!

Last night went really well for a first time event and one I wasn't so sure I could pull off. Knowing that I am not 100% out of the woods with my job, this had to go well with very few glitches.

Here are a few of the pictures I took last night. The first one is the top of my car. I did a "Teddy Bear Picnic" theme and raided my room for stuffed animals and then the 3-5 year old class for cups, play food, etc. I also had stuff on the hood of the car as well.

The second car belongs to my SP. It was an awesome theme! The kids took fishing polls and "caught" their treat.

The third car was a couple in our church. The whole trunk is a cat. I never would have thought of it. I LOVED it!

The 4th picture is a family in our church! Their van was "Star Wars" themed (obviously). Lily made a GREAT Yoda! Her ears kept falling off all night though!

It was a bit of a slow start because the kids simply weren't there. But, slowly they came and we made some adjustments (like unblocking our entrances) and the feedback was all positive.

I wasn't sure at first because things were so slow. Should we have tried to do it out front somehow? Did we need to rent additional lights? Although, why the hurry -up and wait was happening...the fellowship our members were having was awesome! It was a very diverse group of people who made up this event. We had one no show and that was fine because we had one last minute "drive up" participant so I had my 12 and that was 2 over my goal! My mom did a car and so she got to know some other people from church and that was a neat thing.

Once things got going and the kids/parents realized that were there to simply hand out candy and be an active participant in the neighborhood the kids stayed and parents talked to our participants and were able to enjoy cider and hot chocolate provided at one of the cars! The parents I spoke to were very happy we had this available for their kids. As we were cleaning up, the people that participated were very happy they chose to do this and I think will do it again next year! In fact, the family that provided the hot drinks said they will do a BBQ next year! Greg owns a catering business and that was a wonderful offer! He was so enthusiastic about the whole event it was really neat to see.

I'm really trying to just stick with the positives of the event and not the things that I should have done better or organized a little better. I'm sure I will hear about that today...even though my SP was very positive last night. There should have been a little bit better signage (putting signs up to the restroom didn't occur to me), the tape should have been taken down sooner, etc. We have already decided next year I won't do a car so I am around more for logistics and to take pictures and all that "scut work" stuff. Someone suggested we do door hangers for next yesr which is a great idea! I also think the BBQ and word of mouth from this year will be a huge help! If we are back in the elementary school next year with Kids Club that would be huge help as well.

I really did like that we didn't have a lot of our own kids there except for the ones who live in the area. We really didn't push for it. While it was an all church event, it was really meant for our neighborhood. When our church was founded, the building was not where it stands today. One thing they put in the charter when looking for a new spot was to find a place with unchurched children and a place to be active in the life of the neighborhood. This was over 70 years ago! Children and outerach to our neighbors have always been core values of our church. As it grows I can see kids trick or treating in their neighborhoods and then coming to the church for additional candy and fun times, but I really want this event to stay focused outward.

We didn't hand anything out about the church, we didn't really invite people to church unless they started the conversation. From what I understand, that did happen several times. So, I hope we do have some families come and see what we're up to and what we have to offer! I know some people may think we were foolish not to do more, but I'll say one thing...the fact that no one made comments when some of the more "questionable" costumes came through our parking lot spoke more to parents and the kids than any flyer we could have handed them.