Sweet 16?



Yes, I know it looks lame but it was fun!


TD No. 2 turned sweet 16 yesterday - 'and never been kissed?' I asked her, which was met with her almost chocking into her drink.  Don't want to know. 

She decided months ago she wanted to celebrate with her favourite (American) tradition and have a Halloween party.  It continues to amaze me how sociable this current generation is.  Though it shouldn't surprise me at all when I consider the extent of current social media and the constancy of it all.  I remember when I was a teen, being so shy I could barely talk on the phone and my social life consisted of the occasional sleepover, a blue light disco every now and again and going into the city to see a movie was an adventure.

Anyway, where was I?  The Halloween party...this tradition has been slowly taking off over here in the last couple of years but TD No. 2 is mad about it and by American standards, I thought our level of enthusiasm for decorating and dressing up was pretty lame, but some of the costumes that turned up last night were fantasic.  I've spent the last couple of weeks searching for and hoarding as many decorations I could find - cobwebs (I could've just not cleaned for the past three months and had the real thing); spiders (ditto); bloody footprints (...no, had to buy those); skulls (I could've cracked a few) etc.  I then spent all of last week keeping the house clean for the 15 teenage guests we were expecting.  That's a feat in it's own, keeping the house clean with two teens, one pre-teen, a reasonably tidy husband, a dog and a cat living in the one place at the one time. 

Nevertheless, last night when they all arrived on our doorstep, the house was clean but decorated to look dirty.  We put red cellophane over the light bulbs to give off that eerie hellish glow; the ceiling was decorated with cobwebs and spiders; the floor was trailed with blood spatters and bloody footprints and we had a suitable Halloween soundtrack blarring, complete with blood curdling screams, chainsaws and evil laughter.  With No. 1 son set up at the front door dressed in his scream mask, holding his plastic hatchet and my wicked witch impersonation inviting them in through the intercom, we had a few of them who were even too scared to enter.  Everyone went all out with the constumes, though some were a bit questionable (a pimp?).  We served (human) meat pies complete with bloody tomato sauce and plastic flies sitting on top; sausage rolls and cockroaches; and for the odd vegetarian - samosa's and springrolls.  The birthday cake was an ice-cream pumpkin. 

They screamed, danced and talked the night away and when hubby and I went down to bid everyone a good night, we couldn't believe the state of the place!  It still looks like a nightclub at 5 o'clock in the morning.  Despite putting bins downstairs for rubbish, everyone just decided to leave lolly wrappers, plates, empty and half empty cans of drink and even toilet paper from someone's costume lying everywhere - even outside.  I don't know about you, but I have never taken something from a wrapper and just thrown it on someone's living room floor!!

Anyway, TD No. 2 had such a great night.  Hope she remembers that when she helps us clean it all up - again!!