# 2009 Party Reflections- Post yours...



## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

Lots here finally shaking off hangovers and the reality of "putting it all back". I thought I would start a post where we could all put informative information about our parties here that others, even next year, could read over. Of course every day, every location, every invitee list is different, every year (been doing H parties for 18 years now).

So post some reflective thoughts, I know some had some not so good experiences, others great. What worked, what was a problem, what was in your control, what not. Feel free to paste a summary you already posted if you like (and the mods allow it), some of you have already posted.

So here's mine:
______________________________________________________

My event thread is at http://www.halloweenforum.com/party-ideas-experiences-recipes/82982-omenwood-hotel-night-spa-funeral-parlor.html

Hands down, the best party ever. And the one in '06 was real tough to top.

The hotel theme worked well, was fun and people really enjoyed it. But it (like any years) required me to work to build new stuff that took a while. I liked the theme so well however, that I would be willing to use it another year (but see below).

This year I did my usual 3 song mix with opening blackout, SFX and all ("Planet Claire" was a killer intro BTW), then after that I invited people to use the laptop in the corner running "Media Monkey" in "Party" mode to choose songs just like a juke box. It worked well except for the few times when people spazzed and clicked the same song 2-3 times or more... I had to go password unlock it and clear them, but it was no big deal). Only regret, get more song selections next time. I usually am trying to put music together in the last hours before the party. But I did not feel like I spent the whole night in the bedroom where the DJ console was shuffling CDs and missing the party like years past. People came to me with "requests" and I just pointed them to the laptop and said"go see if it is there?".

Reinforcing what I already knew, the people make the party. All the props, SFX, lighting, decorations, food drink, sound, music, etc won't make a party. We all get lulled into thinking it will. We simply had about 48 of the most fun friends we had in our house Sat night and it clicked. People we so pumped by 9:45 with the "Lost 45s" playing on a cheesy CD player in the sunroom, they came to me and said "Hey, what's up with the music... come on!!". See the YT video linked in my thread. It was killer.

Putting the strobes outside this year, blasting through the windows gave an awesome effect. All years past I hung them in the family room overhead. This time when all of a sudden everyone is in a black house, and 2200 watts of strobes blast through the windows across the back an in the front , it was stunning (the fact that the sunroom, where the food was, has nine sets of sliding glass doors helped too).

Now the part I am struggling with a bit. Saturday afternoon when the gremlins were out in full force, and signals not going through wires, extension cords mysteriously bad, etc. I told my wife flatly that this would be the last year. It is really draining. I start building stuff in August, work through Sept usually testing stuff, and Oct is nothing but Halloween. No spare time to do anything. My wife helps, but is not the creative type. And my problem? I can't do small. I can't do less than last year. It MUST be bigger and better each time. So Sat afternoon I was thinking "this all looks like it might be the best ever...." and it was. So what does that say? Bigger mountain to climb next year? I dunno.

I'll think it over. Maybe these are every 2 years now. Maybe I CAN do most of what did this time prop wise and it still just as good. The people, not the props make the party, right? I'm a 47 year old engineer, and things just have to be done right. Period.

One thing I am doing, as I take stuff down and pack up, is ask 2 questions. How hard was this to do, and what was its impact? Some things are really hard, you get all into them, but the reality is the effect is so-so. But somethings, if you look close, really are easy and payoff big.


Anyway, those are my immediate thoughts. I'll shut up now....


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## obcessedwithit (Jul 13, 2009)

*My party was AWESOME!!*

My party this year was one of the best if not the best ever. I had about 70 people show and all the costumes were great. Folks really got into it and had a lot of competition for the trophies. All the food didn't get ate, but that's ok, I put the chili in the freezer. Everyone is already talking about next and their costumes, I'm already excited, or really never gotten over any of the excitement yet!!!!
Here are a few pics:

Jack and his vitcum

View attachment 8355


1st place winner

View attachment 8356


Having fun!

View attachment 8357


View attachment 8358


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## senorita (Sep 22, 2008)

I was really excited to have our party this year on October 31st, I thought we'd have more people show up, we invited over 100, got about 50 yeses, and only 25 people showed up. So not the best turnout, but the ones that did come had fun so I guess that's all that really matters! 
The decorations were a bit hit, even with the little ones that came to the door and got a tour of the house! Limbo contest was also a hit as it is every year, and the suck and blow shooters went over really well! Gave us lots of laughs!!!
I've uploaded a few pictures on my profile: Halloween Forum - senorita's Album: Halloween Party 2009


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## Siph0n (Oct 13, 2009)

My party was on Halloween night also. It was my first time decorating, and having a halloween party. It turned out pretty well. We invited about 10 people, and about 20 people total showed up (friends of friends, and family). One of the family members brough over a fire pit though, so we had that in the driveway. It really helped to spread the people out, since my house isn't that big. I don't think we had that many decorations outside, but the kids that came to the door all said we had the best decorated house they saw this year. We had the Boxed In prop (Spirit Halloween), a couple of store bought tombstomes (Spirit Halloween), strobe light (Spirit Halloween), webbing (Spirit Halloween), and a window decal of a mummy (Spirit Halloween). Surprisingly the window decal was probably the biggest hit of the year (and one the cheapest).... The Boxed In prop is sound activated, but it wouldn't go off if people are just walking by. I also put a couple of holes on the outside of my house trying to hang it, and it didnt work so I just put it in a tree. Mostly everyone had a great time, except for the few that wanted to drink (we didn't have alcohol at the party since a lot of people were under 21). We did have Monopoly, Checkers, and Battle of the Sexes, though only 1 game of Checkers was played all night. I also had a fog machine outside, but the fog just blew away too fast, so it wasn't thick, so I brought it back in the house.

Overall, the party was a hit, and I can't wait to start planning for next year. I want to start building some homemade tombstones, a coffin, get some more animatronic props, another window decal or two (since it was a huge hit), fog chiller, and anything else a newbie can make 

PS: Does anyone know if its possible to make/change a prop that is sound activated, to be motion activated? That would of really helped the Boxed In prop.


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## Brother Grim (Oct 26, 2009)

I'm a new "haunter" but my fiance had a lot of decorations and I figured if I'm storing them, we're using them. My challenge other than this being my first party was the space. A 36 x 44 sq ft barn. It's a great space and used as a garage but it's a huge space.

What did I learn? Here's my top 7 pointers (as a newbie)

1. Like someone posted already, the people make the party. I came to this conclusion the next day when I was packing up. Like many of the people who have posted in other areas, I also didn't get as many people as I invited or for that matter RSVP'd. It's aggravating but I had a great time and then it hit me.... the people who didn't show up, I really just invited to be nice. So my big lesson on that one.... invite more than you expect, count on your friends, and enjoy yourself.

2. Ok, I can never let things go... what if the people thing really bugs you? Here's my plan for next year. Keep the same night, the SATURDAY before Halloween. Many people are tired on a Friday and a lot of people have plans, kids, or commitments on Halloween weekend. Second, send out your invite early, and send out a reminder. It bugs me to but I had a lot of people forget.

3. Ask yourself, who are you decorating for? Sounds like a stupid question but really, you're doing this for you, you just want it to be appreciated. I'm with you, but really, my body shop was for me. Now, the people who came REALLY had great things to say and I felt validated but I was sort of proud at how everything looked for me more than anyone else.

4. Make a budget - oh my god.... $1500 bucks when you add up food, decorations, and alcohol. All those one off trips to the stores really add up.

5. Start early so you can take your time

6. Pick and choose the props you really want to build. For me this was all new so I focused on Blucky Corpsing and got pretty good at it.

7. Use the people online - My knowledge base was all internet. I never knew any of this existed until I started looking and the amount of knowledge out here is huge.


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## Drayvan (Sep 22, 2009)

My party was a sucess we had about 50 people. Most in costume. The weather was ok even if it was a little hot. The midnight trip to the cemetary was a big hit with everyone playing hide and seek with the kids that were present. Those that showed up for the first time said that it was great and those that have been before gave all new compliments as the party seems to grow and grow. alot said they are looking forward to next year. I have posted only the decorations in my album of the party as most of my guests and me belong in a profession were they are scrutinized in thier private lives. So to protect them I will not be posting any pics of my guests. after I find out what is authorized I will post some pics. All in all it was a GREAT party and I give alot of thanks to everyone here for all of the great ideas and music that you all have shared. So on to planning for next year!!!!


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

My party reflections:

1) The members who said that its the people who make the party are absolutely right! Since our first party, we've had 2 friends who really seem to get the party going. Both of them had said they couldn't make it this year. One did end up coming but wasn't in a party mood (death of his brother). But it didn't really matter because others stepped up and took over the role of setting the atmosphere for the party and getting things going.

2) My guests are drama lovers. I have to give up control and just set the stage for them to shine!

3) I need to remember to set out more trash cans lol forgot to do that this year.

4) Preparing things ahead of time and keeping it simple allows you to enjoy your party more!

5) Be sure to make clear agreements about who's taking pictures and who's making videos. The guest who usually runs our video camera for us, showed up this year with his camera. Since he wasn't available to shot the video, it kind of left a gap about who WOULD shot the video. And that meant we didn't get much video this year.

MsM


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## Nikita (Sep 21, 2009)

The party was a fiasco. 10 paying customers. 4 of them belonged to the band. 1500 euro expences. 117 euro's in return.

Crap. I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore. IUn one year my company made 5.500 euro's loss. F*#@! 

Eeverthing worked out perfectly; although the bands were late like always and when they say they need half an hour to soundcheck, they make 1 and a half hour, so we had to open late, ande the beamer didn't work (so my employee Red has been working for omnths on Vampire-movie video parts for nothing again, likle last year when they couldn't figure out how to work it) and the very expensive sound-guy was smart enough to forget this cable to connect my playlist to the speakers...

And there wasn't enough crew to help people at the start of the haunt, so at least my mom's neighbour never found the place...apperantly he walked around for miles in his costume, then decided to go home again....and the haunt wasn't creepy enough they said...

So, in the end I fixed everything and except for the fact that we opened late, the party was pretty well done and very high service...but it was only for crew & bands and a few lost guests...

Now my company is officially bankrupt. And I really, really wonder if I should buy the bar or not. Maybe I'm just dreaming. Maybe all these years of studying never made me a professional. Maybe I just don't get what people really want out of a party.. I don't know. Sorry for this depressed tone, but I fee llike someone cut out the Hallowe'enspirit in me.

Pictures should be good though, the photographer really made an effort, I payed him 20 euro's (he's a student of photography) and he made pictures of everything, from before the party started, till after people left.. I'll receive them tomorrow by mail, I'll make sure to put them up here...


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## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

Just another comment about the "guests". In my experience doing many repeat parties, the guest list has to be cultivated. If people come and have a good time, they WANT to come next year. I know it is a chicken and an egg thing, but once you get a good "critical mass" the thing kind of flies itself. We have a few H-party "groupies" who are 1) fun, 2) always have great costumes, and 3) will come at any cost. One guy is a DJ part time and flatly turns down gigs for the party night so he can come. Others drive 40-50 mins each way to come.

Of course some years something comes up and some people who really want to come can't, but usually by Aug people are asking me about it. One or two dropping out of a critical mass group won't kill the party. Of course every social/environmental/economic and neighborhood dynamic is different.

So again, I am going to 

1) Take stock of what went well this year (what effects were the most bang for the buck)
2) Consider asking for help a day or two out.
3) Not let ideas for new stuff in my head take off without first understanding WHAT it will take to pull them off.


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## fravak (Dec 11, 2006)

Our party turn out extremely well this year. We did it on the 24th because my wife turned 40 on the 25th. We went all out building props this year and I expanded from the house into the garage. We invited about 100 people and had about 50 show up. Of the ones that didn't show up, most were either sick or had sick kids. A lot of the non-sick no-shows are hearing rumors about the decorations and have told me they wished they would have come.

The things that went well:

- Lots of subtle decorations. Up until the end, people were still finding little things to suprise them and calling others over to check it out. 

- Having kids banished to the dungeon. They had piles of board games, the Wii on a video projector and a huge stack of kid friendly halloween movies. They also had their own food area and fully stocked refridgerator. We had 15-20 kids and I saw 3 total during the course of the night and that was when they ran out of food and snuck up to steal bowls of chips. 

- Catered food. (helps that I own the catering company) Having a crew show up with the food half an hour before the party started let us concentrate on everything else and took out a lot of the stress. 

- Lots of rum punch. (3 bottles black rum, 1 bottle brandy, 1 gallon orange juice, handful sugar.) It went down smooth. Maybe a little too smooth. 

- Starting early. Party started at 5:00 and was winding down around 10:00. I was exhausted and just getting over a cold, so it was nice to be sprawled out on the couch before 11:00 drinking rum with my wife, and quietly watching the books on the bookshelf slowly fall out and catch themselves at the last second. It was very peaceful after the wild party.

- Having the party a week before Halloween. Helped us to avoid the massive snowstorms and let us go out to do traditional trick or treating with the kids. 


Things that didn't go as well:

- Lots of people were home sick. Not much you can do about that.

- Stressed over decorations. I got way carried away with building props this year. Everyone loved them but I'm burned out now. Johnshenry is right. Think about what it will take to pull off that wild idea before you start. Building a 9'x20' bow of a pirate ship in my garage two days before the party was probably not the smartest thing to do...

- Having the party a week before Halloween. We conflicted with a few other non-Halloween parties and people told me they were a little worried about not coming in costume or wearing their costumes a week before Halloween. 

- Not sending invitations out early enough. We will also be sending out save-the-date reminders next year. 


I agree with what everyone else has said. The guests make the party and once you hit that critical mass, the party really takes care of itself. A couple of my wife's best friends were out of town and it really affected the dynamics of the party. It wasn't bad, but it was different than previous parties.


Not to hijack the thread but Nikita, I understand your disappointment and frustration. Running a business is 100x harder than you ever imagine and you will always need more money that you have. You have to enjoy what you are doing enough to accept the added frustration and stress. I have owned a business for 12 years and if I knew then what I know now, I probably would have run away in fear. Keep at it and become an expert in EVERY aspect of a bar before you try to buy it. And get twice the money/financing you think you will need BEFORE you buy it. Without knowing anything about it, I can guarantee you it will cost more and make less than you are projecting right now. Don't let that discourage you.


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## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

Did you really build a pirate ship? Have any pics?

You guys keep giving me more ideas about what I did/did not do.

EARLY INVITATIONS are key. In our house, he who goes to the kitchen calendar with a sharpie, owns the date. We sent them out mid-Sept, I really was shooting for early Sept. I did the little refrigerator magnets (graphic is in my sig below). Really easy, cheap and people like them. Of course with our party on the 31st, it was kind of hard to forget the date.

My wife keeps an MSAccess data base of names and addresses and was able to send an e-mail out to all the RSVPs and "maybes" a couple days ahead, we wanted to give directions and instructions for parking. I think that is a great idea too, as a memory jog. Well send links out to those addresses soon with the Photobucket and video sites.

About starting out, and even the "business" end. My philosophy for not being disappointed is simple. Set your expectations very low at the start. Even have NO expectations. Of course you are not going to go all out with your house if you are expecting no one, but keep it minimal until you build that guest list. 

I plan driving events for vintage car clubs sometimes and participation can be 40-50 or it can be 2. My approach? If I am the ONLY one on the roads on a nice day driving one of my old cars, its still good. My expectations have been met, and anything over and above that is gravy.


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## Nikita (Sep 21, 2009)

Well, yeah, you're kind of right. Although is was my 12th Hallowe'en party. And over the past 15 years I've been giving about 5 theme parties a year. Big ones. Now a company. I have the guest list, the groupies and all. But I don't know if it's the crisis or just the fact that now I do this for a living (haha..living..) , but less people show up every party. Maybe it's gotten boring, I don't know. Even the regulars didn't show up this year. Maybe they still have their heads fixed upon getting foods en drinks for free and are now upset that they have to help me cover the costs..I don'treally know.

I know for sure, that I've had a period like this once before, where they just didn't show up for a while. I knid of switched to another social group then, that was more into the party thing... I think this will need a lot of thinking, marketing planning etc. 

But the company being bankrupt is a fact. I'll have to go to court for that. Not a very good thing. I'm already selling my car, I left my house (live with mom)...sold pretty much everthing I own...I'm afraid I've kind of hit rock bottom here. So next Hallowe'en will be private, I suppose, just friends at home (if I have a home by then).


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## HeatherEve1234 (Sep 5, 2008)

Our party was a hit, we had 50 guests and all were in GREAT costumes, I was really impressed. Most dressed to the theme (Wicked Wonderland) and even though we had about 8 Alices, they were ALL different and so unique - one male Alice, one tarty Alice, one classic Disney Alice, one gothic Alice, one Alice with a homemade looking glass she was halfway through and one alice as a giant with her arms and legs sticking out of the rabbit's house - I was seriously blown away by the last two. 

Great things: 
-tons of compliments on the food and decor (starting to feature on my blog, more to come), everyone loved the adherance to a theme and that I coordinated the food & drink to it as well.
-only one couple no-showed that we were expecting, one more cancelled just a few days before and another got sick - but a few extras showed up, so we were about even with what we were expecting - and about double last year. This is about the max for my house, so now I get to start cutting back the guest list - so those people who no-showed are easy to banish!
-Chi Chi's pre-mix long island ice tea - we went through almost 5 liters and people loved it! Also the "peppered pigs in a blanket" were devoured, 4 batches and I never got one - recipe on my blog. 
-My first experience with blacklights, hung two over the bar and I love them - they were a good addition to my collection and I can use them year after year. 
-Lots of people declaring "this will be hard to beat!" and asking (mid party) what the theme for next year would be  I love a challenge 

Not so great
-I allow friends to bring friends, I want them to have fun and be social and it mostly worked, till a friend of a friend invited friends and that was just tacky - especially when they ended up spilling drinks, picking fights, and overall being douchebags. Since we're about at the limit of what my house can hold, I might have to be more direct and limiting next year. 
-Lots of spilled drinks, my wood floors are completely sticky. Might have to give everyone sippy cups next time  We're all around 30, so I wasn't expecting a frat-house disaster, but that's kinda what I got.
-hubby went down early - he claims the cups were too big. He's definitely getting a toddler glass next year 
-spent way too much money - made more than twice as much food as we needed. I had subtly suggested people could bring liquor to help out, but only a few did next year it will be overt - I hate to do it, but my budget requires people to contribute in some way if this is to keep going.

For the first time I accepted someone's offer to help set up and I'm so glad I did, it gave me an hour to get my own costume, hair, and makeup done and I felt a lot better about myself all night. It went by too fast, but all the guests seemed to have really thankful and positive reactions, so I'm hoping to keep up the tradition.


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## hauntedgraveyard (Sep 8, 2008)

Whew today is the day to decompress after a crazy weekend. 

It was a huge amount of work to get the haunted graveyard set up - and battling the wind and rain all day. My witch set up in the garage even got trashed by the wind. So, with all the extra work on the outside it was exhausting to get set up for the party.

The wind died down, the moon was shining and turned out to be a pretty darned good Halloween night.

The guests arrived minutes after the last TOTer. 

I was really impressed by the fabulous costumes by all the guests! Everyone dressed up. The pregnant nun won the costume contest. She is conviced she is going to hell as she wore her grandmother's rosary with the costume!! LOL

There were lots of couples costumes this year. Bacon & Eggs, pregger nun & priest, Harpo & Groucho, Ivana Humpalot & James Bond, Sonny & Cher and even the beatles! Lots more great costumes too. I was thrilled that everyone got into the spirit of things.

I am not sure if I made too much food. There were so many people here not everyone could get around to the buffet area. I made the witches brew with the lime jello & sherbet & 7up and vodka - disgusting. 

I bought lots of wine & beer, but with hostess gifts we got more wine back as well as flowers, gift sets and even a $50 gift card to a local restaurant (we have generous friends & neighbours )

Everyone seemed to have a great time!

What we tried to do this year was set up several days earlier to lessen the work in the couple of days before halloween. The wind destroyed that plan. 


The things I would do differently....

I would try to spread people out around the main level of our house a bit better, we have a fairly large home but everyone was crowded in the kitchen & family room. 

We didn't do any games, maybe next year do a tempt your fate game.

I may set up two areas food. Maybe that will move people around a bit.

I will discourage people from bringing food, I make enough and there is only so much hummus people will eat! I never ask anyone to bring anything. It will be the trick to tell people politely that there is enough of everything. Even with my huge fridge (and two smaller ones) I have no room to store extra stuff.

I think I would like to decorate more inside, I have quite a bit of stuff, but a few more odds and ends would be fun.

Overall it was great, but very tiring the next day!!


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## caju12831 (Nov 6, 2008)

*My Halloween party reflections (first big party ever)*

My Halloween party reflections:
1)	Decorated for ME, and it turned out great. Since we invited children too, I didn’t set anything out that would disturb anyone. I went with the graveyard and skeleton theme, just like I wanted. (Next year, learning how to corpse a Bucky.)
2)	I needed to focus on one project at a time. I wanted fog and a cemetery fence, along with a cemetery arched gate. Too much work, too much money and not enough time. Lesson, pick 2-5 projects and stick to them.
3)	Keep adult beverages simple. Beer, wine and punch were perfect. Anyone who wanted to drink anything else had to bring it. Kept costs reasonable and my liability as a host low.
4)	Little things made the biggest impression. Labels on food that were fun were noticed and commented on. Spent two hours decorating the fireplace mantel, everyone took time to look it over and see all the things I put there. A bat placed in a window, a candle in a corner, those make every little corner an adventure.
5)	Have a backup plan for music. My graveyard music was on a CD, and the CD player died an hour before people started showing up. Yes I was a little pissed, I worked hours gathering background sounds, music, setting the scene. Next year I’ll be sure to test things twice and have an alternative. To me, a graveyard needs spooky music/sounds.
6)	We had temps in the 60s, clear with an almost full moon. Adult beverages were outside to allow those who wanted to not drink around the kids, the ability to get a buzz and not feel guilty.
7)	Set aside a separate room for kids to play and do Halloween activities. Between the activities, the movies and Wii, they were entertained. I decorated that room with kid friendly pumpkins and paper witches.
8)	To keep on budget, we asked everyone to bring a dish. We set aside ½ our food tables to allow for crock pots and food warmers.
9)	Super strong winds and rain the prior night blew down my entire cemetery! The party started at 7:00pm, and after decorating and getting everything set, I was out there with less than an hour to go! Keeping the design simple, but I have to make my setup weatherproof as possible.
10)	We used those flickering LED lights inside, bought dozens of them. Felt safe knowing they would not burn my home down, and many said they had to get close to see they were not real flames from behind the webs! 
11)	Everyone is right on the guest lists and invites. Count on close friends and family, invite the others and hope for the best. I also missed out on inviting my new neighbors, this was my first year throwing a Halloween party and now that I have that under my belt everyone will be invited. It helps to invite the neighbors, as we had some noisy people! Hard to be mad at a party host, if your part of the party too.
12)	Thanks to everyone here in this forum, you have all inspired me. Your pictures and hints/tips have helped me feel like an expert. I can’t wait until next year!


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## Buzzard (Jun 23, 2009)

We had our 4th annual Halloween party on the 31st this year (about 27 guest). We also had a big family Weenie Roast on the 30th (about 47 guest). I'm still trying to recover after such an exhausting weekend.

I discovered this forum earlier this year, so I got a little too carried away after reading about all of everyone's great ideas. We ended up pretty much doubling our decor & work load for this year's party. Overall, both parties went really well.

Pros:

-Everyone was really impressed with this year's decor
-The costumes of our guests were better than ever
-The weather held up well for the Weenie Roast, which was all outdoors
-We had a good turn out, only a couple of people who were supposed to come didn't show up
-Tempt Your Fate was a big hit with our guests
-I've gotten nothing but good compliments about this year's party & several of my friends have said that I always throw the best parties

Cons:

-I had a major emotional breakdown about 2 hours before our party because I couldn't get my wicked witch makeup to look right. I had to scrap the makeup & latex & go as a pretty witch instead--very disappointing after planning my costume for several months (lesson learned-always make time to do a trial run of your costume).
-It rained Saturday night so we had to boil the hotdogs for the party instead of letting guests roast them at the fire pit & this also meant no outdoor games
-My husband made a scene towards the end of the party when he & his buddy got into a small drunken tiff--he missed the costume contest & pumpkin carving contest results & I feel like his actions took away from the party a little bit
-The clean up yesterday & Sunday was the WORST ever (I might have to scale down a little next year)
-I didn't get as many good pictures of the decor as I would have liked to & my pictures never look as good as the house does in person

Overall, I'm left feeling good about everything. At the same time though, for the first time ever I'm starting to feel a little guilty about my Halloween buying obsession. I feel like I may need to slow down & stick to a tighter budget from here on out....maybe sell some of my older stuff if I'm going to buy some new stuff for next year.


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Nikita said:


> But the company being bankrupt is a fact. I'll have to go to court for that. Not a very good thing. I'm already selling my car, I left my house (live with mom)...sold pretty much everthing I own...I'm afraid I've kind of hit rock bottom here. So next Hallowe'en will be private, I suppose, just friends at home (if I have a home by then).


You're always welcome in Groningen for Halloween


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## Witch Hazel (Sep 6, 2008)

My party was two weeks before Halloween due to my husband having to work the weekend before and we have (and a lot of our friends have) tots for Halloween night. So, overall the party was a huge success. This is our 7th annual party and the one thing I've realized is this. You can invite lots and lots of people but there is a handful that really make or break it. We have lots of acquaintances that I invited but only the people who really want to have a good time and truly appreciate all the work we put into it are the ones who are most fun. Luckily our handful showed up. Also, for really the first time, I accepted help from friends. I always try to put it on w/o any help and now I know how stupid that is. My stress level was waaaay down compared to last year.

The one thing I have debated is whether to play games or not. We never have before & I wonder how well our guests would receive it. A lot get intoxicated pretty quick which could make the games funner or cause our guests not to want to participate in them at all. Not sure whether I should pursue this next year or not. We are definitely a dancing crowd and they may be enough entertainment.

Our party almost didn't happen because of H1N1 and we lost a few guests because of it but we couldn't really control that. Really looking forward to preparing for next year but I have a problem. Right now we fix our unfinished basement up like a dungeon for the dancing, etc. So, of course, we had lots of spills (people trying to dance & drink at the same time). We are planning on finishing this part of the basement in the next few months. I would really like carpet down there but I'm scared to death I'll be too worried bout stains. Not sure how I will end up doing it but there is one thing I am sure of ----we ARE having it next year-bigger & better hopefully!!


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## HeatherEve1234 (Sep 5, 2008)

Buzzard - I've been in that exact place 2 hours before the party, and this year I finally took a friend up on her offer to come over early and help - and I used that time to do my own makeup and hair, and finally felt like I didn't phone that in. Another option would be to get your makeup professionally done (or have a friend do it) so you don't have to worry about it when you're already on edge - I started doing that for weddings and special events where I know I'll be in pictures, and it reall turns the whole day around! No stress, and you feel better about how you look too  

Buzzard & W Hazel - I'm with you on the spilled drinks & mess, we're all in our 30's so I wasn't expecting people to treat my place like a frat house, but man, everything is sticky. I did have to chase down a lot of drinks on our wood mantle and spills on our wood floors, more than I expected for sure. I'm disappointed with my friends & family, but so it goes...like I said, sippy cups!


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

We had our party on Halloween this year. This was our second party. We had fun, but last years seemed to be better. One reason being the weather was more cooperative last year. Another reason was (as I mentioned in another thread) the Phillies were playing that night and since I live right outside of Philly, we had quite a few fans.


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

We had our party on Halloween this year. This was our second party. We had fun, but last years seemed to be better. One reason being the weather was more cooperative last year. Another reason was (as I mentioned in another thread) the Phillies were playing that night and since I live right outside of Philly, we had quite a few fans. 

Last year, we had the fire pit going and everyone hung out outside and really interacted. This year, most of the guests parked themselves infront of the tv to watch the game. It was raining most of the night, so using the fire pit wasn't an option until later. We decorate inside for sure, but a lot of the really cool stuff is outside, so most people didn't really get to see everything, which really bummed me out considering how much time we spent putting it up. 

I definitely think that we'll have people over next year as well. But I'm going to cut the list down. We don't invite a lot of peeps to begin with because our house is SO tiny and you never know what the weather will hold. But I think we'll cut it down even more and only invite our very close circle of friends. We'll see. 

I also think that I wouldn't have it on Halloween again (when it falls on a Sat. again) I'm thinking a week or two before would be better. 

It's funny, you definitely learn from year to year what works, and what doesn't. And of course I'm already thinking about next year and what we could change and add on to. I think for next year we'll try making some more of our decorations instead of buying them. We made a scarecrow this year and was awesome and so much fun to make. We did a papermache type pumpkinrot head (loosley based) and it was just so much fun to create that we'd love to do more. 

So, as a whole it was great! I'm still miffed about the baseball game, because I think without that being on...people would have been up and socializing a lot more. Obviously, I'm not a huge sports fan LOL!


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

I also had my first party on Halloween and it was a bit much trying to do the two on the same night. We put out our haunt and props on the day of. The weather was not that great but you have no control of that. To much to do, I thought I could set up and decorate the tables and put the food on them while I was in between giving out candy.......not. I was running around like a zombie without a head. Hubby was helping but when the TOT's asked where the scary man was he had to go out and scare them as he usually does. My kids were going to help me but we ran late with the outside and they had to get ready with thier costumes and it was just me. There were things I had wanted to do but couldn't due to lack of time. Guests started to arrive at 7:30 on time we had 25 people and although I felt like I rushed with my make-up and set up the party it was a hugh success and we had a great time. After a few drinks I calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the party. Everyone stayed till 1 and really enjoyed the murder winking game and casting votes for best costume and guessing the candy corn jar. We did not get to bed until 4 cause we take down everything that night. All and all in the end everything was great and I guess only I know what did not get done. I also had way to much food and I am taking notes for next year. So It was really awesome to have the party on Halloween night something I have always wanted to do, next year I will separate the two.


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

Wow, I can't believe you set everything up that day! I get kind of crazy in that I want to really enjoy my decorations...so I literally start putting stuff up by the end of Sept. LOL! We do a lot of last minute things though the day of and I know I ran around like crazy...I can just imagine how crazy you must have been!

Sounds like you had a great time though!


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

Trinity1 we had some damage of props and things missing one year when we set things up early and you never forget that. So now I only set up the day of for fear of things getting ruined or stolen. I have been tempted to do the set up early but then I chicken out lol!


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## Nikita (Sep 21, 2009)

MsMeeple said:


> You're always welcome in Groningen for Halloween


You're so lovely! I just might!


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## Nikita (Sep 21, 2009)

Ow, I thought of something positive!

- We got all the decorations and the haunt through the forest set up between 01.00 p.m. and 16.00 p.m.

- We took all the decorations and most of the haunt down in under an hour (bands were still packing their gear), boxes filled and closed, ready to pick up the next day (I drank, so couldn't drive it home) at 03.00 a.m.

- We went to the forest with the leftover friends/crew (about 5 people) planning on finally getting really drunk...when we figured out no one had brought any beer! Hahaha! But we had great fun telling ghost stories and knowing that we didn't have to take care of or worry about our guests anymore.

- Even sleeping in my mom's very little car with my best friend was really funny!


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

blackfog said:


> Trinity1 we had some damage of props and things missing one year when we set things up early and you never forget that. So now I only set up the day of for fear of things getting ruined or stolen. I have been tempted to do the set up early but then I chicken out lol!


I hear ya! We put our best stuff in the backyard so I don't worry too much about anyone stealing that. We do put lights and some props outfront...but it's mostly tombstones...and with Walgreens selling them 3 for $10...I'm not too worried about them LOL! 

It sucks that there are people out there that do that though. To what end? Just to say they did it probably.


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## epi0302 (Oct 20, 2009)

*halloween pioneering in the Netherlands*

Hi,
reflection from 2009 Halloween party from the Netherlands. In the Netherlands we don't have a Halloween tradition like in the US. It just started to kick off and some shops sell halloween articles and their are some amusement parks that have a party. 
A few years ago we started to trick or treat with a few kids and parents, but most people in the neighberhood didn't understand the concept and were a bit upset.
So this year we organised a halloweenparty in a small forest for the kids (about 20). We made up a local halloween myth with of course a curse. The kids were divided in small groups and had to fullfill some tasks and puzzels to stop the curse. The parents were actors in the myth.
After the curse was ended we had a party to celebrate the happy end. 
Everything went well. Even the weather was good. During this time of year it usually rains in Holland. But this year dry with a bit of fog, so it added a special touch. 
But still people in the Netherlands stare at you when passing the street in a dracula costume.
Thank you all for the hints in your forum and hope you understand my english.


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Welcome to the forum Epi! Nice having another dutchie around!
Glad to hear the kids had a good time in the forest and that your halloween activities were successful 

MsM


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## princessdark (Jul 17, 2007)

My reflections:
It was a great party: the food was loved by everyone, drinks were flowing and everyone had fun with the games.
Bad parts: I drank WAY too many rum shots and was throwing up and passed out by the end so forgot parts of the late night and wasn't as good of a hostess because of it (thank god for my sober husband!) I never did that before at any of our parties. I will definitely not drink that much next year, I missed a lot of the party from too much drink!! I hate when people keep saying "did you know you did or said this?" 
Everyone devoured our corpse food buffet so I wonder if we need more food next year, its hard to tell- we have had mountains of food left over before and this year, nothing left over except TONS of beer!!


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

epi0302 said:


> Hi,
> reflection from 2009 Halloween party from the Netherlands. In the Netherlands we don't have a Halloween tradition like in the US. It just started to kick off and some shops sell halloween articles and their are some amusement parks that have a party.
> A few years ago we started to trick or treat with a few kids and parents, but most people in the neighberhood didn't understand the concept and were a bit upset.
> So this year we organised a halloweenparty in a small forest for the kids (about 20). We made up a local halloween myth with of course a curse. The kids were divided in small groups and had to fullfill some tasks and puzzels to stop the curse. The parents were actors in the myth.
> ...


Welcome Epi! Glad you could join us. Glad to hear that you are celebrating Halloween regardless of how it's taken in your neck of the woods. SOunds like you had a great time and created a wonderful atmosphere for all of those involved!


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

princessdark said:


> My reflections:
> It was a great party: the food was loved by everyone, drinks were flowing and everyone had fun with the games.
> Bad parts: I drank WAY too many rum shots and was throwing up and passed out by the end so forgot parts of the late night and wasn't as good of a hostess because of it (thank god for my sober husband!) I never did that before at any of our parties. I will definitely not drink that much next year, I missed a lot of the party from too much drink!! I hate when people keep saying "did you know you did or said this?"
> Everyone devoured our corpse food buffet so I wonder if we need more food next year, its hard to tell- we have had mountains of food left over before and this year, nothing left over except TONS of beer!!


Obviously you didn't drink enough if there was that much beer left over! haha
We have the same problem. Sometimes we have lots of beer left over and other years its all gone. Makes it hard to judge what you need for the next year. Especially for us because neither of us drink beer.

MsM


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## masonjar (Oct 8, 2007)

*Fright Fest 2009: Zombie Outbreak*

This years party was a success! The theme was Zombie Outbreak. I sent a teaser for the event in Mid september. My teasers are always a flash animated website:

http://www.masonbartondesign.com/frightFest09/frightFest09.swf

Then in early october everyone invited gets a detailed email.

The idea of the theme was that everyone invited was infected with a zombie virus. To get a cure they had to come to the party. I love themes like this because it makes for a great group picture. 

Once they arrive they receive a card that tell them at some point the infection will go to their brain and cause them to ...(insert different actions here). This is fun because randomly during the night i have someone tell each guest the infection has gone to their brain. They then have to perform the action on the card. Really fun and great with good actors. 

We had soup and drinks out of pie tins and tin cans (added to the zombie vibe). We then played a couple table games like braingo (bingo) and a table relay game. Each table had to bring up items that were called out (a strand of hair, a sock with a hole, etc). 

To keep with the theme i mentioned everyone looked hungry for flesh and said that around the room there were hidden eyeballs. That got everyone up close and personal with my props which i liked because they had to notice them this way. 

I always have my party at our local church house so after the eyeball hunt i sent them into the next room where a projector and seats were set up. I had everyone watch Michael Jackson's Thriller. After the movie i gave a "scene it" type quiz about details in the movie. winner got a prize of course.

While they were in the movie room, the main room was being set up for the zombie walk. I had body party laid out in a circle. participants then had to walk around the body parts in zombie fashion then stand by one when the music stopped. A body part was drawn out of a box and the winner was the person next to the matching part. 

We also had a place to vote for best zombie costume and also guess how much candy was in a jar. For all these activities they participated in (volunteer based) they secretly were handed a letter. They were told that by participated in the night they would receive these letters. That once they got all 6 they had to unscramble them and whisper the secret word to me. This would secure them the CURE for the Zombie Outbreak. 

Just before the end of the night we announced there would be 10 minutes of mingling while the best costume and candy count votes for tallied. At the end of the ten minutes a loud fog horn sounded and 6 pre chosen guests screamed in agony then fell to the floor dead. I had ushers move the rest of the guest to the far side of the room. The six lay on the floor dead while creepy outside sounds played. Then Michael Jacksons "thriller" song came on and all six guests including myself rose and formed a triangle. We then danced the thriller dance. It was increadible! We spent two months secretly learning the dance from online lessons. 

then prizes were handed out and the CURE was given to those that completed the letter collecting. the room was decorated so fantastically and all the guests looked really amazing in their zombie attire! I was starting to feel overwhelmed just days before the party and wondered if this was all worth it. 

IT WAS!


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Sounds like a really great time! And so many activities! That must have taken a lot of planning!

MsM


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## masonjar (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks MsMeeple! It really is a lot of planning but i think you said it that its hard to not one up last years party. I'm trying to remember and too lazy to look at past posts, but was it you that had the haunted hotel theme this year? I LOVE THAT THEME! I've been wanting to do it for years and i think next year will be the one. My fear is that it is a whole new set of decor that i don't have. But i get excited because i use our church house for the party so i could totally use all those classrooms to my advantage. Anyway, might have to pick your brain later about it. Thanks for the great posts and ideas!

Masonjar


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## bri-z (Oct 4, 2009)

This is a great idea, and I'm stealing it for my next party! 



johnshenry said:


> I invited people to use the laptop in the corner running "Media Monkey" in "Party" mode to choose songs just like a juke box. It worked well except for the few times when people spazzed and clicked the same song 2-3 times or more... I had to go password unlock it and clear them, but it was no big deal). Only regret, get more song selections next time. I usually am trying to put music together in the last hours before the party. But I did not feel like I spent the whole night in the bedroom where the DJ console was shuffling CDs and missing the party like years past. People came to me with "requests" and I just pointed them to the laptop and said"go see if it is there?"..


Lessons I learned this year:

• If you need last minute stuff (fake blood, cobwebs) just go to CVS/your local drug store. Halloween/party stores are a nightmare the day of and don't have anything you need.
• Do NOT do shots 30 minutes into your party. 
• People stink at RSVP'ing, and there's nothing you can do about it.
• Cheap projectors and shower curtains make things 100x's more awesome.


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

masonjar said:


> Thanks MsMeeple! It really is a lot of planning but i think you said it that its hard to not one up last years party. I'm trying to remember and too lazy to look at past posts, but was it you that had the haunted hotel theme this year? I LOVE THAT THEME! I've been wanting to do it for years and i think next year will be the one. My fear is that it is a whole new set of decor that i don't have. But i get excited because i use our church house for the party so i could totally use all those classrooms to my advantage. Anyway, might have to pick your brain later about it. Thanks for the great posts and ideas!
> 
> Masonjar


Ha, you were close. I did say that its hard not to one up last year's party but I"m not the one with the hotel theme. Might steal it one year though  Our theme was the funeral with the long lost dead uncle and all his money.

MsM


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## jodie2526 (Oct 19, 2009)

*Our Friday the 13th Post-Halloween party!!*

My party reflections!

- our party was nov. friday the 13th. so people are still talking about it. every year we throw a post-halloween party. it's a huge hit! people love getting their costumes out one more time + we get decorations 50-90% off!

- our theme was a Carnal Carnival. we didn't get to do as much carnival stuff as we wanted to do, but we turned the living room into a tent, had some clown stuff, popcorn, carnival games (we only made $6 lol), etc. people really liked it!

- We got comments all night on the decorations, drinks, the turnout, music, etc. It was sad that all the work we put into it only lasted from 9pm-3am, but it was a blast anyway. Our house got trashed, but it was worth it. One of our decorations is missing... which is weird, but maybe it'll turn up.

- All in all the party was a huge success! We invited over 150 people, had 46 who RSVP'd as attending, 60 or so "maybes" and a lot who never responded. 70-90 people attended! A lot of people brought friends, so that was good. 

So anyway, I just wanted to share our party experience with everyone and post pictures! 

This is the public link to view our party pictures. Anyone can view them, even if you're not on Facebook:

Jodie Cain's Photos - Post Halloween Halloween Bash IV! | Facebook -- check them out!!

Things to remember for the next party:

- Maybe go back to having the party on a Saturday so everyone has the entire day to get ready. Having it on a Friday caused us to run around like crazy doing last-minute things.

- Figure out a better food situation. There wasn't enough room for all of our snacks every where so the kitchen was a disaster area. Very disorganized.

- Continue making the party layout so everyone HAS to stay upstairs. Closing the downstairs area off with a tunnel was great... except the tunnel wasn't sturdy enough so it came apart a little 

- Make all of the wall decor more stable. Things kept falling down all night. Nobody really cared or noticed b/c they were drunk, but we did! Don't wanna worry about that during the next party.

- Get a DJ. Our music was better this time, people didn't get bored with just hearing complete songs all night... the "mashups" worked out great. But, it still would have been better if we had a DJ. 

- Somehow create more space in the house. Move out some of the tables to make more room... it was too cluttered.


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## spooky little girl (Aug 22, 2006)

Anyone still packing away Halloween stuff??? ugggh

here's my link

Pictures by katrinaspooks - Photobucket


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Got everything packed and put away except for one box that I purposely left out for all the odds and ends you run across. 

Love your pics! So what was that spider birth thing? Looks like it ran off a remote?

MsM


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## johnshenry (Sep 24, 2006)

Digging up a very old thread, that I started in 2009, about party event retrospectives. Why? Because in 2009, 7 years ago, I said: 

"_Now the part I am struggling with a bit. Saturday afternoon when the gremlins were out in full force, and signals not going through wires, extension cords mysteriously bad, etc. I told my wife flatly that this would be the last year. It is really draining. I start building stuff in August, work through Sept usually testing stuff, and Oct is nothing but Halloween. No spare time to do anything. My wife helps, but is not the creative type. And my problem? I can't do small. I can't do less than last year. It MUST be bigger and better each time. So Sat afternoon I was thinking "this all looks like it might be the best ever...." and it was. So what does that say? Bigger mountain to climb next year? I dunno_."

Well, this year I have finally called it. I'm not saying I will never have another halloween party, but I am done trying to create that "wonderland"/Disney class effect. I have spent this afternoon "sorting" my decorations and SFX gear and it looks like I will be giving away at least half of it. How was this years party?

Awesome. 

Probably the best attended, 55-60 people. I had tuned in the house blackout/opening tracks and people we blown away. Even more fun we had 4-6 "newbies" who didn't know the drill. Costumes were AMAZING. But I'd have to say that only the Zombie attack party in 2010 was better in terms of theme/effect. But I am now 54 and retiring in 2 months and am looking to remove stress from my life. And these parties are a huge stressor. So *if* I do another, I may do lighting, sound and the signature blackout, but all the efforts on decorating/entrances are a thing of the past now. And we did not do a party in 2015 either.

But in the spirit of those original post, to invite all to reflect one what worked, what was worth it, what wasn't here's mine from the 2016 "Witches Ball":

What worked:

I saw a pinterest post on cutting out bats from black construction paper and taping them on a wall like an approaching "flock" (not sure what a flock of bats is called). Cool, neat effect.

Lightening. Again. This time I had 3 strobes outside again, but one faced away from the house to illuminate the trees right behind our house, the other 2 (750 and 1800 watt) shooting in through the windows. This time these were driven off a 5.1 USB dongle through my home theater system, MUCH simple than the 2 CD method I used in the past (but I'll digress on the techie stuff).

My thrown together warlock/steampunkish costume actually looked pretty cool. I'll try to post a pic.

Those people. Yes, that guest list, 50-60 really fun people in amazing costumes, all coming to party and dance... that is what really makes it.

What didn't work:

The only thing I can think of is the few guest who asked if they could "bring some other people". Nothing bad happened, but it was just odd that there were people in my house, some who got quite drunk, who I didn't know and who didn't introduce themselves to me. And the likely cause ....

My wife makes "cosmos" in an Ice Tea cooler and the 1.75 liter juiced vat was gone by 9:30. I warned her that people may see the sign "cosmos" but think "punch" and drink it that way. Again, not incidents, but I think we might scale back our booze offerings to just wine and beer.










So how did others do? What worked, what didn't?


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