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From Chaos to Community Mastering the Art of a Stress-Free Trunk-or-Treat
Episode 68
So September's here and I'm already getting that stomach twist about Halloween planning. Why do I keep agreeing to this?
Writing this down cause maybe if I admit how badly last year went I won't repeat same mistakes. Rain turned everything into mud wrestling match. Half my volunteers just didn't show up. Like where do people go? Do they fall into alternate dimension on event day?
Ran out of candy by six-thirty which apparently makes me worst person alive according to parents whose kids didn't get full Halloween experience they demanded.
Board keeps saying it's great outreach but mostly it's great way for me to discover new levels of stress I didn't know existed.
Had this brilliant plan where people would just bring candy and everything would work out. Spoiler alert - some cars had three pieces left while others could stock convenience store. Kids having complete breakdowns cause Halloween justice apparently very important to seven year old's.
Weather forecast promised sunshine delivered monsoon exactly when we started. Kids in soggy costumes parents giving me looks like I personally offended meteorology gods.
Tom actually likes directing traffic which is weird but useful. Sarah doesn't panic when chaos erupts so she's handling registration. Jessica enjoys judging children's costumes which sounds wrong but whatever works.
Still don't really know what I'm doing but figure if I write down last year's disasters maybe this year will only be regular disaster instead of apocalyptic one.
Planning backup plans for backup plans cause apparently that's my life now.
*For anyone whose community events turned into personal trauma, leaders still figuring out how to manage Halloween chaos without therapy afterward, people learning that outreach sometimes means surviving your own good intentions.
Check out KidsMinistry.Blog for more ideas, tips, and resources to help your Children's Ministry thrive!"
Published on 2 weeks, 3 days ago