R.I.P. Amos Halloween Fete

Ordinarily, this time of year would find me frantically putting together all the necessary preparations for the Annual Amos Halloween Fete. For nearly a decade now, we've donned costumes and gathered our friends together to celebrate Samhain.

Except not this year.

No party.

Nope.

And I'm fine with it, really I am.

Sniff. Sniff.

This would have been our tenth(Gasp!)party, but for a variety of reasons, we've decided not to have one. First off, this weekend is our ten-year college reunion, and while it probably will be mild to moderately lame, we can't forgo the possibility of seeing old college chums and finding out who's gotten all fat and stuff. October, as it always seemed to be, was also jam packed with travel and a variety of other commitments. Putting together costumes and a party would have added another level of stress. My kid is effing stressful enough.

But most importantly, Adrian and I decided that after all these years the party has finally run out of steam. And I think the host and hostess have run out of steam as well.

The very first Fete was held just one year after graduation in our little post-collegiate apartment. I made the invitations by hand, using The Gashlycrumb Tinies for cover art. The guests were mostly college friends. There was a vat of some killer punch. And Sean put a sword through the wall. It was great fun.

With each party, the guest list evolved to include our work friends and old high school pals, always with the same dedicated group of costumed revelers at the core. Our best throwdowns (besides the first) were in 2000 and 2001 with the "Kings, Queens, and Assorted Royalty" and "Eighties" themes respectively. Every year, Adrian and I looked forward to creating our costumes, decorating, and putting yummies on the table. Halloween is our favorite holiday, by far, and we liked sharing the love.

Yet, as they say, all good things must come to an end. The excitement for Halloween feting has been waning. Those handmade invitations I so lovingly crafted have given way to blissfully convenient Evite. Last year, only a handful of guests even attempted a costume.

So we're putting the Amos Halloween Fete out to pasture, at least for 2007. Who knows; next year, we might just have a big blowout in honor of the tenth anniversary of our first celebration. Maybe even resurrect our favorite costumes (Could I even choose?)for the occasion.

Either way, we've not left Halloween behind. There are still a few costumes I'd love to don. I did feel a little twinge of sadness when I was bringing out my Halloween decorations; so many of them got left in storage. I didn't see the need of going all out when we weren't having a people over to admire my handiwork.

That Halloween energy has now been channeled into creating a fun spidery decoration for our door to spook trick-or-treaters and my son's own costume.

To tickle your fancy I've included pictures of our costumes from the past few parties. As soon as my scanner stops being difficult, I might find it in myself to include those pictures from the Before Digital age.



Last year. Theme was "Your Alter Ego". Alice from "Resident Evil", one of the few girl zombie fighters in pop culture, comes pretty close to my alter ego. Ash and his Boomstick seemed like a natural fit for a couple costume.



2005: I really didn't want to wear some stereotypical pregnant woman costume that either incorporated my belly (like a pumpkin) or was "wink, wink" about being in the family way (nun or schoolgirl). Fortunately for me, Brit Brit was preggers (for the first time) that year. We managed to outfit ourselves almost exclusively from Target and Old Navy, and it was a frighteningly easy transformation into skeez for Adrian. And to think; those were the halcyon days in the Spears/Federline union.



2004: Black Cat Ball. Our only costume requirement was that attendees wear black. I think we were the only ones in costume that year.



2003: Theme was "War". This might be my favorite couple costume we've done.



Skipping a few years to go back to 1999: Theme was "Villains". Adrian is sporting the evidence of my theatrical makeup training. It took three hours to transform him, committed little fanboy that he is. Shaved head and all. And I'm a post-modern Queen of Hearts, in case you were wondering.



Here's a closer shot. For bragging rights.

Boo. Scary Sith!