For people who have skipped their annual parties before.... help!

1742 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by spiney99, Jan 29, 2015

Stochey

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2015

Okay... as I was getting all the decorations out for my 2014 party... I had pretty much decided that I was going to skip 2015.

Reason # 1 - Slightly tired of destroying my house every year because it takes us so long to get it back in order... just wanted a two year stretch.

Reason # 2 - My Husband is working two jobs now and will be for next Halloween as well and all the work wears on him a bit.

Reason # 3 - I'd have plenty of time to prepare for 2016

Reason # 4 - I'd actually have time to go to Haunted houses and such around Halloween instead of just working on party stuff.

But then!! 2014 party was so so so amazing!! Better than it has been in a few years!

So then I was like... no no no no way am I skipping next year!

But now its January and I'm feeling... like maybe I should skip... now I have a new reason... our best friend is getting married on Nov 1st which would be 8 days after our party.... Aaaannnddd I'm being childish and I'm afraid I'll be upset when their wedding overshadows the party... as it should.

SO HERE IS THE POINT AND THE ACTUAL QUESTION: When did you know? When you skipped your party... when did you know you were skipping? Also...how did it affect the next party? Less attendance... lackluster party..? Or did everyone enjoy the break? Did you absolutely hate it or was it nice?

UGH.

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punkineater

· #2 · Jan 14, 2015

Ooo, that's a tough one. We have been haunting for 10 years now and we had to skip 2013 due to several deaths in the family just prior & emergency brain surgery on my hubby-basically skipping was a no brainer

(no pun intented). Thought we were skipping 2014 because our son was getting married Oct 25, but we bumped up the haunt/party to Oct 4th and rolled with it. We decided to go ahead with Halloween 2014 in Aug- that gave us time to start setting up for an early haunt & send out the invites. It was crazy getting both things done & a HUGE amount of work, but totally worth it in the end, for us. The attendance was lower, as about half of the normal group were coming from out of town for the wedding.. it was one or the other for most. But, because the haunt was early in the month, the weather was great! (It poured here on Halloween night and the day after) Otherwise, attendance fluctuates from year to year; we've had 100+, and we've had 35. As long as everybody is having fun, and I ALWAYS have fun setting up, we will do it. I look forward to Halloween all year; getting new ideas, building props... and there's just not enough medication to make me feel better when we skip

Good luck!

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Vandalay Industries

· #3 · Jan 14, 2015

I have skipped parties several times and I feel it actually helps sometimes as people like the break too. We always do a huge yard haunt on Halloween night itself and the party a week before so it gives me a break too. I actually went two years between parties once and everyone was so excited that I had my biggest bash that year with the most people. That's my 2 cents.

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DarkhavenManor

· #4 · Jan 14, 2015

Skipped our party for a few years. It's definitely a little sad, but it makes the next year so much more rewarding! And it's always nice to take a break from the massive amount of work!

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matrixmom

· #5 · Jan 14, 2015

Our parties have evolved over the years - when the kids were really young, it was light, a lot of kitschy decor and fun old fashioned games then went tot. We did this for a couple of years. Then we waited a couple (or 3 or 4) and we had a huge scary scavenger hunt. We had the whole street closed down for this. I waited a couple of years again, had the nuclear fallout, then the pirates last year. Every year in between , all our friends would ask when we were having it this year....my decision is basically based on finances and really nothing else to start planning. This year we are getting ready to pay for college for son #1 soooo a halloween party is a no go this year. And truthfully, we will probably never have one for a long time. I will still decorate - but not the huge extent inside and outside the house.

I think skipping some years is great - made the years we did have one such a huge and successful turnout because they remembered the one for 2 years ago and they weren't going to miss this one! If you have it every year, people might duck out because they know you are having one as equally spectacular (or more) next year!

Start planning and preparing - if you can't do a party you can still decorate....

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Zoemorgan2

· #6 · Jan 15, 2015

I skipped 2013 and now I'm skipping 2015. I actually like to take a break and it allows me to save up both money and brain power for the next party. I just keep adding to my file of ideas, as I always know what the next theme will be and I have double the time to make props. Some people are disappointed but they seem to RSVP yes, a lot faster to the next party...
Best part of all is I get to actually watch the new fall shows that come out - lol

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dawnski

· #7 · Jan 23, 2015

I'm skipping this year and it's so hard because I have so many ideas! We did 2009/10 and then skipped 2011 because we were out of town. Then we did three years in a row. In that group, the second year we had a low turnout (20 to 25). My husband was annoyed because of all the time and effort I put in for people to not appreciate it. So for this last year we loudly promoted that we were taking a break in 2015 and this would be their last chance for an epic party. We had a huge turnout (80) which was perfect because this was my best decorating year to date. So as much as I am loathe to do so, every other year is probably the way to go.

But tell that to my brain, because I'm here in January living vicariously through those planning parties this year. For people like us, we need to find outlets for our creativity. I'm hoping one of my relatives will decide to have a party and I can help them decorate. Or maybe find some fun out of state Halloween happening to attend.

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dee14399

· #8 · Jan 29, 2015

We have skipped a couple years also. I had a hard time with it but I truly believe it saved my sanity.
I go all out for our parties and the cost alone is staggering. Not to mention all the work that goes into them.
I had some people tell me they were bummed we didn’t have our party but it meant that we could do a better party the next year.
I really got into other things on this forum the years we didn’t do our parties, like the secret reapers and the Halloween card exchange.
Those things are really fun to look forward to when your missing doing your party. (actually they are really fun to do all the time

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spiney99

· #9 · Jan 29, 2015

Haven't had a party since I started working with the local homeowners association to run their annual event..It has been six years now..
That being said,
I still go nuts with the outdoor decorations. On Halloween, nobody comes inside..We just put a table at the end of the driveway. We hook up with neighbors and all get together for the evening. We each bring our own food/beverages and have fun just talking while all of the ToTers go by.

The best part is watching all of the kids and their reactions to the decorations. I am one of only a few that really decorate, and I kind of like it. We stand out

I don't need to entertain a select few for an entire evening. I would rather entertain everyone walking by for a short time then relax in my own house without worrying about who spilled what/broke what etc...

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