FEATURES HOSTING A by Cathy Sloan H alloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine and my husband and has become a yearly event for family and friends. Approximately 20 years ago my husband and I were sitting around a campfire with friends discussing how much we all enjoy the concept of Halloween. It was decided that it would be fun as adults to dress up with our kids and hold a Halloween party. It was decided that we would hold the party in our two-car garage and so the decorating began. I realized a Halloween party was not going to work without some ghosts and goblins, so I went shopping for decorations for the first time and was amazed at what was available at that time. I purchased skeletons, jack-o-lantern lights, black lighting and webbing. Made ghosts of old sheets and drew scary creatures on the concrete with glow in the dark chalk. The requirement was for all adults to dress up. The evening went so well and everyone was so amazed by the decorations that we decided to make it a yearly event. Over the next several years the party grew and so did the decorations. The party eventually ended up moving to our upstairs rec room so it made it a little easier for the entertaining part of the evening. Upon doing this I purchased my first life-size decoration. It was a butler made of a heavy Styrofoam and came apart for storage purposes. It was placed at the front door to hopefully scare the guests upon entering the home. Since the first party the decorations have evolved over the years from items that just stand there to the animatronics. There are large life-size skeletons, books that talk to you, pictures that talk and move. Creepy and scary life-size dolls (some that don't move, others that jump at you). These 32 AT HOME IN BERKs October 2017