AN AFTERNOON IN WONDERLAND

I've always liked Halloween because of the fun of dressing up. It's a wonderful holiday to express creativity and to see others do so as well, but after kids, I found myself wanting to be more deliberate and intentional about the way we celebrated. When you have to explain yourself and the way that you do something to a small child who is in encountering all of these things for the first time, it helps you think about things in a new way and take nothing for granted. This intentionality manifested itself last year, when a few friends who also love stories and love reading with their children, decided to throw a party based on the Peter Pan book for our dress-up celebration. We didn't know if we could pull it off or if everyone would be into it, and we were happily surprised at how well it turned out. The big takeaway from that party was the joy of seeing how excited the kids were about it, and how fun it was that both adults and kids alike were involved in the making and playing of it.

This year we decided on Alice in the Wonderland as our book, and gave everyone a heads up months ahead so that they could start reading with their kids. We enlisted more help this year (which is the way to go for things like this) and I was so grateful for collaboration. I think we would all agree this kind of thing can happen because all of us are equally enthusiastic and committed to it.

I love how doing it this way allows me to deepen my relationship with Sloane as we read and discuss the story together. My favorite part was all the conversations I had with Sloane about the party leading up to it and then afterwards. It is also an unexpected delight to discover that this can deepen my relationship with friends who likewise love the stories, and value engaging with their children and community in this way. 

There are a TON of photos, I think they speak for themselves!