We went to four Halloween events with Nolan this year! I made Nolan a costume; he was a ghost. Boo!
HallowMIT
Last week was HallowMIT, MIT’s campus wide halloween party. There were a bunch of carnival-type games, candy and cotton candy, balloons and the MIT Beaver mascot. There was also a room off to the side where you could carve pumpkins, but we didn’t find the room until all the pumpkins were gone. They also had a photo taker that would take pictures and turn into buttons, but we too tried too late. They did have balloons, which Nolan is obsessed with. This event was best suited for elementary-aged kids. We arrived to the event about an hour after it started, because it was during Nolan’s nap time. We saw Noramay and Chas there, too.
Sloan Halloween
Friday, we had two events hosted by department schools. First, was the Sloan Halloween. It involved a trick-or-treat around the Sloan and Tang Buildings (candy for mommy and daddy), and then a reception with food in the lobby. We came an hour late to this event too, because it started during Nolan’s nap time. There was a lot of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, and it was probably best geared towards preschoolers. It was fun to see some of the other kids.
Chemical Engineering Graduate Students Halloween
From there, we went over to the Chemical Engineering Building to the GSC-X Halloween Party. This was hosted in the kitchen/break area of the building, and had the best food with yummy Indian food (which was advertised, so we knew not to eat before!) and alcohol too. Kids were welcome and they gave Nolan little kid toys, but it was definitely geared towards the graduate students as it was crowded and had loud music.
MIT Family Net Healthy Family Day / Halloween
Saturday, on Halloween, we went to the MIT Family Net Healthy Family event at the Z-Center. This was planned at the last minute, but this wasn’t obvious to the guests! This was the most fun because it involved free use of the Z-Center (it is included in tuition for students, but family rates are more) for several activities. First was a little costume contest. Then was either kid’s yoga or playing in the pool! We went for the pool. It was fun, Nolan kept shivering but he had a good time. Also a good lesson was reinforced - to bring an extra swim diaper, even if you think you don’t need it. I think the diaper was missing the absorbent liner! The Z-Center pool also has a small but nice family changing room. There were also activities where the kids ran around and parent massages that Chris got (I missed it!).
Since it was a healthy event, there were sandwiches, juices, and healthy snacks at this event (and no candy). I think the Z-Center is sponsored by Clif bars, because they had three large boxes of various Clif brand products, and they encouraged us to take extras, so we did … and no one else did… so we took more.. and more…and ended up with tons of them. They will be good snacks between classes.
We had lots of fun at the Family Net Halloween and it was full of good activities for all ages of kids. It was nice that it started before nap time (11:30 am-2:00 pm). At the end, all the kids had lots of fun and were ready for a long nap.
Oh, and Nolan won second place in the costume contest! :)
Nolan’s prize for winning: little basket with a stuffed cat/pumpkin and a spider (that he chewed on).
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Overall, we had a nice Halloween and by Saturday night, we were all tired!
