Halloween Swap!

Elizabeth of MommyChef hosted a Halloween Swap. Bloggers who wanted to participate sent Elizabeth a brief description of themselves and then Elizabeth matched us up. Participants were to plan, assemble and send a package of Halloween-related items and recipients were to post about their packages. Well, since I love Halloween, this was a no-brainer for me. I sent Elizabeth my info and waited.

It wasn't long before I got my assignment, a young (probably young enough to be my daughter) mom in Utah, Kristen of One and Two Make Three. Already I was excited, since the Wintle family includes a little girl, Allyson, meaning I got to factor her in while putting together a package. Since my youngest child is now a preteen, this was a definite plus for me. I began checking in with the Wintles and really enjoying the pictures of Ally and reading about their family life.

I began planning what I wanted to send, some things that the Wintles could incorporate into their Halloween traditions, and and something that they could pull out on subsequent Halloweens that would remind them of me and the rest of the Dowd family. I wanted to include something that would be unique to our region, and something that captured the fun and flavor of the season. In the midst of this preparation and planning, Molly broke her leg at school and besides my full time job, part-time consulting, blog, and just being a mom, suddenly my life was full of ortho consults, x-rays, crutches, wheelchairs, icepacks, and tons of make-up schoolwork.

As we finally started to get back into somewhat of a semi-normal routine, we took our last-of- the-year camping trip with our friends Julie, Anthony and Lilly, and when we returned, there was a box from the Wintle family waiting for us.

The girls were so excited, that they wouldn't even let me finish unpacking the car before we had to open the package. Seriously, it was just like Christmas! After I found the scissors and cut the tape that held the seams of the box together, we opened the flaps and there was a rolled up scroll nestles in a bed of shredded paper that directed us to read it first.

Kristen had clearly taken as much time packaging as she had selecting, with each item having its own note, and contained in a Halloween-themed bag, which made each item like a seperate gift. We pulled out our treasures one by one, with everyone ooh-ing and aah-ing.

There were Kristen's favorite sugar cookie recipe and a pumpkin cookie cutter (I didn't have one!) and some black annd orange sprinkles that we put to work that very evening, decoration Bridget's birthday cake!

The girls' favorite was a terrific CD of Halloween themed music and sounds which we promptly listened too, and were so excited to use on Halloween night!

Kristen also included some really cute decorative items that are now part of our Halloween tradition. I show a picture that we took when we unwraped them and then another picture to show you that these items immediately found a home in our house!

This swap was so much fun and I hope that Kristen and the Wintle family enjoyed the items that we all selected for her, and the next time you see the opportunity to participate in a swap, grab it! It really is as much fun to give as to receive! P.S. Kristen, your package was boo-tiful!