Despite what some people say, Halloween is NOT just for kids. Who said that anyway? Someone slap some Groucho glasses on that guy. No one has the right to say what something is or is not for any one group of people.
OK, fine. One declarative statement is allowed: TOGA PARTY is not for children.
Every year, a fabulous mom and dad at my daughter’s school throw a big toga party fundraiser right around Halloween. We have many fundraisers throughout the year— cheese parties, spin class parties, shopping parties, but this party is by far the most decadent. Guests as well as servers dress in costume, the property is decorated like a Hollywood set, and the view is spectacular.
We enjoy a three course meal. We dance. We plot our empirical conquests.
Caesar famously said, “What happens at toga party stays at toga party,” and I have to respect that. So lemme just tell you about our costumes.
Everything purchased at Joann’s. Started with a few yards of white stretchy fabric as the base togas. Super comfy. I also picked up a couple remnants of purple and gold fabric and some gold rope for pizzazz. I fashioned plastic branches into a head wreath for him and tied a gold ribbon around my head. At the last minute I grabbed a ti leaf lei from my hula costume to get a little Demeter Goddess of the Harvest look goin’ on.
But anything goes at Toga Party. Costumes don’t have to be white and handmade, some are blue and store bought and the guy wearing his kids’ Star Wars sheets is always welcome.
But I would like to stress the importance of tying that toga knot very tightly. For some reason, when a toga costume gets too close to an open bar and a heated pool, the knots tend to loosen up preeeetty quickly.
We came. We saw. We toga-ed. I’ll leave it at that. Before someone is sent to assassinate me.
My point is: Dress up is for everyone. And thank goodness for the good sports who dress up for toga party because it’s raised thousands of dollars each year for our kids.
I hope you have fun however you decide to celebrate this season of masquerade. And please, hire someone to drive the chariot if you drink too much wine.
