A Frightfully Bewitching Halloween
By Candy Corne
Trick or Treat for Halloween? More like Treat and Treat for the Residents at St. Mary’s Home.
This year, we celebrated Halloween over the span of two weeks with activities galore to lift spirits. The season began with bagging candy and creating pumpkin art of all kinds. Our Residents had the opportunity to play not one but two days of Pumpkin BINGO. The second day was unboolievable fun as the middle school boys and ghouls of Immaculate Conception – St. Joseph School were in our auditorium to call numbers and try their luck along with our Residents. Both students and Residents were tricked out in imaginative costumes. Witches, superheroes, princesses—oh my! No bones about it, everyone is simply batty for Halloween.
On the day of All Hallow’s Eve, the weather gave everyone a fright: It snowed! (Have a Holly Jolly Halloween?) Because of the inclement conditions, the students at St. Josaphat School were unable to join us for their costume parade, much to the disappointment of our Residents, who were looking forward to a spooktacular time with the kids.
That didn’t squash spirits at St. Mary’s Home, though. With the Ghostly Social Gathering underway, Residents had a fangtastic time, reveling in activities and goblin faboolous cupcakes.
The day and festivities ended with the pumpkin carving and decorating contest. Residents, working with their “buddies,” offered their best designs. Staff also joined in, with various departments vying to be declared the best. It’s scary how gourd-geous the designs for the pumpkins were for this contest.
It was difficult to decide which design was best. But in the end, Resident Dora Corcyca and Assistant Director of Nursing Irene McDonald wrapped up first place for the Residents. Their pumpkin was a dead ringer for Nancy Sinatra singing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”
The winner for the staff was the entire maintenance crew, whose pumpkin was transformed into a ghastly hard-hat fiend with electrical outlets for eye sockets, a gaping maw, and a severed hand (!). Adding a mesmerizing strobe light, the maintenance team produced a monstrously inventive design.
Yes, indeed! This year’s Halloween was all treats at St. Mary’s Home!
Halloween 2019