The Halloween carnival went very well, or so I surmise from the kind comments of people who told me “good job.” I don’t feel like I saw very much of it. My focus was on making sure the food table stayed stocked, and then on getting all the decorations, tables, and chairs cleaned away. There were a few minor organizational troubles (Note to self: More ranch dressing, pre-test the microphone, and music for children’s parade) but nothing that impinged on the enjoyment or awareness of those who were in attendance. It was a good event.
And yet, I felt like a failure in the exhausted hours before bedtime. After I slept, I was able to sort out why. I failed to organize a large enough team for the event. I did too many jobs myself and too many gaps were covered by spur-of-the-moment volunteers. I am so grateful to the dozen people who pitched in to help clean up. I am grateful to the people who saw problems and solved them. It is because of them that the event worked. I knew that the event would be full of people willing to volunteer, I depended upon that, but it is better to have a crew of people with assignments to help focus the volunteers. I also depended too much upon my own family. Howard helped me run the event. The kids all helped with the decorations and set up. This meant that when I got home, the house was a wreck, everyone was tired and over stimulated. No one had the time or energy to reassure me that everything went well. All the evidence of success had been cleaned up, what remained was the evidence of all the family tasks I did not do because I was too busy doing carnival.
This morning brought a world of improvement. Howard managed the kids because it was all I could do to drag myself off to church. He even had Link carry all the loose bowls and ladles that I brought home to wash before returning. Howard also rallied the kids and got the house cleaned up. All of this helped me feel immeasurably better. This is important because my brain began to fill with ideas for the Christmas party which is the first Saturday in December just over a month away. Sorting out why I crashed so hard last night means I can plan better for the next party. The first assignment I made was to tell Howard that his only job for the Christmas party is to take care of the house and the kids while I’m busy. That step alone will make a world of difference.
Doing things myself instead of delegating is something I need to work on. It is probably a major reason I run myself ragged more often than I should.
Sandra,
I love this because this is exactly what I did and exactly how I felt. I don’t have enough people on the committee with me, yet and so I am begging people to help, which takes time. Thankfully my husband came and played DJ and announcer as well as putting together a killer soundtrack for atmosphere. We tweaked the traditional carnival into a chili cook-off competition, ugly jello contest, pumpkin decorating, doughnut eating (speed) contest, spook alley and family dance. Whew! I forgot to get enough ranch to go with the vegetables and didn’t know how many people were going to show so I could have used a few more doughnuts and a few less apples and caramel. Left the spook alley up to the teens and their leader, which went well in the long-run but had some glitches. I did get to hear quite a few people say it was a great party, but I took me two days to recover. The laundry is still piled up, but I will get there. I just hope I can learn from my mistakes and get more helpers. It always works better. Oh, and I didn’t even get to tell a Halloween Story! How could I let that opportunity go by? Not next year!
Now on to the Christmas party for the first Friday in December. You got some good ideas? We can’t fit all the people in the building so, I think we’ll arrange people to host guests in their homes for the dinner part and then all meet up for desert and service projects like a giving tree. Thanks for your post, I can totally relate. I want to be able to enjoy the next event and not just be the director. Now to find the happy dependable helper people……
The focus for our Christmas party will be on simplifying. So I’m calling it A Paper Christmas. All the decorations will be made out of paper. I’ll have a table off to the side with instructions to make paper ornaments. The tables will be covered with paper and I’ll scatter crayons along the tables so kids can color. I love group singing of carols, so we’ll probably do some of that. I want a story to give focus to the evening, but I haven’t been able to find the right one. I may have to write it.
The tricky part will be the dinner. We do not have much money left in the budget. I’ll need help to figure that one out, which is why I’m declaring a committee meeting on Sunday and seeing who shows up.