Make A Halloween Wish

The retail store I work with likes to give back to the community, and this month's project was volunteering at a Halloween party for the Utah chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Cool huh?  So Brian and I selflessly--from the goodness of our hearts--missed watching the entire cast of The Sound of Music on Oprah today and went down to Murray to bring a ghoulish smile to those kids' faces.  That is how giving we are.  We missed Julie Andrews on Oprah.

Our store was asked to be in charge of a booth, playing a game or making a craft with the kids.  My manager just recently made tie-dye t-shirts at her daughter's sixth birthday party, and it was a huge hit.  The kids loved it, and parents even commented that it was one of the best children's birthday parties they had ever been to.  They even emailed her pictures of the kids wearing the shirts!

However, not to speak ill of the foundation or what they do, but they were a little reluctant to let us make tie-dye shirts.  First they thought it would be too messy.  We assured them it wouldn't be.  But then--and here's the kicker--they thought it would be too boring!  "Just don't be offended if not many kids come to your booth," they said.

I guess when they said that, they meant, "Don't be offended if the line to your booth wraps around the building and the 100 shirts you brought with you aren't enough so you have to send people out to buy more."  Yeah.  That's right.  To quote my boss: "We were the hit of the party!"

We did it assembly-line-style.  The kids picked their t-shirt size and someone soaked it in water, twisted it up, and rubber-banded it.  It then went to the next person who dyed the shirt in the colors that the kids got to choose.  It was then wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a Ziploc baggie with the child's name, and instructions on what to do with it were stapled to the bag.  All they have to do is let the shirt soak in the bag over night, rinse it in cold water, and let it dry.

I was one of the ones doing the dyeing, and Brian was bagging it up before he had to leave for work.  I stayed the whole time though, and dyed t-shirts for three hours straight.  Yep.  Three hours.  Right through Oprah.  It may sound grueling, but it was a lot of fun!  The kids were all dressed in their costumes and having a great time.  Some of the kids are too sick to go trick-or-treating, and this party is really all they have to celebrate the holiday.  I'm glad I was able to play a small part in their Halloween experience...

...and I got to go into the Wish Room!! It was so magical!