I've never been a fan of Halloween. I'm not sure if it was my conservative upbringing, my personality or my convictions, but over the years I have gone thru various stages of rebellion for this holiday that is loved by so many. When I had kids, I didn't want them to be afraid of well...anything but especially spirits and darkness. I didn't want them to love Halloween like so many kids do, or feel deprived because they couldn't dress up and eat candy. As they grew, so did the pull the world had on their hearts, and I felt like we had to do something that was fun, but different.
That was 2016, a year before the 500th anniversary of Luther's 95 Thesis and the beginning of the reformation. It was becoming more popular to have Reformation Day parties and I took some ideas from the internet and added some of our own to make an adaptable party that could be done at home or in a club or school. We've done it each year and have really enjoyed sharing it with friends.
We have fun making our costumes out of things we have on hand, props from the halloween aisle and lots of creativity. I had a black skirt, sweater and piece of black felt. With a white headband, I pulled together a nun's habit, but my son wasn't happy with that and he made me a crucifix out of cardboard and sticky gems. My daughter made a Joan of Arc costume with her dress up cape and a pizza cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil. My son covered his rain boots with cardboard and duct tape donned his base layer and threw a plastic tunic from the Dollar Tree on to look like a knight. Each year has been different and is one of their favorite parts of the the party.
Here is a list of our favorite activities:
Martin Luther animated movie by Torchlighters. https://torchlighters.org/heroes/martin-luther/
Musical Chairs to "A Mighty Fortress"
Costume photo booth with some cute cut outs
Nail the Thesis: like Pin the Tail on the Donkey
5 Solas Dart Game
Tetzel's Chest Coin Toss Game
Bible Verse Station
Luther Rose Paper Plate Craft
Gutenberg's Printing & Scroll Station
German Pancake Dinner
Look for further posts, in this series, where I go into detail about each game, craft or activity.