A Recipe for a Party:

9:00 AM – 10 hours to party time. Hit snooze alarm 10 or 12 times.

11:28 AM – Drag myself out of bed. Carve Pepperoni Jack-o-lanterns and green, orange, and yellow bell pepper snakes. Still in my pajamas. Mmm… breakfast.

1:15 PM – Take a break for real life (i.e. my job. A food blogger's got to work).

3:40 PM – Swing by the dining hall for last minute party essentials. I'm saved – fresh mushrooms on the salad bar. And – why didn't I think of this before – cucumbers. They'll do much better for fingernails than "cheese."

3:55 PM – Pit stop at the bank.

4:00 PM – Hit up the dollar store for more last minute party essentials (But where are my post-Halloween sale items? And why are they already stocking Christmas goods?? Do find excellent red glass serving plates, though.)

4:25 PM – 2.5 hours to party time and home again, finally. Fry up pizza toppings.

4:40 PM – Carve onion bats. Cool shades, on. (For the onion tear gas. Not that they help much. These are some seriously onions. Told you there would be tears.)

5:07 PM – 2 hours to party time. Attempt to fry up onion bats. Set off fire alarm. Cue desperate magazine fanning.

5:15 PM – Set off fire alarms. Again. Even more desperate magazine fanning.

5:42 PM – Test punch mixture. Promptly spill onto my never-worn, tan-colored, last-clean-pair-of- pants. Break for emergency spill reversal measures. The punch is good, though.

5:55 PM – 1 hour to party time. Back in my pajamas. Blend up the "finger foods" dip. Black (food dye) + White (Ranch dressing) = Green? More food dye seems to be the solution. Unexpected bonus: temporary giraffe tongue effect.

6:10 PM – Frost remaining spider cookies. No, I didn't finish frosting all of the cookies on Thursday. I'm sure I had very good reasons, but now I'm ruing my previous lack of industry.

6:46 PM – 0.25 hours to party time. No Rice Krispie witch cookies (Next year, maybe). No fingernails on the carrot "finger foods." Commence last minute cleaning (Read: straightening up, tossing the dirty dish towels (and other common room detritus) into the bedroom and closing the door on them).,

7:00 PM – The first guests arrive! Take coats for Hindi Film Star and (Unmarried) Roman Woman. Yes, I am still in my pajamas. But not for long!

7:05 PM – Finally decided on a costume: Random Hufflepuff # 34. The pants are stain-free and dry, which is a plus, because otherwise I'd have to go as Random "Stumbled Over to the Great Hall Still Half in Her Pajamas" Hufflepuff #34. Not nearly as effective, really.

7:07 PM –Set out chilled punch, start up music, welcome more guests (purely coincidently dressed in coordinating Washington College Student costumes), commence pizza making. Revelry and toaster oven adventures ensue. And fun was had by all, and it was all good.