Lessons Learned

On February 24th was the annual Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. This, in and of itself, probably wouldn't have been big news, but in this case I had volunteered to be in charge of it this year, along with my friend Stephanie. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! I was thinking: It's Cub Scouts, what's the big deal? So, as is my usual tendency, I made it into a much BIGGER deal than it needed to be. When will I ever learn my lesson?


My first clue on how challenging this would be should have been at the point where I realized we needed to plan a meal for approximately one hundred guests with a budget of $100! And this also needed to include the paper products (plates, silverware, etc.), decorations, and awards! This called for some serious budgeting! (Not one of my fortes, as is evident in a previous blog.)


Stephanie, luckily, is a fantastic planner. She undertook the majority of the meal planning, which ended out being alphabet soup, salad and rolls. However, she also went on vacation to Mexico for the two weeks prior to the date of the Banquet, coming home the night before. So it was up to me to follow through with everything and figure out the decorations. No problem, I thought.


The theme of the dinner was American ABC's, or all about the many wonders of the United States. I really wanted to have a strong patriotic feel to the room to make it more fun for the boys. I decided to get paper products first, since they were the most essential part of my assignment. First I went to Costco, where I figured I could get more bang for my buck. I was disappointed in the boring choices available, and frustrated with having to buy such large quantities of everything. It cost about $50 just to get the paper supplies! I got them, because I didn't want to have to come back, but planned on trying out some other stores too.


My next stop was Party City, where there is a variety of patriotic party-ware. I did the math and found I could get the fun colored plates and napkins for cheaper than the large Costco packs, so I ended up buying everything all over again there, along with some decoration items. Then, just for good measure, I tried out the Dollar Store.


(Now imagine an angel choir singing here.)


I should have started out there first! I was able to get almost all the paper stuff for about $10! What a deal! So that left plenty more for my decorations. I was so excited! Of course, I had to spend about $100 on paper things alone, to end up spending $10, but it was worth it! I felt a little self-conscience bringing back all the other supplies, but hey, I've got a budget to keep!!


The afternoon of the Banquet I went once again to Part City to get some helium balloons for the tables. This was my big splurge. I wanted two balloons for each of the ten round tables, in assorted variations of red, white and blue. I got the balloons, not thinking about what carrying twenty helium balloons entails.


Have you ever seen a cartoon where a character gets a bunch of balloons and they start to float off into the great unknown? Now picture me, a woman of small stature, in my bright pink coat, fighting twenty red, white and blue balloons in a terrible wind storm.....


I unfortunately parked around the corner from the store, so I had to walk around a few signs and vehicles, terrified that all the balloons were either going to fly off or hit something sharp and blow up. They were whipping around my head in a tornado of red, white and blue streamers, entangling into an absolute mess. But then I had to try to get them into the car!!!! The bunch was big enough to fill the entire back of my minivan, and I needed to try to coax them in despite the fact that I could barely hold onto them. I tried the side door first, but the wind was pushing them to the side, like they were frantically trying to escape. I would shove a few in and five more would make a run for freedom. It was hopeless. So I tried through the trunk instead. Finally I tied them to a seatbelt in the back, held the door halfway down, pushed and shoved, untangled the streamers from around my neck and arms, and slammed it shut, hoping for the best!! Amazingly, they all survived the door.


As I was smoothing down my coat and breathing a sigh of frustrated relief I turned around to get into the car and saw a man sitting in a car close to mine, watching every move, with a snicker on his face. I wiped my brow in an exaggerated sign of relief and laughed all the way to the church! I can only imagine what the whole scene had looked like!


The rest of the night went smoothly. I luckily had a lot of help to untangle the myraid of streamers and ribbons (that project probably took about 30 minutes alone!) And I only ended up losing one balloon, and that was at the church, when they had already made it through all the treacherous parts of their journey! I ended up getting a lot of compliments on the decorations and how well everything turned out. I was really pleased.


Here are the lessons learned:
1. ALWAYS try the Dollar Store first!
2. NEVER buy helium balloons on an insanely windy day!
3. If you have to buy helium balloons, make sure there are no witnesses first!