Ronald McDonald House New York’s Three Nights Of Halloween Fun

The holidays have officially commenced at Ronald McDonald House New York(RMH-NY). Thisyear, our families partied for three nights straight with the House hosting various events from Sunday October 29

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until Tuesday October 31st to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve and to officially kick off the holiday season.

The Ronald McDonald House New York Youth Advisory Council is made up of students from local NYC high schools who devote their spare time to philanthropic efforts that benefit RMH-NY children and families.

In anticipation of the dark and delicious holiday, the Youth Advisory Council served the families a Halloween-themed dinner along with a bunch of fun activities after dinner to kick off the three days of festivities.

On Sunday night, the RMH-NY Youth Advisory Council hosted dinner for the families in the 2nd floor dining room. All of the events of the evening plus the menu were all created by the high schoolers themselves. Families enjoyed burgers and fries for dinner along with a self-serve ice cream bar for dessert. They capped off the evening of deliciousness with a Halloween ring toss game and temporarytattoos.

October 30th was the official trick-or-treat day for all of our kids and families in the House. Every department was tasked with creating their own Halloween world, but this year all teams had to adhere to the Candyland theme.

Thank you to Hannah, from Family Support, and the rest of the Celebration Committee for spearheading the day’s events and coming up with the theme this year.

Each department of the House came up with their own costumes and characters for the event:

• Operations– Candy stripers striped in the Lobby

• HR– Silly, multi-colored hipposlived and danced in the living room.

• Development– Tons of goodies were found at Lollipop Forest in The East Library.

• DigitalGrowth –Hopscotch happened in Peppermint Forrest in The West Library.

• Volunteers — Pick any topping you please at Volunteer’s Ice Cream Shop in the 1st floor conference room.

• Wellness–Chocolate Mountain filled the 11th floor Wellness Center with the most delectable treats everyone dipped and devoured.

Guests dressed up as their favorite characters and visited each land, collecting candy treats, fun prizes, and a lot of smiles and laughter throughout the event.

The afternoon was a huge success with fun and games and lots of participation from our kids and families. Though there might be a tummy-ache or two on Monday evening felt around theHouse,those tummy-aches were accompanied bybigsmiles.

It was a big day. Halloweenwasfinally here. That could only mean one thing: Our Annual Therapy Dog Parade on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. For many years now, it has been the tradition of Ronald McDonald House New York to invite all of our therapy dogs and their owners to dress in Halloween costumes. They joinstaffers and ourkids and families in the annual Halloween Parade and lead them around the block in pursuit of candy and other fun treats.

RMH-NY’s Annual Therapy Dog Parade

This year was just as fun and exciting. The crowd gathered in the lobby. The kids and puppies got some time to hang out and chat about their costume choices and all the candy they had raked in so far.

Once the parade took off, the crowd, withbannerheld by TWO pairs of Mario Brothers, marched down to York Avenue, North and then around the block back to 1st Avenue and then to the House on East 73rd Street once again.

The puppies and the families represented theHousewith pride. So many people stopped and watched as the parade danced by them, even one or two joined in the festivities.

Back at the House, families voted “The Cowgirl and Cowboy” puppies the best costume of the evening and everyone enjoyed candies and sodas in the lobby until sugar highs were eclipsed by a wave of exhaustion. Soon, the Ronald McDonald House New York lobby was quiet once again already gearing up for the next big holiday on the docket.

Halloween 2023 came off a smashing success filled with boatloads of friends and even more fun. Enjoy the video recap at the top of the page to get a better glimpse into the House’s three nightsor ghoulishcelebration.

For three days, “Baby, we WERE a haunted house”ofHalloween fun. However, everyday, Ronald McDonald House New York is so much more than just a ‘haunted’ house.

Ronald McDonald House New York eases the burden for families seeking treatment in NYC for a child battling pediatric cancer and so many other life-threatening illnesses. Through diversified programming, updated facilities, and a long list of services,RMH-NY addresses underlying social factors of health, so families can focus on staying close to their child and getting well.

Ronald McDonald House New York, thank you. It is your generosity that allows us to provide so many rich, memorable experiences for every family that the organization touches.

Happy Halloween fromRonald McDonald House New York! We hope everyone stayed safe and had a blast!