I love Fall, even if it is 80 degrees in Southern California! I love the warm sunny days and the cool crisp nights. I love putting up the fall wreath on the front door and a variety of pumpkins on the front porch. I live in a great community of young families and although my kids are older now, I still strive to make the season fun for them.
If you have teens that are past the trick-or-treating age or you just like to keep your kiddos home on Halloween, have a pumpkin carving party. You can have a pumpkin carving night as a fun family activity or you can make it into a party!
Send a fun invitation on cute pumpkin paper or choose a pumpkin themed evite, and ask your guests to bring a pumpkin. Supply some carving tools, which you can find at your local party store. Make sure you have plenty of trash bags available for cleaning out the pumpkins. You will need plenty of table or counter-top space for carving. I like to have a pumpkin carving contest and give prizes for the scariest pumpkin, the largest or smallest and the most creative.
I always make a big crock pot of chili with toppings and cornbread with honey-butter. You can serve pumpkin pie, caramel apples or hot cider.
A few more things that I think add a fun decorative touch, dry ice in the pool for a spooky fog. I use miniature pumpkins hallowed out and filled with tea lights around the party for atmosphere. Decorative glass jars filled with candy corn or cookies, adds color and easy snacks. I think it's fun to end the night with scary movies.
I have also been to an adult pumpkin carving party, where the adults had just as much fun finding their creativity by carving pumpkins. I also think the men at the party enjoyed the competitive nature of carving the best pumpkin.
I mentioned that I live in a great community of young families. One of the fun things my neighbors do every October is "Boo" each other. Yesterday I opened my front door to find a plastic pumpkin filled with goodies on my porch. Inside was a bottle of wine, some delicious candy and a few fun things for the girls. There was a picture that said Boo, a fun little poem and instructions that read: Enjoy the treat, place your "boo" on your front door, now you have 24 hours to copy this twice, make 2 treats and 2 "boos" and secretly deliver to 2 neighbors who do not have a "boo" on their front door. Even if you don't know your neighbors this is a fun tradition to start in your neighborhood.
No matter how old your kids are, you can begin fun traditions and making memories that they will talk about for years to come.
Happy Pumpkin Carving
Mama H. ;-)
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