By Guest Blogger, Heather McLeod
We welcome back Heather McLeod of Twist Entertaining to share with us some fun ideas for a Pumpkin Carving Party with her special twist.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which is good and bad. Good because parents will have more time to get their kids decked out in their Halloween finest and have more time to prep for an evening of fun and mayhem. The bad part is that the kids will be clamoring from the time they get up to see when they can get on their costumes and go trick or treating. Surely this is going to drive parents batty, so we thought why not host a Pumpkin Carving Bash the morning of Halloween!
Invitations: Deliver miniature pumpkins with a whimsical invitation tied with ribbon to the stem inviting your friends and neighbors to a pumpkin carving bash.
Sample wording:
This is no Trick
You’re in for a Treat!
We’ll be Carving up Pumpkins
And Plenty of Sweets
Setting: Outside at your home or a park…this party can be messy!!
Décor: Color scheme is orange of course and we are picturing accents of orange gingham for this morning soiree. Use the gingham ribbon to hang orange paper lanterns turned into pumpkins (See Martha Stewart for a tutorial) from trees, porches, fences, etc. Purchase orange cups and plates. White napkins would be adorable with cute orange pumpkins stamped on them. Simple and whimsical…your guests will love it.
Food: This party is raging in the mid-morning, so take advantage of easy breakfast sweets. Bagels and pumpkin cream cheese, apple cider donuts, maple glazed donuts, muffins, fruit skewers, etc.
Drinks: Apple cider for the kids and spiked apple cider for the grown ups or if you are really feeling brave then pumpkin martinis.
Activities:
Pumpkin Carving
• You can have guests BYOP: bring your own pumpkin or purchase a pumpkin for every family and set them up in your yard for guests to pick out their own as they arrive.
• Set up a series of tables on your lawn, so your guests will have locations to create and carve their pumpkins. Borrow tables from neighbors or it is quite easy to rent 6 ft. tables and have them delivered. (Classic Party Rentals, Charlotte) Cover each table with a disposable table cloth purchased from your favorite party store. This party is messy, so you want to be able to throw the tablecloths away.
• Small pumpkin carving kits are available at party stores and even grocery stores now. It is wise to hand these to parents as they arrive. Once the children draw what they want on the pumpkin parents can carve the pumpkin and the kids can decorate them.
• Venture over to a craft store and stock up on markers, glitter pom poms, glue, ribbon, stickers ….really anything you could or would want to glue or stick on a pumpkin.
• Have trash cans placed at every table for the pumpkin guts. Small galvanized silver buckets are available at Lowe’s. We even tie the gingham ribbon on the trash cans.
• Download pumpkin templates and have them set out at each table to help inspire families.
• Decorate and have fun.
Bobbing for Donuts:
Tie orange gingham ribbon around apple cider donuts and hang them from tree branches. Have the kids put their hands behind their backs and attempt to eat the swinging donuts. See…breakfast and a game all in one!
Awards
There need to be prizes for all of the effort of the families.
Find Halloween medals and trophies at www.trophydepot.com
You could also just spray paint pumpkins gold and tie a card to the pumpkin that states what award it is and hand them out as the trophies.
Potential awards categories could be:
• Most Creative
• Best Family Participation
• Scariest
• Goofiest…pumpkin; not family
An Additional Treat:
In college we had t-shirts made for EVERYTHING, why not have a t-shirt designed for this pumpkin carving bash? Hand the t-shirts out as guests arrive and have them slip them over their clothes. They get a free t-shirt and keep their clothes clean. Just think of how fun it will be when you notice someone at Target sporting your Pumpkin Carving Bash T-shirt….other shoppers will be so jealous that they were not invited. www.customink.com
Twist Tip: So, let’s say you just cringed at the thought of pumpkin guts all over your yard. Then we suggest having the kids create there own trick or treat bags instead. Head to your local craft store and purchase large paper gift bags. Stock up on glitter, glue sticks, markers, stickers, Halloween cut outs…anything really. Have the kids create away. So fun!
4 comments
What a great idea. I am totally doing this. I am Twist subscriber and love to get these tips. I have used these before and it is always a hit. I cannot explain to you, as a working mother, how great it is to have a “playbook” so to speak for parties. I have to do very little but just follow the directions. The last party I did for the kids was a total Twist Tip and everyone thought I was like a super mom. Every asked how I had the time and how did I ever become so clever. I am sad to say I took all the credit and did not tell them Twist did laid out the entire thing. I will not make that mistake this time (I feel too guilty). I will be sure to tell everyone the Twist is the reason for my pumpkin carving party. Thanks again for saving me Twist. And thanks CSP for featuring Twist Again. You guys are awesome.
Thank goodness! Halloween Saturday has the possibility of being a super long day but now I have a plan. What a great idea! I love all the twist tips but this one is terrific. Now I can't wait for Halloween! (not my sentiment before reading this!).Thanks!
thanks for sharing the clever halloween ideas. my kids will have a blast with all of this! i love twist b/c they always tell you everything you need to know to throw a great event – down to which type of ribbon to use. i look forward to seeing more twist tips in the future.
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