Pumpkin Carving Party
My husband and I used this Halloween party idea for 15 years at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party. Families were invited and it was fun for both adults and kids.
We decorated the house and porchin mainly a pumpkin theme. There were a few ghosts, goblins, witches, spiders and webs around,but the main theme was pumpkins. My granddaughter came over the day before the party to help decorate and get the pumpkin cookies ready to decorate. This became a real tradition for us and made the party even more fun.
We supplied the pumpkins for all of the kids. The kids chose their pumpkin when they arrived and then carved their own design. Some were very elaborate and others were simple.
Parents were allowed to help the little kids.
After the potluck meal that we always included we would give awards for enough categories so that every child would receive an award. We also gave a small token party favor type gift with each award.
Categories would include such things as; Best Pumpkin, Scariest Pumpkin, Most Halloweenish, Best Teeth, Best Eyes, Biggest Pumpkin, Smallest Pumpkin, Most Adorable Pumpkin, Grossest Pumpkin, Most Creative, etc. The list would go on until every child would win. The age appropriate token party favor gift and certificate was given at the end of each vote. I had a relative that did very nice printing. She would print the child’s name on each certificate.
After all of the carving was done and the pumpkins were all lined up on the porch railing, we would call all of the parents and kids together to vote for each category.
My husband would read a category and ask which pumpkin would best fit that category. If everyone pointed to one pumpkin, it would win the prize and certificate for that category. If there were 2 or more pumpkins in that category he would ask for a vote by cheers. The pumpkin with the loudest cheers would win.
The excitement always grew as the contest continued and the yelling and cheering would become more energetic. After the final vote we would all go inside and the kids would decorate pumpkin cookies to eat or take home.
This party became the favorite party for our neighbors and friends for 15 years. Kids would start asking their parents in August when and if we were going to have the party. We even had kids come back from college and bring friends so that they could attend.