There is no better way to celebrate getting ready for Halloween than a Pumpkin Carving Party with your friends. By following a few easy steps, you can put together a fabulous party that is fun for both kids and adults!
Supplies: On the invitation, ask your friends to bring a pumpkin for their family to carve. Then you take care of the rest! First, you will need carving kits which can be easily purchased at the grocery store. I always try to find the ones that come with the idea book with the tear out stencil sheets. This gives your guests a way to get extra creative with their pumpkins. Before the party, open all the supplies and place the carving knives in a little bowl out of the kids’ reach. I also had one larger knife out to open the pumpkins. This too needs to be stored away from the children.
Make sure to buy Painters Plastic Drop Clothes to put on your lawn. I suggest doing this party outside, and no one wants pumpkin seeds all over the place! That would surely ruin your lawn mower. The plastic drop allows people to sit on the them to carve, make a mess, and at the end of the night, you just wrap it up and throw it out- no mess.
Food: Choose a signature cocktail! For this party, we selected a Dark and Stormy to go with our Halloween theme. We also had Pumpkin beer, wine, and small water bottles for the kiddos! Having great party snacks is also key! I made skeleton cookies, mandarin orange pumpkins, apples with caramel dip, pigs in a blanket and had chips, salsa, and popcorn! I find that if you have a few themed recipes like the cookies and orange pumpkins, then you can throw in a few staple party favorites to fill the table.
For the oranges: use celery for the pumpkin stalks!
For the cookies: use gingerbread man cookie cutters, melted chocolate frosting to pour over them, and white icing to draw on the skeleton. Then, finish with black sprinkles for the eyes and mouth!
Coloring: If you have read any of my other party posts, you know, I love having coloring sheets for the kids. Why? Because it’s super easy and you can find coloring sheets for practically every occasion. The kids always love it!
Take family photos: Finally, make sure you have someone walking around taking family photos of the pumpkin carving and one family photo with the finished pumpkin. I emailed all our guests the following day with their family photos as a little “Thank you” for joining in our fun!
Enjoy! #sfmomsblog so we can see your party!
