Pumpkin Carving Party

I had the family over this year for a Pumpkin Carving Party!

As you know from my previous posting to this blog – Halloween is not my favorite holiday in the world. But it was a good excuse to have a family get-together, as well as a way to get a bunch of pumpkin seeds to roast! I love pumpkin seeds.

I told every body to bring their own pumpkin to carve as well as a snack to share, and I would provide the hot spiced cider, carving tools, and patterns.

The carving tools & patterns were actually left over from the last two or three pumpkin carving parties I’d had in the past, but I bought a few extra just in case. Patterns ranged anywhere from the standard “scary smiley face” to Frankenstein, the Mummy, or the Wolfman. Some people even elected to carve out their own ideas, eschewing the patterns altogether.

The hot cider was scrumptious, if I do say so myself. I used the mulling spices from Dean & Deluca (www.deandeluca.com DEAN & DELUCA's Mulling Spice Blend includes cloves, allspice, soft quill Ceylon cinnamon and dried orange peel) and had a big pot simmering on the stove for an hour ahead of time, so the whole house smelled yummie by the time people started to arrive.

I had a fairly good turnout, too: Mother came with two big pots of chili and some cupcakes & cookies. My friend Corissa came with some peanut butter rice crispy treats. My friend Anne came with some crackers and artichoke dip. My friend Barbara came with a mix of spiced nuts. Noel & Lauren came with… well, shoot – I can’t for the life of me remember what they brought! Kelly & Tara came with a huge bag of Kettle Chips. And last – but certainly not least, nor chronologically in order – Heather came with a cheese ball and some tortilla chips.

We had fun. People carved their pumpkins, ate lots of food, chatted with everybody, and had a relaxing afternoon – just what I intended.

And I got a nice big bag of roasted pumpkin seeds – again, just as I intended!