Throw an Easy Halloween Pumpkin Carving This Weekend

My husband and I have thrown a halloween party of some sort almost every year that we have been married.  He loves scary gory Halloween.  I am more Charlie Brown / Pottery Barn Kids Halloween but we both agree that it’s fun to throw some sort of Halloween party for our friends.  Some years when we were first married it was drinks and pizza before heading to a haunted house.  Once we had kids it was a costume party that evolved into a pumpkin carving / hayride party.  Over the last few years the party had gotten…..complicated.  Last year I just threw up my hands and said no.  My kids were disappointed.  My husband was disappointed.  But I just couldn’t see how I could work it in the schedule and do the whole thing right.

This year I could tell the kids wanted to do something.  So I did a party overhaul.  No adults.  Each kid invited a few friends and voila – easy Halloween party.  I’m not sure why I haven’t done this sort of thing for other holidays.  Sometimes I just tend to overthink it.  This is what I did –

THEME

I dug out my storage of  ziploc bags of pumpkin carving tools and some leftover pumpkin plastic bowls to hold the pumpkin guts.  I had each kid bring a pumpkin.  We set up a folding table on my back patio, gave them some empty bowls, some sharpie markers and told them we would help with drills to make it go faster.  The kids all ended up doing the carving themselves and they had a blast! I was literally buying pumpkins at Publix a few hours before the party.  Yes I could have squeezed in an Instagram worthy trip to a pumpkin patch but my kids are not so big on the pumpkin patch.  They like the carving part.  Easy enough.

PARTY SUPPLIES

I pulled out the random odds and ends Halloween party bowls and platters I had along with the stray paper plates from years before and instant party.  I had some orange and purple Solo cups in my pantry from my daughter’s pool party this summer and I pulled those out as well.  I did order Halloween paper straws from Amazon the week of the party.  I gave the kids sharpie markers and they decorated their cups with monsters and jack-o-lanterns.  Easy party favor that helped me clear out old Halloween paper plates and Solo cups.  When I was making a dash through Publix for pumpkins I saw that they still had plenty of themed paper plates and cups so if you don’t have any already in your pantry, just grab some at the grocery!

FOOD

Those of you that follow this blog for my sister’s super healthy recipes might want to look away at this point! We went very old school 1980s Halloween party.  I did frozen pizzas, mummy hot dogs (hotdogs wrapped in strips of crescent rolls) chips with salsa (guts) and guac (zombie slime) and Fanta soda in orange and purple.  I also baked cupcakes from a mix, bought pre made frosting and then picked up some cupcake decorating supplies at Amazon.  They have a big selection of eyes and sprinkles that made the whole thing fun for the kids.  I bought these sprinkles and these eyeballs.

For my husband and I, I made a pot of Chili that we then ate the rest of the weekend.  My sister has an amazing healthy chili recipe.  And same goes for the food above – you could certainly serve something healthier.  My kids eat pretty good most days so I figured one night wasn’t too terrible.  And you know what? Not one kid – tween or teen drank a soda.  So I have two cases of leftover orange and purple soda!  Eek!

So this was the party basically in a nutshell.  I think the lesson learned is don’t let a party so overwhelm you that you give up doing a party altogether.  I made one trip to the grocery store and bought a few odds and ends on Amazon and instant party.  Yes it wasn’t a year where everything was themed and everything was super Pinterest worthy coordinated, but the kids had a blast, I didn’t lose my sanity and we didn’t miss another year with a fun Halloween celebration!