Host a Pumpkin Carving Party

This past Friday, I invited a small group of friends over to my house for cocktails and pumpkin carving.  Since none in this group (myself included) has kids, which is typically the most compelling reason for carving pumpkins, we had been missing out on this fabulous holiday tradition for quite some time.  So as you could imagine, the response from my guests to this party invitation was an enthusiastic "yes!".  After extensive plotting and planning, I came up with a pumpkin carving party that struck a perfect balance of sophistication with splashes of festive Halloween accents thrown into the mix. Below is a breakdown of the various elements from my recent pumpkin carving party, filled with great ideas and tips on how you can recreate this holiday tradition with your own group of friends!

Pumpkin Carving Station

Since there were a fair number of us carving pumpkins, I decided to transform my dining room table into the pumpkin carving station.  Here is a list of the supplies I used to create this space:

• Disposable Painting Tarp
• Pumpkins
• Set of Assorted Foam Brushes
• Carving Knives (I just used my favorite Victorinox Steak Knives)
• An assortment of paints (see this post for more details)
• Glitter 
• Glue
• Tea Lights
• An assortment of Halloween candies (to keep everyone's energy levels up)
• Free Pumpkin Stencils courtesy of Better Homes and Garden (so many fabulous options!)

Pumpkin Trivia

Instead of just sitting around the table carving pumpkins in silence or with generic conversation, I thought it would be a fun idea to take this time to share a little pumpkin trivia with my guests.  Not only was it fun to see what my friends knew about pumpkins, but it also added an extra element of fun to the party.  This site has everything you need to know about pumpkins. 

Food and Beverage

What cocktail party of mine would be complete without a cheesescape?!?  Here is a breakdown of what I served at this party:

• Cheeses: Jasper Hill Farm Clothbound Cheddar, Cypress Grove Midnight Moon, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog
• Chutney: Virginia Chutney Co. Balsamic Fig Chutney
• Crackers: Raincoast Flats Kale and Walnut, Dr. Kracker Pumpkin Seed Cheddar
• Ina Garten's Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta
• Other Nibbles: Edamame, Somersaults, Assorted Nuts, Veggies and Hummus
• Wine: Napa Cellars Pinot Noir

Goody Bags

What Halloween party would be complete without a little Trick or Treat!  Well, in our case it was more of a nod to Trick or Treating.  Each guest received a goody bag and mini bottle of Prosecco at the end of the evening  to take home along with their carved pumpkin. See my post on Halloween Treat Bags for more details.

This party was a huge hit with my friends and the perfect culmination of the various projects I had been sharing throughout this past month.  Even though it may seem at times like pumpkin carving should be more of a kid centric activity, there are so many ways to enhance the sophistication level of this activity, ultimately making it worthy of adults and even a cocktail party!  

Glamming Up My Pumpkins

For some reason, the Fall and Holiday Seasons always have me in the mood to be extra crafty.  I think it's primarily because I will get specific decor visions in my head for how I want to decorate the house for Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, but then I can never find those specific items I need to achieve that exact vision.  So of course this translates to spending an obscene amount of time perusing the aisles of Michaels.  (*FYI- if you have yet to visit a Michaels, get ready.  Every aisle is chock full of the most fabulous craft items for anything from baking to painting and they even have a fabulous framing section.)  

Anyway, the most recent DIY project I have been working on is "glamming up"my pumpkins.  Last year I went for a more natural/organic Fall decor look with lots of browns, whites and greens.  This year I wanted to create a slightly more glitzed/glam look by incorporating an array of metallic colors into my decor starting with my pumpkins.  Here is what I used to create these lustrous gems:

• White Pumpkins (Stems and Stemless in an array of sizes)- Trader Joes has a great selection of pumpkins at very competitive prices. 
• Foam Brushes- If using the Martha Stewart Craft Paints, these brushes are great for application. 
• Paper Grocery Bag or Newspaper
• Krylon Leafing Pens- for painting pumpkin stems quickly and with excellent precision. 
• Krylon Premium Metallic Spray Paint- This is the quickest and easiest method for painting and drying your pumpkins.  Only drawback is that this spray paint has a potent smell, so you need to apply this paint either outside or in a well ventilated space. 
• Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Metallic Acrylic Craft Paint- Non-toxic/no smell alternative, but requires a little more work painting multiple coats on each pumpkin with an hour of drying time in between each coat. For my pumpkins, I used Gold, Rose Gold and Rose Copper. 

If I am going to be honest, the Krylon products are my favorite because they make pumpkin painting super easy and very quick.  The Martha Stewart paints work just as well and are definitely easier on the nose, but painting the pumpkins was more of a process.  With that said, I am totally in love with my newly glammed pumpkins.  The array of metallic tones is very reminiscent of the fall foliage and I have been having so much fun trying to figure out where to place these lovely little gourds throughout my home. Taking matters into my own hands and creating the exact pumpkins I had envisioned for my Fall Decor was totally worth it!