Host an Easy Fall Party for Kids

About five years ago, we got so very busy around Halloween with the various parties and events we had scheduled that we actually forgot to carve our pumpkins. The next year, I was determined not to let that happen, so we held our first annual "Harvest Fall Festival" a couple of weeks before Halloween so that we could enjoy some of our favorite harvest activities with a few friends. Rather than making this a formal party, we just invite a few friends or neighbors over that day to just join in the fun.

Make Hosting Easy and Fun

Instead of me having to worry about decorations and party food, we make the party all about making decorations and fun foods. Everyone has a great time, and I actually usually get a little work done writing in between activities. This year, I went to the store about 30 minutes before our party to buy apples, pumpkins and caramel. Everything else was just things we had around the house. Have fun hosting your own event. Parties don't have to be a lot of work to be a lot of fun.

Here are some of the events that we do:

1. Decorating Contest:

Materials: paper, markers or crayons

Bring out some paper and markers or crayons. Have everyone draw something that has to do with Fall. They might draw pumpkins, bats, scarecrows, trees turning colors or a picture of their Halloween costume. When they are done, have everyone take some tape and post their pictures around the house for decorating. If you have some crepe paper, they can put that up too. Announce contest winners like: funniest pumpkin, best bat, most authentic scarecrow etc. I suppose you could even print off certificates, but I generally had fun just announcing the winners in a "grand" voice and handing them some candy corns.

1. Bobbing for Apples and Caramel Apples:

materials: apples, bowl with water, bag of caramels, popsicle sticks, foil muffin tins or squares of foil. Optional: extras like M&Ms, chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts and candy corn.

We put some small apples in a bowl of water and let people bob for them. When they get an apple, they bring it over to make it into a caramel apple. Have the kids unwrap a bag of caramels (they like to do that job) and put in 1 TB of milk. Melt in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and stir. We put "extras" like nuts, M&Ms, chocolate chips and candy corns out. Have the kids pick some of these and put them into foil muffin wrappers (spray with Pam to make it easier to get them out). Let them dip their apple around (use a spoon to cover with Carmel). Then lift the apple and put it in the muffin cup on a plate. These taste great! You might want to let them use a knife to cut off slices of apple too.

3. Making Pumpkin Lanterns:

materials: glass jars, orange tissue paper, glue or Mod Podge, black paper, tea candles

Have the kids bring a glass jar. Cut the tissue paper into 1-2 inch squares. Have the kids brush the jar all over with glue or Mod Podge, then press the tissue paper on and brush over with Mod Podge or glue again. When the jar is covered, cut out face with black paper and attach to jar with Mod Podge. Let dry. Optional: put a green pipe cleaner around the top and cut green leaves out to attach with tape. Put a candle inside to light for Halloween.

3. Painting Pumpkins--this is an alternative activity to carving pumpkins, or you can do this in addition to carving. You can have kids bring their own pumpkin.

Materials: acrylic paints, brushes water, plastic for covering the table surface.

Cover a table with plastic or newspaper to protect the surface and make sure everyone wears clothes that can get paint on them or a smock. Have them use a pen to make a design or face on their pumpkin. Let them paint over their design with acrylic craft paints. Let dry.

4. Pumpkin Carving Teams

Materials: pumpkins, pumpkin carving tools, paper, pencils.

Instead of having each person carve a pumpkin, we usually do our carving in teams. Each team can work together to design their pumpkin by drawing on paper (or using patterns that come with some of the pumpkin carving tools). After they choose a design, the team draws it in sharpie on their pumpkin and then carves it out. I usually help them get out the gooey stuff. Let one person help separate the seeds out for baking.

5. Decorating Pumpkins--This is what we did this year since we had our Harvest Festival a bit earlier and did painting last year. They had a great time using stuff we already had in our craft bin.

Materials: small pumpkins, yarn, pipe cleaners, wiggly eyes, stickers, jewels, felt or paper (any other craft supplies). Hot glue or glue dots.

Have them design their own face, hair and accessories. They can attach with hot glue or glue dots or tape. The kids I had do this were 7 and up, and so they were able to use a low temp hot glue gun by themselves. Smaller kids might need help. My girls really had fun with this and then went with their friends to go play with their pumpkin dolls for about an hour.

6. Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients: Pumpkin seeds, butter, salt.

Everyone likes these and they smell wonderful. Line a baking pan with foil. Put a single layer of seeds on the bottom and dot with butter. Put in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the seeds are all light brown. I usually assign a kid to keep checking them! Take them out and sprinkle with salt or Lawrey's seasoning salt. Enjoy!

7. Taffy Pulling

This is my son's favorite part of the activity. I'm actually not very good at judging the exactly right moment to take it off the stove, but we always have fun making the taffy and even more fun eating it. Here is my recipe:

Salt Water Taffy

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup water

1 tea. salt

1 TB cornstarch

2 TB butter

1 TB vanilla

food coloring

Mix everything in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is 260 degrees on a candy thermometer (or forms a slightly hard ball when a bit is dropped into ice water). Remove from heat and pour into a buttered glass pan. Use a spatula to pull the outside to the center until it is cool enough to touch. Divide into portions and let kids pull it until it is shiny and ready to eat. Cut with scissors and wrap in wax paper.

Note: I tried this with maple syrup this time and everything was doing very well until it got cool and the mixture hardened too much so we really couldn't pull it. However, we heated it again and poured it out and cut it into squares. It tastes like toffee and was wonderful to eat even though it wasn't as fun to make.

8. Other activities you also might like to do at a Harvest Festival:

• Relay races using pumpkins or apples.
• 3-Ingredient Candy (see link)
• Recycling Cans
• Making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Make chocolate covered popcorn
• Make Carmel Candy Corn Popcorn
• Do Crayon Rubbings over fall leaves
• Collect fall leaves and glue them on a paper plate cut out in the center to make a wreath