Our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Party!

This year’s invitation, created on Canva.com.

This is the second year that Hubby and I have hosted a pumpkin carving party at our home, and it won’t be the last!

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of hosting my own party. I love classic movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Sabrina, and books like Gone with the Wind – to me, there is nothing more glamorous than hosting a fabulous party!

So what goes into hosting such a gather? Good food, good music, and some sort of activity to keep people occupied!

Our menu consisted of classic and new-age autumnal foods; our music was what I would consider perfect background music – something people recognize and can dance to; and our activity was carving pumpkins, a Halloween staple!

There’s nothing better than a charcuterie spread!

Because our playlist had to satisfy four generations and be recognizable, I turned to one of my favorite Pandora Radio stations, Summer Hits of the 90s.

The cornerstone of my menu is always Thanksgiving burgers – turkey burgers with stuffing already mixed into the burger before grilling. I found two recipes to use as my guides for recreating these burgers at home; one from Food.com, and one from SavoryExperiments.com.

And because these aren’t regular burgers, there couldn’t be regular condiments! Keeping with the Thanksgiving-foods theme, I made my mom’s Guinness gravy and garlic mashed potatoes, and I asked my grandfather to make his cranberry sauce, a staple in my family. I also asked guests to bring different items to add to the feast!

These 5 pumpkins grew next to our front steps this year, after we swept last year’s Jack-O-Lanterns into the garden as a natural compost!

Hubby’s parents brought homemade macaroni and cheese and green bean casserole
My grandparents brought cranberry sauce and a cocktail weenie appetizer
My sister Molly & her boyfriend brought a wheel of brie cheese and honey to drizzle on top of it
My sister Shelby made “dirt in a cup” desserts in vanilla and chocolate
Hubby’s brother and sister-in-law brought butternut squash soup
Hubby’s cousins, aunt and uncle brought several kinds of cookies and a chocolate cake
My mom brought all the plates, bowls, cups, napkins and flatware, and my sister Cami 3-D printed mini pumpkin buckets as decorations!

Nothing says fall like carving pumpkins! Not only is it the perfect Autumn activity, but it allows people to showcase their creativity!

Both this year and last year we asked guests to bring their own pumpkins, and this year I was (finally!) able to save the seeds to plant in our garden! My hope is that we grow enough pumpkins to be able to provide them for our guests next year!

Are you the type of person who loves to throw a party? Let me know your party planning necessities in the comments section below!

That’s all for now my loves, so stay hydrated, stay tuned for more content, and remember to SLAY!