Pumpkin Party

Our boys LOVE to party.  It might have something to do with the fact that both Jon & I love to host and go to parties.  So, we're always looking for excuses to have parties.

A few years back, we started having an annual "pumpkin" party with friends.  Its a mix of Halloween and Fall themed activities.  Back when we had our first party, we had 5-6 families part of it but that was when most people had 1-2 children.  Now, many of our family friends have 3 to 4 children and busy schedules, so we can't have that many families at once.  So, sometimes we have two parties.

All week the boys were counting down the days until Friday afternoon when we would have our official Pumpkin Party Playdate.  As soon as we got home from picking the twins up from school, they all got into their costumes and anxiously awaited the arrival of their friends.

It was hard to get the lion to hold still and keep his costume on.  I did manage to get a few quick shots of him before our guests arrived.  Its a good thing because he quickly fell apart and basically screamed nonstop during our party activities unless I was holding him.  He did take a short break from screaming to wow my friend Melissa with his amazing climbing skills (on top of the plastic desk in the kitchen that he scooted over to the railing to make it extra dangerous and up/down the stairs).  It was almost like a dinner show. 

Our party ended up being a little smaller since our good friends the Cordells got a flat tire on the way to our house and couldn't come.  And by smaller, I mean 7 children rather than 11 (all 6 years old & younger).  Since we have 4 kids, I don't even begin to worry about space until we get to the point where we are over triple our family's number of kids (12 or more).

First, we had a pumpkin hunt in the toyroom.  There were 2 mini pumpkins for each child to find. I hid them in a hurry and didn't pay attention to where I put them.  Big mistake!  Orange pumpkins don't stick out that easily among all these colorful plastic toys.  Thankfully my friend Melissa helped James find the last pumpkin which had fallen to the bottom of the superhero bin.

Then we decorated the pumpkins.  In the past we've done stickers, modpodge with tissue paper squares, and painting with paintbrushes. This year, I saw something on pinterest on how to make them into "Monster Pumpkins."  We covered the stems with pipe cleaners, squeezed on crayola paint pens (washable of course!), and then put google eyes on them. 

After that, we went downstairs and played Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin.  I saw this game at the Target Dollar Spot, so I bought it.  The mask broke immediately (big surprise), so we improvised and had Melissa cover their eyes with her hands.  I think the kids actually liked it more this way since they thought it was sillier.

Next up was a gourmet dinner of Little Caesar's Pizza, breadsticks and grapes. I did put forth some effort and make a grilled chicken salad for the moms so we didn't have to subject ourselves to hour old Little Caesar's pizza.

We played some more and then decorated pumpkin and leaf shaped sugar cookies that I had made earlier in the day.  Note to self: next year, do NOT put out shredded coconut out as a decorating/topping option as your children will manage to spray coconut shreds ALL over the entire kitchen.  Seriously, I've vacuumed twice and I'm still finding it.  However, I did discover that James & Aaron love coconut.  Who knew?

Earlier in the day, I had made the cookies while the big boys were all at school.  We had leaf and pumpkin shapes.   Caleb "helped" by banging measuring spoons and mixing bowls in the other room.

We got a quick shot of everyone together before the wheels came off and the kids were ready for bed.  If you're wondering why James is making that face, he apparently got poked in the eye right before we got everyone to sit down.  Despite taking  at least seven different pictures, I was unable to get one where he actually had both eyes open.  As soon as I was done taking the pictures, his eye was fine and he had it open.  Of course!

As usual, my boys had a blast.  It doesn't take much to make it a "party" for them...a simple craft, some friends, one or two games and voila....Pumpkin Party.  They are already asking me about when our next party will be.  Here is a parting shot of their pumpkins, which after 24 hours are still not completely dry (oops..maybe should have used different paint) but turned out pretty great.