Pumpkin Carving Party 2011

Just wrapped up the Pumpkin Carving Party.  Missing a few this year but as every hostess knows, sometimes that can't be helped.  A moment of silence for my friend who couldn't come who just lost her fur-kid.... Thank you.

Last year I asked everyone to come in costume so we could tour the corn maize and then carve.  This year the weather has been so iffy I just asked guests to dress in Halloweeny clothes.  I can not believe I didn't take a picture of the invitation I made. Unbelievable, where is my head.  Anyway. I show a Halloweeny movie while we carve too. This years feature:

I always have a signature party shot too. This years, Bloody Brain Shooter They were pretty good. Everyone hesitated before downing them.  The visual creep factor is worth it.

I set the tables very simply.  Using the many left over Halloween party goods I had.  Those napkins, ancient.  I love that my man HAD to have those skull glasses.  Perfect for Halloween parties.

We all gorged on amazing fall foods, probably ate way too much, but isn't that what parties are for?
Homemade peanut butter cups, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cream cheese roll and hee hee, that empty platter is suppose to be holding caramel apples.  We all got to yapping and well, they didn't get put out until much later.  But that's how real parties go sometimes. 

Oh yeah, pumpkin cream cheese roll. THIS is always a hit. Everyone loves it. My secret...it's the recipe on the back of the Libby's pumpkin mix.

What's a party without a Chex mix. And pizza is soo easy.  Papa Murphy's Mediterranean Delite is so good and healthy, as far as pizza goes.

My friend made pumpkin cookies for the occasion.  My first taste of the pumpkiny goodness. Zombie brains (watermelon) filled the pumpkin bowl.  Had to have something a little healthy on the table ;)

I finally got out the caramel apples.  I don't know how the pumpkin patches get theirs to look so darn good. Caramel apples are not the easiest to make look all pretty and perfect. Oh, we still ate them. mmm caramel. My man jokes that I'd eat anything if you poured caramel on it.

Everyone to the pumpkin patch...

I always do gift bags too. Listen to me, ALWAYS, as if I've been throwing this party for YEARS. This is only the second year.  Last year was socks. This year I snagged these plain bags from JoAnn's, jazzed them up and filled them with bubble bath and a note pad.

Woo Hoo!! from pumpkins to Jack-o-Lanterns. Now if only we could have gotten Rachel's pumpkin to quit looking out the window at the squirrels long enough for us to get a picture, ha ha!

Hope you enjoyed the pumpkin carving party. I'm already planning for next years. It's going to be bigger and better. Possibly my own pumpkin patch in the backyard :)  Stay tuned for my brain storming 2012 Pumpkin Carving Party.  

Related: Pumpkin Carving Party 2010