To me it just wouldn't be Halloween without a decorated pumpkin. As a kid I loved picking out a design, or creating my own, to carve onto my pumpkin. My family would always set aside a night where we would spread newspaper out on our kitchen table, pull out the pumpkin carving set and have a fun filled family evening of carving pumpkins. Obviously when my sister and I were really young we would just watch our dad do the carving, but we still helped out by pulling out all the pumpkin "guts." Even today I still love all the possibilities that come with carving a pumpkin. 

To get into the Halloween spirit (and get your pumpkin ready for the 31st invite your friends to take part in all the pumpkin decorating fun by hosting a pumpkin carving party! A pumpkin carving party is easy to host as all your guests will come with their pumpkin and carving supplies. Besides that here are some great tips on hosting a successful pumpkin carving party.

1. Find an open area (outdoors if possible – easier to clean up!) for everyone to have a designated carving area.
2. Create or buy some cute invitations. I am loving this pumpkin invitation from paperless post! You can also include some great links for your guests to print out their carving template.

3. Pull out all your pumpkin carving utensils and extra spoons for some carving fun.
4. Create a spooky Halloween playlist.
5. Put together a yummy pumpkin themed menu. Don’t forget the pumpkin flavored drinks that are out this time of year!
6. Find (or create) some fun Halloween themed paper products like these cups that are very easy to make and your guests will love. You can even put out sharpies so your guests can complete the face (instead of writing their name) so they know which cup is theirs.

7. Put together a party favor bag for your guests. Make sure to include some tea lights for their pumpkins as well as instruction on how to keep their carved pumpkin fresh until Halloween.

The best thing about hosting a pumpkin carving party is seeing what designs everyone chooses to carve their pumpkin into. What design are you carving your pumpkin into this year? 

xoxo
Megan

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1. Pumpkin Spices Roasted Chickpeas from Food.com
2. Baked Pumpkin Fries from Kirbie's Cravings
3. Pumpkin Mac & Cheese from 2 Wired 2 Tired
4. Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats from Essentially Eclectic
5. Pumpkin Hummus from Taste of Beirut
6. Pumpkin Pretzel Bites from Something Swanky
7. Pumpkin Marshmallows from Home Cooking Memories
8. Pumpkin Chili from Just Another Day in Paradise
9. Pumpkin Spice Popcorn from A Blossoming Life
10. Pumpkin Beer Cheese Soup from Spoon Fork Bacon

Do you have an original pumpkin themed recipe that you like to make in the fall?

xoxo
Megan

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Last Christmas I shared with you one of my favorite treats to make, Holiday Peppermint Bark. I am a huge fan of chocolate (but really who isn't?!?) and when my mom taught me how to make candy bark I was just in awe at how simple this delicious treat was to make. A few years ago I first experimented with a few other chocolate bark combinations and love how you can add just about any topping to your chocolate to make a delicious sweet. So just like with the Halloween party crafts I shared with you yesterday I am on a mission this year to make at least one of the Halloween recipes that I have saved from Pinterest. While I may be setting my holiday crafting and recipe making a little high I am not giving up yet! Here is the first (and maybe only) recipe that I am on a mission to make this Halloween holiday season: Halloween Bark Candy from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Ingredients

• 14 whole Halloween Oreos, crumbled
  
• 1.5 cups pretzels, crumbled
  
• 16 ounces white chocolate 
  
• 1 cup candy corn
  
• Halloween colored sprinkles

Directions

1. Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. 
   
2. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn onto the prepared cookie sheet. 
   
3. Place your chocolate into a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stir and then microwave 30 seconds at a time until melted and smooth.
   
4. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula and tap the pan lightly on the counter to help distribute the chocolate evenly. 
   
5. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the almond bark/white chocolate while it is still wet. Be careful to not let it harden. 
   
6. Place cookie tray into refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set and firm. 
   
7. Once cooled remove the cookie sheet and gently break bark into small pieces. 
   
8. You can (not that it will last very long) store your candy in air tight container until you are ready to enjoy!
   

I can't wait to give this Halloween Bark Candy recipe a try and hopefully will add it to my recipe stash to make again next year! What is your favorite Halloween treat to make? Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo
Megan

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Just like with Christmas, and every other major holiday, I always have a great vision of making tons of cute decorations to display in celebration. So every year I have my list (aka Pinterest board) of what I want to make and then a week before the holiday finally make at least one of the items. Well this year I am on a mission to try and create a few more Halloween decorations and decided that if I share my crafting to-do list with you some of these might actually get completed! (I have some high hopes for this year!) So without further ado, here are three Halloween party crafts that I am determined to make before the end of the month.

Candy Corn Banner from Your Homebased Mom
This is the perfect holiday and party decoration item and is super easy to make! Each candy corn was cut out of a sheet of burlap and then painted using sponge brushes. Once they were dry a piece of twine was threaded through the burlap pieces to create the adorable banner. For the finishing touch they added some adorable ribbon to each end of the banner. If you are like me this is the perfect solution for all those short pieces of ribbon that are sitting in your ribbon box.

Block Light Pumpkin from Etsy store VinylSigns4Him
This light up pumpkin is a great craft for those that don't have a front porch for a pumpkin or want an adorable light up party centerpiece. To make this light up pumpkin you will need orange tulle, ribbon, a string of twinkle lights, a glass block and either black paint or black vinyl to make the pumpkin's face. Even when the pumpkin lights are not turned on it is still the perfect decoration to put on display for the holiday season!

Decorative Wooden Pumpkins from Simply Kierste
Because everything has to be decorated with stripes, polka dots or chevron these are the perfect Halloween decoration for this year. These are a little more complicated to make and you can find a great tutorial on how Kierste made these on here blog here. This is the one craft that I would love to make but not sure I will actually get around to it since it requires the use of a saw. However the nice people at Lowe's are always happy to help!

I can't wait to add some a few more Halloween decorations to my Lilly Pulitzer pumpkin I created last year! (picture at the top) Do you have any Halloween crafts that you plan on creating? Make sure to share your crafting ideas in the comments section below! Only 28 more days until Halloween!

xoxo
Megan

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I don't know how my days have escaped me recently but it has certainly been way too long since I last posted! This month has even crept up on me without any warning. I feel like it was just yesterday when I was planning my Labor Day weekend. So since it is October 1st there is no better time than the present to start planning some fun fall activities for the up coming month. Maybe this will help me keep track of my days a little more and not be surprised when Halloween gets here! Here are ten of my favorite reasons to party this October.

October 4th: National Taco Day. It's time for a fiesta! What is your favorite way to make a taco?
October 6th: Mad Hatter Day. Celebrate by hosting an Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party.
October 9th: Moldy Cheese Day. This is the perfect day to host a Stinky Cheese Man themed party! And for all those teachers out there theme your lesson plan around the hilarious book by Jon Scieszka & Lane  Smith.
October 17th: National Pasta Day. This would be a great theme dinner potluck night as each guest could bring their favorite pasta dish. Here is a great pasta recipe I made that you can try out. YUM!
October 21st: National Caramel Apple Day. Another great fall treat is celebrated this month, the caramel apple! Try making these pumpkin themed apples from The Cake Bar to celebrate.
October 22nd: National Nut Day. This is a fun day to celebrate. You can go a little nutty or create a fun themed menu with nutty dishes to all your guests to enjoy.
October 25th: Frankenstein Friday. Every year the last Friday before Halloween is Frankenstein Friday. This is a great way to get into the holiday spirit and have a little fun with some of these Frankenstein crafts and recipes from Fun Family Crafts.
October 26th: National Pumpkin Day. There is no better time than in October to host a pumpkin party with pumpkin foods, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin carving, pumpkin crafts and pumpkin games galore!
October 30th: National Candy Corn Day. I love how this holiday candy has its own day. Do you have a great recipe or craft that uses candy corn? (card from Happy Dappy Bits)
October 31st: Halloween. What are you dressing up as this year?

What are you looking forward to celebrate this October?

xoxo
Megan

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