Ideas For a Family Halloween Pumpkin Patch Party

Take Halloween one step beyond trick or treating and the pre-school parade by planning a family Halloween party. There are tons of Halloween adventures like Haunted Houses for the kids when they get a bit older, so why not start your own adventure for your little ones. Plan a Pumpkin Patch Carnival for them as well as their parents, your friends and family. It could be almost a mini-Oktoberfest for the adults with fun and games for the kids. This is not an expensive proposition...plan to have it at home

Turn your backyard into a "Halloween Midway of Fun" with lots of games, activities and prizes for the kids and great camaraderie for the adults. Plan a series of game stations around your yard, just like a carnival. Organize with it with your friends. Maybe you have some that will be game to wear costumes and serve as the "carnival barkers". You can decide if you want them to wear their costumes, depending on the games you plan.

Have a "Halloween Hut" set up for all the food. Surely a couple of your guests will volunteer to grill burgers and dogs. Have them served up with bags of chips or crackers, a box of juice or bottle of water served up in a plastic pumpkin. You can find them at the dollar store without breaking the bank. You can set up little picnic tables or simply set out some blankets on the yard. You may want to have soda and beer for the adults. A big veggie platter would also be great for both the kids and adults! If you want to spend some money, you could rent a popcorn machine or a cotton candy maker too.

Go to the local market and buy enough small pumpkins for all the kids, plus a couple of extras. Next hide them all over the yard before everyone arrives. Depending on the age group, they can hunt on their own or go along with Mom or Dad. What is the reason for the extras? You want to make sure everyone finds one. The last thing you need is one sad tot who can't find a pumpkin and you can't remember where in the yard you hid them all!

A pumpkin decorating station is another possibility. You could use paint, but realize you risk certain disaster for one of them if they are in costume. Paint markers would be safer alternatives. I have even seen some pumpkin decorating kits with stickers at the craft stores. Another alternatives would be letting a couple of crafty friends carve them into Jack O Lanterns!

There are great Halloween music CD's that you could play for some background ambiance, but I think with all the laughter and excitement the music may be drowned out. The easy part about this party is that your house and /or yard will already be decorated for the season! Halloween party invitations are abundant, so find ones you like or even make your own on the computer. There are lots of sites with free pintables. The game stations can be Halloween versions of what you would find at carnival. When they are ready to start playing the games, they will have their "pumpkin bucket" from lunch and can begin visiting the game stations to win tickets or candy!

So start now and plan your own Halloween celebration for the little ones as well as a fun autumn afternoon for the adults! Let them expand their Halloween fun beyond trick or treating. If you need further ideas for the games and prizes, check out the Carnival party ideas at Celebration Ideas Online.

Carol is a married mom of 4 who works full-time as an account executive. She I has been active with the kids and all their activities over the years. She served as a PTA President as well as President of numerous school booster clubs. Her favorite hobby now that the kids are all on their own or off to college is her web site: Celebration Ideas Online.

It was started as a resource center for the various groups as well as friends and family who were looking for help and "how to" tips for planning family celebrations. It is a family album of great celebration ideas.

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Free Halloween Family Fun Ideas

Halloween is an excellent time for family fun. The Internet is a great resource for fun ideas for your family from creating invitations for your party to decorating your desktop with Halloween images.

Did you know? This started in the U.S. as a harvest festival. Our Irish emigrants brought us the Jack o Lantern originally oversized rutabagas, turnips and potatoes were hollowed out, carved into faces and illuminated with candles. In the old country on Halloween, Irish peasants would beg the rich for food. For those that refused, they would play a practical joke. In an effort to avoid being tricked, the rich would hand out cookies, candy, and fruit, a practice that morphed into trick-or-treating today.

Halloween is now the sweetest holiday of the year with over 25% of candy sold in the two months prior to it in the U.S. Chocolate is the favorite sweet; Snickers tops the list of most wanted candy bars. But it is not all about empty calories, pumpkins originated in Mexico over 9,000 years ago; they are one of Americas oldest known vegetables and a great source of vitamin A, beta carotene and potassium. And your family can roast the seeds for protein and iron.

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)
Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non stick cooking spray.
Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.
Let cool and store in an air tight container.

Halloween is not just for children any more over 60% of adults get into the spirit (and admit to sneaking into their children's candy every now and then). Consumers spend $1.5 billion on costumes each year, $2.5 on Halloween decorations and crafts and over $50 million on greeting cards. Now you can get your family in the spirit with these free, spooktacular ideas:

Print FREE Halloween party Invitations to get the party started. Free borders, text, images and more included.
Add Halloween clip art for a ghastly touch to all your craft projects.
Decorate your screen with a superior 3D Screensaver.
Turn your wallpaper into a haunted cave complete with 3D witch, ghouls and more.
Download sound effects to get in the creepy spirit!
Play Halloween games until the haunting begins.
Create a greeting card with your favorite goblin's picture. Totally adorable.
Add eerie ringtones to your cell phone.

Deborah Manthei, a Twin Cities, MN native, has over twenty years of marketing and sales experience focusing on interactive and consumer marketing. Debby's responsible for increasing awareness of W3i, an Internet company that delivers proven e-services enabling integrated, multi-channel digital content. W3i is the owner of Freeze.com and Ringtone.com. For more information e-mail info@W3i.com

Debby has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

All these Halloween products are available FREE at Freeze.com. Create lasting Halloween memories for you and your family. Quality time doesn't have to be expensive.

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Home-Made Halloween Decoration Suggestions and Party Game Ideas For All the Family

When holding a Halloween theme party it is a good idea to transform the party venue from something ordinary into a visually atmospheric space, filled with Halloween ambience, that will be enjoyed not only on the night, but during pre-party preparations and hopefully for years to come.

The key to a successful Halloween party is creating the right atmosphere. You expect your guests to get into the 'spirit' of the celebrations by dressing in Halloween theme costumes, so why not dress the party venue to compliment the festivities.

The interior (and exterior if you wish) can be dressed by using decorations, lighting and accessories to stunning effect, wherever you decide to hold your Halloween party and whatever your budget.

There are all kinds of Halloween theme decorations available to purchase and also plenty of ideas to create inexpensive Halloween decorations of your own. Home made Halloween decorations can not only save you money, but can give the whole family, young and old, the opportunity of creating something together, while at the same time having great fun.

Kids love to get creative and enjoy the experience even more when it is shared with other family members. As a family group, why not think about Halloween party games and even try them out as part of the party preparations. Trying games out in advance will help you decide which are the best games to play at your Halloween party. So let's have some fun!

Creepy Spiders A very quick and easy project, which even the youngest Halloweenster can accomplish. You will need black pipe cleaners, black pom-pom and some thread (black or nylon are best). Images are there to assist you with the Creative development

1) Take 4 pipe cleaners and twist them together 2 times in the centre.

2) Use the thread to tie the pom-pom to the pipe cleaners.

3) Bend the legs to create 'knees'.

A smaller version can be created by cutting the pipe cleaners in half and winding a further pipe cleaner around the centre of the legs to create the body instead of using a pom-pom.

Home-made Decorations, designed by Party Ubermarket.

Host a party and let Party Ubermarket assist you with ideas for planning, decor, Themes, Food, Venue and Costumes. Party Ubermarket is a family run party supply and decorations business. Checkout our Themed party ideas, Birthday party supplies, Stag and Hen party suggestions, costumes and accessories. You can personalize decorations, party favours and gifts to add that special touch.