Fall in love with a seasonal party
Fall is synonymous with the start of school and PSL drinks from Starbucks, but it is also the start of the holiday season! Did your heart just skip a beat? Too soon? Don’t worry hopefully this post will help get you excited about hosting the first party of the the season. First, pick a theme and stick to it. Seriously, Fall is a pretty easy theme for a party because there are just so many options. Let’s start with my favorite party item…FOOD! I am often running around so much during the day that eating becomes a privilege and eating at a party a luxury! So when the hostess has an amazing spread of food, you bet I’m hanging out near it (and maybe slapping a hand or two away so that I can take that last hors d'oeuvre). I love amazing chili and chances are your guests do too. Chili is a great option because you can have two crockpots that offers two different options; vegetarian and meat. Check out this chili bar below! It actually speaks to me in my dreams.
If you are craving a little sweet treat, why not try these super cute caramel apples? All you have to do is use a fruit peeler to dig out a small hole for the twigs, make sure it’s a tight fit…you don’t want sticky apples rolling around your floor. You can also do a fun make your own bar as well. Provide fun candies and sundries for your guest to dip their apples in. This could definitely be a highlight to any fall fest!
Now you need to wash it all down. And if it’s a Fall bash, I’m going to guess there may be football involved. Serve your drinks in a hollowed out pumpkin. Cut a large pumpkin in half (Walmart always has the best prices on pumpkins), and line with a plastic bowl (get one at any dollar store location). Fill bowl with ice and serve. Such an easy trick! I also use pumpkins as vases throughout the Fall season.
Now that the people are well fed, it’s time to keep them entertained. Okay, so the Dads are already entertained and perhaps most of the wives, but what about the kiddos? If you keep the kids entertained then you might get a break. I suggest that you hire a babysitter when you throw your parties. That way he/she can help guide activities and give you a much needed break. After all…it’s your party too! Let’s get the kiddos giggles out by doing a glow in the dark ring toss. This can be done outside or in a darkish room. It’s so easy too! Just give the kids glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets of various sizes, and let them toss onto the stem of a pumpkin. You can have a couple at different distances from the contenders, and if you are feeling really fancy write numbers on the pumpkin to indicate how much each pumpkin is worth (use glow in the dark paint if you are a true rockstar hostess)! Vary rules depending on the age of the audience.
Now that they have gotten the wiggles out, let them do a fun fall activity. I am listing a few ideas for everyone! This includes everyone’s favorite; pumpkin play clay. You only need three ingredients to create this fun sensory activity.
Pumpkin Play Clay Recipe
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
2-3 cups of corn starch
2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice
Combine all the ingredients together and enjoy! If it’s too dry then add some water, if it’s too sticky add some more corn starch.
This apple lacing project goes perfectly with a fall theme. Forget bobbing for apples, lets make them! Pre-punch holes around a sturdy paper plate. Take red, green or yellow string and help kiddos start the project by tying the string around two holes. Tape the other end of the string (hint: it will look like a shoelace); this helps little hands get the string through the holes. Let them choose the direction and pattern they would like to weave. When they are finished add a pre-cut stem and leaf.
For this fun project, all you need is yarn (you can use the yarn from the above project), a balloon, pipe cleaners, ziplock baggy, and glue. First, you’ll need to prep the project so that your kids can start immediately because what kids have any semblence of patience at a party?! Cut 21 pieces of string into 36 inches a piece. Place yarn in the plastic baggy along with half a bottle of glue. Have kids saturate the yarn with the glue by squeezing the baggy (make sure that the zip is locked). Now, blow the balloon up to about 12 inches. Open the plastic baggy and take out one end of a string, run the string along the zip so that the glue falls back into the bag. Tie the string to the knot of the balloon and begin to wrap string. Repeat until all the strings are completed. Okay, now that they are finished here comes the tricky part…the drying. Tie a dry string to the knot of the balloon and hang. Be sure to place a newspaper or plastic wrap under the balloons so that the surface under is not a mess. Warning: this will take about 24 hours to dry, so you may need to pass the pumpkins out to friends later. But this is such a fun project, that it’s worth the wait!
Happy Fall Y’all
