Pumpkin Carving Party- All Ages  Each year, our family hosts a pumpkin carving party for all of our family friends. I create the invitations about two weeks ahead of time including the instructions to "BYOP" (Bring Your Own Pumpkin.) Each family usually brings some kind of Halloween treat to put on the table and the array of food is pretty enticing. We play some fun Halloween music to greet the guests. Friends begin arriving at around 4:30 while it is still light outside and we play a game. This year we played a "Scarecrow Relay" this involved dividing the children into three teams. I had gathered all of the essentials for "building a scarecrow" and placed them all in a big laundry bag. These included 3 pairs of very large pants, 3 flannel plaid shirts, 3 bandanas, three rope belts, 3 pairs of mittens and three straw hats. Before announcing the task to the teams, I had each team select a grown-up to "assist".) After they were "locked in" to the game, I told them that each team would be turning their grow-up into a scarecrow. I drew a sketch of what a scarecrow must wear and gave instructions that they must relay to their "scarecrow" and dress them one garment at a time until they were complete. What a riot! The kids were laughing and the adults were laughing. It was a lot of fun. Don't forget to take a photograph of your three completed scarecrows with their team! We also played "I'm going to a Halloween Party and I'm bringing ..." The guests (grown-ups included) then go through the alphabet and tell what they are bringing. For example, "I'm going to a Halloween party and I'm bringing Ants, I'm going to a Halloween party and I'm bringing Ants and Bats..." You go around the circle recalling the previous Halloween themed items, and adding a new one with the next letter. By this time it is usually quite dark and families begin carving their pumpkins. We had cleared all the area rugs out of our living room and den. Everyone spreads out and lays newspapers on th floor. The carving begins. We situate buckets and small garbage cans all around the rooms lined with grocery bags and guests begin to clean out their pumpkins. There are safety knives available for pumpkin carving and they enable school age children to participate in the carving with their parents. it usually takes 45 minutes or so, but soon all the jack-o-lanterns are complete! About this time we all participate in the clean-up, which is remarkably easy. Guests proceed to the dining room to have pizza, chicken wings, veggies and a dessert of the assorted halloween cookies and treats brought by the guests.  By the time dinner is finished, I have gathered all the pumpkins, placed a tea light candle in each and displayed them altogether in the den. I light the candles and turn off the lights in the room. With appropriate music playing in the backgroud (I chose Hedwig's Theme" from the Harry Potter movies) I invite the guests back into the den. It is a beautiful site. The children ususally sit "criss-cross applesause on the floor in front of the glowing jack-o-lanterns and we all comment on the array of funny and spooky faces. It's lovely. Shortly after, I send each guest home with a plate of left-over goodies and their extinguished pumpkins. They leave in the darkness and see our house arrayed from the outside with our fun Halloween decorations. Nothing scary, just ghost eyes gazing at them through the unstairs windows.