Harvest Party Time!
Who wants a harvest party?! If you’re not that into Halloween, here’s another great reason to celebrate this time of year! We honestly didn’t know this was a thing, but our week-long investigation has turned up so many ideas, games, décor and recipes for throwing a harvest party this fall — for kids and adults – we wanted to pass them along!
Harvest Party Fun
With forecasts still showing cool but sunny weather, a daytime harvest party can be as simple as a potluck brunch for adults with the kids in the backyard bobbing for apples from a steel tub or on strings, hung from a tree.
Put a fall spin on the classic checkers game by swapping miniature white and orange pumpkins for black and red game pieces. Make your own board with this DIY Pumpkin Checkers Tutorial from PartyPatisserie.com.
For the adults, a little backyard Bocce using small pumpkins instead of Bocce balls and a large pumpkin instead of the traditional pallino is a blast. Whoever rolls the little pumpkins closest to the big pumpkin wins. Here are a few detailed instructions on how to play Bocce for a happening harvest party!
Meaningful Mama offers up game, craft and food ideas like a glow ring toss and harvest corn hole. For a dozen more activities for kids and adults from crafts to competitions, check out PlayPartyPlan.com, TheSpruce.com or Reason to Party. You can tell, they live to entertain!
Things to Eat
Those creative cooks at Delish have 50 appetizing recipes for fall celebrations from spinach-artichoke stuffed pretzels and apple pie fries to Bacon Crack Bites (crackers wrapped in bacon) and Buffalo Brussels Sprouts.
Are you tired of pumpkin yet?
If not, try the Pumpkin Chili from Snack Girl. Adding cooked pumpkin to a healthy chili recipe makes a creamier dish with lots of iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Snack Girl didn’t go as far as scooping out a pumpkin for a soup tureen, but YOU can!
Better Homes and Gardens can help you create a harvest party atmosphere with its downloadable Complete Harvest Party Guide, recipes included, and Homesteading.com has fun fall decorating ideas to inspire you.
To top things off, Sara who contributes recipes to OurBestBites.com, came up with some mouth-watering pumpkin ginger pizookies, cake-cookies in a jar with ice cream, caramel and pecan toppings. And these are fun – apple lattice pies, baked right in the apples from tablespoon.com.
Drinks That Taste Like Fall
For a cocktail that truly tastes like fall, try the caramel appletini from Real House Moms. With a little vodka, a little sour apple Schnapps and a splash of butterscotch Schnapps gently stirred, it’s like a caramel apple in a martini glass!
Scroll through pages of fall cocktails at AllRecipes.com, from crantinis and apple juleps to warm and spicy cider punches.
They say maple is the new pumpkin spice and we believe it judging from the maple recipes online. Try a Rosemary Maple Whiskey Sour or Spiced Rum Old Fashioned from Reader’s Digest, plus three more hip and trendy cocktails that taste like fall.
And here’s something for teetotalers: 18 non-alcoholic punch, smoothie and white hot chocolate recipes that taste like autumn in a cup – including candy-corn punch, and caramel apple cider.
Want more? Explore 900+ bits of inspiration for the perfect harvest party at Pinterest, and whatever you do, enjoy yourselves!
Happy Harvest in Crystal Valley!
It’s that cinnamon and spice time of year and the master-planned community of Crystal Valley is showing off its beautiful fall colors. We invite you to see the new homes here, minutes from historic downtown Castle Rock. Tour the stunning model by Kauffman Homes and the latest in home design by Richmond American Homes and D.R. Horton. Available in ranch and two-story models, Crystal Valley homes are priced from the high $300s.
