I love this time of year and always have. Partly because my birthday is in October but mostly because I love the traditions of the season. Now that I have kids of my own I love it even more. Growing up, my dad and I would always carve pumpkins together. We’d decorate the house for trick-or-treaters too. I remember one year especially well. We created a giant black spider from black yard waste bags stuffed with leaves and made a giant spider web on the front porch. We had these painted ply-wood soldiers that we used to decorate at Christmas. That year we painted the back side of one of them as a werewolf. Those are some good memories. I want to create lasting memories for my own children as well.
Every year we visit a farm and head out to the pumpkin patch. Dressed in warm clothes and rubber boots we trudge through the mud to find the perfect pumpkin. The photo opportunities are endless and I love trying to capture the memories to savor forever. Afterwards we warm up with hot apple cider. Since the kids are too little to carve the pumpkins on their own, they have a snack while I do the carving. I let them give me ideas before we start. One year we did a Seahawks pumpkin. Another year when my husband and I dressed as Husky fans and the kids were a Husky football player and cheerleader, I carved Husky pumpkins.
This year, I’m planning on surprising my son with an Angry Birds pumpkin since that’s what he’s really into these days. The kids went on their preschool field trip today and made these afterwards — Potato Head pumpkins!
We save the seeds when we carve pumpkins and roast them for a healthy snack. We try different recipes and since we usually do a salty/spicy recipe, this year we’re going to switch it up with this sweet recipe from allrecipes.com:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or more, to taste
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
Preparation:
Heat oven to 300°. Spread coated seeds in a shallow baking sheet (I line a baking sheet with nonstick foil to make cleanup easier), turning from time to time, for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned and crunchy.
Once the kids are a little older I’m sure we’ll incorporate some more traditions but for now we look forward to our little trip to the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving and seed roasting! What family Halloween traditions does your family have?
Looks like a pumpkin seed recipe I has as a child! I love seeing anything Halloween that is remotely healthy. Most people don’t realize how important oral care is and how many children suffer from mouth pain that is so preventable. This Halloween I am donating to America’s Toothfairy: http://bit.ly/rj2K08 it’s a wonderful organization, particularly this time of year!
This pumpkin seed recipe sounds yum. I could sprinkle them on a salad!