Fall is a great time to throw a party and enjoy those last few days of nice weather before winter storms set in. So invite your child’s friends or entire families and have a harvest party.
Invitations:
Silk Leaf: To make simple leaf invitations you can buy silk leaves and print the party information using a black marker.
Leaf Stamped: For this invitation paint a leaf (green ones work better) red, yellow, or orange and then turn the leaf paint side down on a piece of cardstock. After the paint dries write, “Come To A Harvest Party!” on the front and the party details inside.
Decorations:
Decorations for a harvest party should reflect the season. Place small pumpkins on the tables for centerpieces. Decorate with red, yellow, and orange streamers. Make some bouquets using fall leaves. If your party is outside try decorating your yard with bales of hay and corn stalks. Add a stuffed scarecrow for effect.
Food
Stick to the fall theme and serve fall treats made with apples or pumpkin. You could serve apples with caramel or cream cheese dip. Pumpkin pie, cookies, bread, roll or even toasted pumpkin seeds are also a great choice. Just remember that there are people that don’t like pumpkin. You can always serve cupcakes, cookies, or brownies in pumpkin or leaf shapes or topped with leaf and pumpkin candies. Apple cider, hot or cold is a great choice for drinks.
Activities
Many of these activities are best played outside. So encourage guests to dress warmly and hope the weather cooperates.
Musical Bales: For a twist on the traditional musical chairs use bales of hay instead of chairs. Play harvest themed music like “Turkey In The Straw” or “Jimmy Cracked Corn.”
Turkey In The Straw: Fill a small wading pool with straw. Then let the kids dig through the straw to find a paper or small stuffed turkey. The first to find the turkey wins a prize.
Corn Husking Race: Give each child the same number of ears of corn. Then let them race to see who can husk their corn first. You can keep the corn to eat or send it home with each child.
Collect the Nuts: Spread nuts across the floor or hide them throughout a pile of leaves. Then give the children each a brown paper sack and let them pretend to be squirrels gathering nuts. The child who gathers the most nuts wins the game.
Other fun harvest games include a Scarecrow Relay and Games With Pumpkins.