Each year, my Houston friends get together for our annual pumpkin carving party. This year, we still wanted to host a smaller gathering, but we needed to figure out how to do it safely. The only option was to hold the party outside. That way, everyone could have his or her own table to carve and the ability to social distance.
Since some of the group is solely working from home – and some are health care professionals and others are going into the office, we kept it to only one main friend group. No extra invites this year.
We also decided that we should do away with group appetizers this year and just order food from a nearby restaurant that would label each order by name. My friend hosted in her backyard, so she rented one table per couple. Each table had its own bottle of hand sanitizer and its own trash bucket. Everyone needed to bring their own tools (BYOT).
How it works
Everyone brings their own pumpkin and carves their own design of choice. I typically like to use the stencils because I’m not super skilled in the ol’ pumpkin-carving department. But, we definitely have some creative thinkers in the group. Some have brought paint, several of the group usually free-hands designs and other go for the aesthetic look. We’ve seen it all.
This year, we really lucked out with some great weather – it wasn’t too hot, and it wasn’t super cold out yet. Everyone brought their own adult beverages and their own cups, and we were able to make it work! I did a free-hand design this year, because I couldn’t find a stencil kit anywhere, and I was running pretty late. So, I went for some hearts (it was really not my best showing). There was a wolf (or possibly a T-rex) and a group political entry.
While I didn’t win, it sure was nice to see some of my people that I haven’t seen in a really long time.
Happy Monday, Friends!
