As the kids become older, I've tried to instil some holiday traditions into our family time. I grew up celebrating Halloween more so than Matt, but we both did do trick or treating.
Without getting too huge into what this holiday means and what we want it to represent to our kids, I think there is nothing wrong in carving pumpkins and being creative. Hence why we do it a week away since we are not worried about them lasting until Halloween night.
We gave Eliza a marker and told her to draw a face, while going over the different parts that make one and how many of each. Then I tried to interpret the stribbles to the best of my abilities to showcase Eliza's design.
When trying to do an activity with all the family and with the young ages....I won't lie....it wasn't as magical and peaceful as we'd like when Matt is barking at the kids to not touch the knives and ensuring the pumpkin mess only finds its way to the slop bucket or table. I'm sure things will get a little easier each year...I hope!
Cell phone flash light apps work wonders for pre night testing. Once dark, I cracked a few glow sticks and put the pumpkins in their room for bedtime. Eliza is already counting down the days when we let her carve with a knife ;)
PS- I found a WONDERFUL technique for roasting the seeds. I used season salt for the baking seasoning. Makes me sad that you can't buy pumpkins throughout the year.
