Brewster's Halloween Pumpkin Carving Bash

As a middle-aged couple with no children it often becomes difficult for me and my wife to take part in the childish things we love. My wife and I have a collection of children’s books – from Dr. Seuss to Roald Dahl – but no one to read them to. We have children’s films – from Bugs Bunny to Toy Story – but no one to watch them with. We fly kites every May and carve pumpkins every October.

For Halloween we throw a big adult party to disguise our love for such a children’s game. We’ve made it a big annual affair filled with food, music, big prizes and lots of gooey pumpkin mess.

Each year the affair has gotten bigger and bigger. Originally, it consisted of a few friends and some snacks and has now ballooned to a house full of guests, a democratic voting on best pumpkin complete with generous prizes, and more food than anyone could possibly eat.

This year my wife went all out in the food department. We had sautéed chicken with a peanut sauce, home-made spinach artichoke dip, an enormous cheese plate with a variety of French and Italian breads upon which to place them. There  were strawberries with a chocolate fondue, and some kind of fancy cheese bread with bit of prosciutto melted into it. To top it off we served pumpkin-spiced cheesecake with apple cider for dessert.

It was delicious.

This was the first year I have used an MP3 mix tape for the proceedings. Normally, I spend many hours sorting through my music collections making a handful of carefully selected CDs to spin during the party.

You see, I am an old-style lover of the mix-tape. A great mix is a piece of art. The flow of songs from Track 1 Side A through the end of the tape is something to be chosen wisely, the music should make a statement and be a true expression of the tape maker. Frankly, this year I just didn’t have the time to make the proper mixes and threw a large stew of my favorite MP3s onto one disk and hit shuffle.

The guests arrived and we began enjoying the bountiful feast my wife had prepared. Being a graduate student in French Linguistics, my wife’s friends tend to be an international lot and this year was no exception. We had guests from China, Korea, and Russia with us which made for a lovely mix of culture and ideas.

Article Author: Mat Brewster

Mat Brewster is a periodic ex-pat wondering if he'll ever find a home. You can find him musing on pop culture, and obsessing over concert bootlegs at The Midnight Cafe.

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