All in the Family~Pumpkin Carving Fun

Do you carve jack o'lanterns with your grandkids? I never have, but I know two sweet grandmothers who do, and it looks like a world of fun!

My niece Tracy and my nephew's wife Romina are the fun grandmas of which I speak. In past years I've seen Tracy's Facebook postings and this year I saw Romina's. I have to share the fun with my readers. 

Tracy's story first: Her grandkids are very young--all under the age of five. So the carving is mostly left to their parents of course. My niece is fortunate to have her three kids and all her grandkids in town. They get together one night before Halloween to carve pumpkins. She buys the pumpkins and everyone meets at her house to do the deed. I can imagine that there is some good food involved as well, and special treats for the little guys. She says they always roast the pumpkin seeds--of course! It's just a wonderful family get-together.

Each family picks out their pumpkin and the carving begins.

The finished jack o'lanterns.

The most fun is setting them out after dark for the final snapshot.

And now Romina's story. . . Her grandchildren are older, so she provides an opportunity for them to do their own carving. I noticed on her Facebook posting that she had other autumn activities for them to do as well. They just made a fun day of it. Here, I'll let her tell you:

"Holidays are very special to me! They are a time to share with my family and make long-lasting memories. 
When my children were young, I used to do things with them to prepare for the holidays just like I do now with my grandchildren. These times are priceless to me. They are an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with them and to show them how much I love and cherish them. We enjoy every minute together, and they show their individualism and creativity in all that they do. I hope this becomes a tradition in our family that will last for years to come."

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Hard at work. It's kind of a messy job, but somebody has to do it.

Mamaw is working on hers as well.

I like what I've designed so far.

Insides are cleaned out--now for the fun part.

Added bonus! Romina is from Peru, and she wanted to also tell her experience in Spanish. I love it--I now have a bilingual blog! More from Romina:

"¡Las festividades son muy especiales para mi! Es tiempo para compartir con mi familia y crear recuerdos inolvidables.
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Cuando mis hijas eran pequeñas hacíamos cosas juntas en anticipación de las fiestas así como lo hago ahora con mis nietos. Estos son momentos invalorables. Es una de las oportunidades que tengo de fortalecer mi relación con ellos y mostrarles lo mucho que los quiero y valoro. Nosotros disfrutamos de cada minuto juntos y ellos muestran su creatividad e individualismo en cada cosa que hacen. Es mi deseo que ésto se convierta en una tradición familiar que perdure por años."

Felices y orgullosas de su trabajo.

Preparando su calabaza.

¡Trabajando y divirtiéndonos juntas!

Happy Halloween! ¡Tarea cumplida!

All this in preparation for the night itself! And what fun! Tracy's family has the custom of dragging their fire pit out to the street on Halloween. Then she and her family sit out there by the warm fire and pass out goodies and treats. She says there are others in her neighborhood who do this as well. Her neighborhood even has a hayride through the streets. Early in the evening, her family reports to her house for the customary Halloween dinner--Frito pie and apple cider. Then they go on the hayride, go trick-or-treating, and come back to the house to sit by the fire pit and pass out treats. What a fun time is had by all!

A bonfire with Tracy's family--just like they do on Halloween.