This past weekend we headed to a local pumpkin patch for our squadron's annual Fall Festival. It was an easy and fun way to celebrate autumn and Halloween without having to attend yet another costume party!
It's tough to say what my kids' favorite activity was because there were so many cute things to do. As soon as we got there, my daughter was immediately drawn to the Corn Box...a metal bin filled with corn instead of sand and loaded with buckets, shovels, and trucks. However, the Corn Box soon took a back seat as soon as she heard the sputtering sound of tractors and noticed there were hayrides and little cart rides. My son enjoyed winding through the hay maze and pumping the old-fashioned water pumps for the plastic duck races. And, naturally, they both took advantage of the free face painting. (Personally, I passed on the face painting, but was thrilled to see they were using a Lifetime 4' adjustable height table as their painting station!)
The farm also had stuff your own scarecrow stations, petting zoos, obstacle courses, and pumpkin basketball. Yes, you read that right...pumpkin basketball. They had a portable Lifetime basketball hoop, but in the spirit of the festivities, you played with a pumpkin instead of a basketball. Hey, it's round and orange, right? Obviously, I was a bit concerned since pumpkins are heavy, hard, and tend explode when dropped! Thankfully, it was a fake pumpkin! They also had Gourd Bowling... roll a pumpkin at gourds set up like bowling pins. Yes, once again, these were all fake, too. Whew!
If you've never been to a pumpkin patch, they are worth the trip for the fun and to support your local farmers. And, don't forget to check your local apple farm and corn mazes for Fall festivities, as well. You'd better hurry though, because most are only open with special festivities through the end of October.
Save yourself some work and check out this great website I found that makes it easy to search for pumpkin patches near you! Have fun and Happy Halloween!