Fall Birthday

Decorations- Hang up bunches of indian corn. Set out LOTS of pumpkins. Gather pretty autumn leaves into a basket or on a tray, then set a large pillar candle in the middle. Have a basket of ripe red apples setting out.

Centerpiece idea- Using a pie-sized pumpkin, cut off the top and discard. Clean out insides, then set a small vase or pot inside. Fill with pretty autumn flowers.

Games-

• Bobbing for apples
• Pumpkin seed jewelry- Using a darning needle and thread, string necklaces of pumpkin seeds. (To dye seeds-Put a small amout of food coloring and some rubbing alcohol in a bowl. Dye seeds in this mixture, then dry overnight before using.)
• Make caramel apples
• Pin the leaves on the tree- Collect pretty leaves to use for this game. Draw a big tree on a sheet of posterboard and have the kids tape leaves on blindfolded. This game doesn't require a winner.

Food-

Candy Corn Pumpkins
Put 1/2 cup of candy corn into a square of clear plastic wrap. Gather at the top, and tie with green curly ribbon.

Pumpkin Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 cups milk
1 pkg. (3 3/4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
Mix first five ingredients in a bowl. Stir in milk and pudding. Mix well and chill.

Oreo Pumpkin Cookies
Melt one pound vanilla almond bark. Tint orange with paste food coloring. Dip Halloween Oreo cookies in melted almond bark. Add 1/2 gumdrops for stem. Chill. Using melted chocolate chips, make a jack-o-lantern face.

Ghost Cookies
12 oz. almond bark, melted
1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies
Mini chocolate chips
Melt almond bark. Dip cookies into melted almond bark, and set on waxed paper. Press 2 chocolate chips onto each cookie for eyes. Let harden.

Cake- Pumpkin cake (pictured above)

Bake or buy two bundt cakes, any flavor. Place one upside-down on a cake plate. Frost top of this cake with a small amount of orange frosting. Set second cake, right-side-up, on top. Frost both cakes with orange. Place a cupcake, upside-down on center hole. Frost green. This is the stem. To make this a jack-o-lantern- add a face with chocolate icing.

Favors- small pumpkins, caramel apples, pumpkin seed necklaces