Pumpkin Day!

One fall Saturday, a hungry and bored couple (newly enamored with Iron Chef and pumpkin coffee) had an idea …

That couple was me and my husband back when we had the kid-less luxury to lay around all day and scheme up pastimes.

Now Pumpkin Day has stuck. It’s our own made-up holiday, but our friends and family love it almost as much as we do.

What is Pumpkin Day?

A day in which everything—foods, drinks, entertainment, decor—involves pumpkins. If you don’t think you can handle a full day of it, a party or simply a dinner works nicely, too.

TIP: Pairs perfectly with pumpkin patches, fall farmers’ markets, and even football.

When is it?

Whenever you’d like, but we usually choose a weekend day in the September-to-November time frame.

What pumpkin foods have you made?

Ah, a culinary trip down memory lane: pumpkin pie (my mom’s, of course), pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin pizza, pumpkin-glazed pork, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cornbread, pumpkin creme brulee, pumpkin bruscetta, spiced pumpkin seeds (sweet and savory), pumpkin ice cream…

But I don’t want give away all of our ideas! Part of the fun is getting creative with it yourself.

Are there really pumpkin drinks?

Of course! For us, the staples are Gloria Jean’s Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee and Elysian Nightowl Pumpkin Ale. You could also do pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin old fashions, pumpkin cider, pumpkin eggnog … maybe even pumpkin bloody Marys?

What constitutes as pumpkin entertainment?

Well, the mainstay is pumpkin carving, but we’ve also had mini-pumpkin painting for the kids and pumpkin films like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (with the kids) or Halloween (without).

Who knows? Maybe it will become a holiday tradition in your home, too.

And if you do, post a comment—or better yet, a picture. Also: pumpkin recipes welcome!