outdoors
gatheri
ng
f
orget about
expensive store-
bought party
decorations. Holly
Boardman, of
Charlotte, Vermont, grows her
own. Stacked, carved, big,
little, orange, white and green,
aqua—about one hundred
assorted squash, harvested by
family and friends, participate
in the magical transformation
of the Boardman yard for the
annual pumpkin party.
With an artist’s flourish,
Holly takes various sizes and
colors of pumpkins and turns
them into glowing luminaria
and vases for fall-touched
branches. The evening’s big
event—the greased pumpkin
toss—makes for giddy fun.
“It’s the same rules as an
old-fashioned egg toss,” she
says. Eventually gravity and
slipperiness prevail. “When
the pumpkin hits the ground,
it’s all over,” Holly laughs. “At
the end, it’s vegetable carnage
in my yard. I’m surprised my
lawn isn’t a pumpkin patch
from all the seeds.”
M OVE ON O U T Holly pulls her dining room table and chairs
onto the lawn and piles on the pumpkins. W hether carved or
left au naturel (and with help from daughter Quinn), pumpkins
become the party’s central decor.
SIGNATURE SQUASH Before guests arrive, Holly jump-starts
the carving But then guests are invited to dig in.
“Some bring
their own patterns, others carve freehand,” says Holly. The
pumpkins with the most personality win prizes. And all guests
take home a new friend: a Jack-(or Jill-)o’-lantern.
1 0 6 OCTOBER 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
