Invitations to a Fall Harvest Party

Apples, leaves, pumpkins – add these together and you have a bushel full of fun for a fall harvest party! To get your friends excited about the season, invite them to celebrate with you by sending one of these clever invitations:

Collect an array of fall leaves from your yard. Place them as a stencil on card stock. Using fall colored spray paint, lightly spray the card then remove the leaf. You should have a nice outline of a leaf on the front of your card! Be sure to give all the party details on the inside!

If you can hand deliver your invitations, here’s an idea that is sure to spice up the season. For each invite, attach a small note with raffia to the stem of a small pumpkin or apple. Tell your guests that they are sure to reap heaps of harvest fun at this event!

If you aren’t the crafty type and wish to use the mail instead, simply use a basic party invitation and stuff it full of fall leaf confetti!

Decorations for a Festive Fall Harvest Party

If you are hosting your party outdoors, the fall foliage and cool weather go a long way in creating a festive atmosphere for a fall harvest party.

Outdoor Decorations:
• To make the outside of your home look warm and welcoming, use a few bales of hay, cornstalks, pumpkins and gourds, dried Indian corn, a jointed scarecrow, and a lighted candy corn.
• Weather permitting, adorn your front porch with a giant cornstalk and jointed scarecrow.

If, however, the weather doesn’t cooperate . . . or you find an indoor party more suitable to your needs, we have the following products to help you feel like you are outside enjoying the autumn air!

Indoor Decorations:
• Hang our 4 foot high paper oak tree on the walls around your room!
• A much less messy alternative to the real thing, autumn cornstalks are the perfect accent for your gathering.
• Never underestimate the power of decorating with balloons. Balloons can turn any space into a festive and inviting atmosphere in minutes at a very low cost. You need not use helium, and will save money using this tip. Inflate harvest colored balloons, and tie a 5-8 foot piece of yellow, red or orange curling ribbon to the end of each one. Using scotch tape, masking tape, or straight pins, hang balloons down from the ceiling so they hang at different lengths. Curl the loose end of the ribbon with scissors. Group a bunch of them together over a serving table, over a doorway, or in any creative manner you choose.
• A child’s red wagon filled with pumpkins, Indian corn, and gourds looks adorable positioned in a corner of a room.
• Grapevines and bittersweet are other natural fall decorating tools. Wrap them around banisters, drape them across a mantle or line your doorways with their garland.
• These leaves don’t need to be raked! The autumn leaves decorations give a realistic touch to your event!

Tableware and Napkins:
• Start your table decorations off with choosing fall colored plastic plates. Cover your tables with a coordinating autumn tablecovering.
• Place each plate on a 12” paper leaf and balloon pumpkins as a simple but smashing centerpiece!
• Place a mini haybale at each place setting. These also make great placecard holders!
• For another centerpiece option, try harvest corn tapers.
• Top the whole look off with a bit of fall sparkle by sprinkling irridescent leaf confetti down the center of the table!

Festive Activities for a Fall Harvest Party

Rake up all those leaves that have fallen in your front yard and play Leaf Pile Hunt. Hide lots of wrapped candy in the leaf pile and let the kids hunt in the pile for the surprises.

Try your hand at bowling on grass; use a pumpkin as a ball and 2-liter pop containers as pins!

For a creative, fun relay race, have your guests line up in two lines standing single file. The object is to pass an apple down the line using anything but hands (chin, legs, or elbows all work!). The first team that gets their apple down the line wins!

Have a pumpkin seed spitting contest.

Bob for apples – a Fall Harvest party must!

For the youngest partygoers, a game of Musical Hay bales is a sure way to prevent guests from “leafing” the party!

Gather up some Indian corn and have a corn-husking race. Award prices for the most done in 1 or 3 minutes.

Have a rip-roaring bond fire complete with marshmallows and a sing-a-long!

Last, but certainly not least, provide your guests with a horse drawn hayride for an autumn festive feeling! If you can’t find a horse, a tractor is the next best thing!

Tell us your Fall Harvest party ideas!

Party Favors for a Fall Harvest Party

With the harvest bounty in season, why not use it as a token of appreciation to your fellow partiers? Here are a few ideas:

A bag of apples with a small jar of homemade caramel sauce is a nice favor to give away.

A small basket filled with mini pumpkins and gourds.

Take out boxes filled with popcorn, nuts, and candy corn!

A pumpkin pen necklace is sure to delight kids of all ages!

Check out our Halloween Party Tips for more ideas!