Fall Festival Block Party

We did it again! We had a block party for our neighbors. The first block party was in June and a great way to kick off the summer! It was such a resounding success that I thought another one would be well received. I'm hoping to keep the two block parties going as an annual tradition. Check back next year for an update! In my opinion the two block parties celebrated some of the best seasonal highlights. By having them in June and October the block parties were themed as summer kickoff and fall festival. Here are the fall festival highlights...

Pumpkin spice has somehow became synonymous with fall, and how can you overlook apple pie?! I thought a baked goods contest would be fun as the highlight for the fall festival. But I also wanted to have a festival-like atmosphere. Wonder how I married the two? Play a game to get a pom-pom and then use the pom-pom to vote in the baked goods contest!

The pom-pom jar reads "play a game / get a pom-pom"
The baked goods contest jar reads "vote for me with a pom-pom"

We had one table set aside for the baked goods. When folks brought their baked good I placed a mason jar next to it with a label for what it was. As you can tell this baked goods contest was all for fun! It made everyone play a game and get involved with the kiddos. The pumpkin spice cake won!

Baked goods

And now I bet you want to know how you got a pom-pom? We had some super laidback game options that everyone enjoyed. There were 3 games available. The first was some sort of variation of basket bowling. There were 6 baskets stacked in a triangle and the objective was to knock them all over with the mini soccer ball.

Next up was "witch hat" ring toss. We found the witch hat ring toss set at Target. It's a set of black cones with a buckle painted around them. It came with three coordinating rings. The objective was to get all the rings on the cones!

Finally there was a mini pumpkin tic-tac-toe set up. Next to where the games were set up was a small folding table with an orange plastic tablecloth on it. With a sharpie I wrote on the tablecloth "fun and games" and also drew the outline of a tic-tac-toe board. On the table surrounding the tic-tac-toe board I placed 5 orange mini pumpkins and 5 white mini pumpkins which were your tic-tac-toe accessories. I also had some bubbles on the table which were quite a hit towards the end of the party.

A party isn't complete without some snacks. We needed some savory and crunchy options to offset our baked goods table. Next to that table we lined up all the snacks! Chips and dip, spanakopita. fruit, cheese and crackers, and chicken artichoke cups were all offerings for the snacks.

Finally there was a small drinks table set up. There were two beverage dispensers - one with water and one with a sparking apple cider mocktail from Events by Social Graces blog. 

For the Sparking Apple Cider Mocktail: Mix together 6 cups apple cider, 2 cups orange juice, and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Before serving slowly add in one bottle sparkling apple cider. Serve to fall festival guests.

Even though this was a smaller turnout than our summer block party I'd still call it a success!

In this picture you can see a bit of our set-up. On the nearer curb we have the food tables - snack, baked goods, and drinks. Then on the opposite side are the games.

And finally I'll share the invitation! I put these together at the beginning of October for everyone. Each name tag at the corner had each family's name so that they were all personalized. The invitation also included a Signup Genius link which is an online RSVP and sign up tool.

Happy Fall! Hope you are enjoying festive fellowship with your neighbors.