Harvest Moon Party

For as long as people have been farming crops, autumn has marked the harvest season. Long regarded as a time of abundance and celebration, harvest season is the perfect time to gather with friends and family to enjoy good company paired with freshly harvested food. The labor involved with harvesting crops is not necessary for a modern harvest moon party, but providing guests with a delicious autumn meal, desserts and drinks certainly is.

The 2009 Harvest Moon falls on October 4th, which is unusually late in the year. In general, the Harvest Moon falls sometime in September and the next time it falls in October will be 2017. During the Harvest Moon, a number of crops are ready for harvesting including corn, pumpkins, rice, squash and beans.

Setting the party food out buffet style will keep guests moving, talking and relaxed. A buffet is also a nod to the tradition of harvest feasts in which everyone enjoyed the food family style. Since the Harvest Moon traditionally marked the harvesting of pumpkins, squash, wild rice and beans, we have compiled a suggested buffet menu that highlights dishes using these crops.

Harvest Moon Menu

• Garlic Roast Chicken
• Baked Salmon with Pecan Crust
• Pumpkin Bread
• Autumn Squash Casserole
• Country Green Beans
• Almond Wild Rice

Desserts

• Grandma's Apple Pie served a la mode
• Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
  

Cocktails

Keep guests warm and toasty with warm liquor based cocktails. Round out the drink selection with autumnal nonalcoholic drinks like warm apple cider and hot chocolate.

• Bourbon Toddy
• Old Fashioned
• Full Moon

Harvest Moon Decorations

Create a warm, cozy feeling in your home that evokes the reddish tint of the Harvest Moon. Since this year's Harvest Moon falls so close to Halloween, it's an ideal time to start bringing out the pumpkins, gourds, squash and candles.

Pumpkin Lanterns:

In lieu of scary looking jack o lanterns, create pumpkin lanterns to illuminate the party area. Carve faux window panes into the sides of the pumpkins as well as full moons. The trick to carving a full moon is to avoid completely cutting through to the inside of the pumpkin. Leave enough white skin on the outside that the candlelight shines out from the inside and the carved moon will take on the appearance of a full moon.

Additional Table Decor:

Place the pumpkin lanterns along tables with food as centerpieces, and intersperse the carved and lit pumpkins with smaller white pumpkins, gourds and squashes. If you have a cornucopia, place it in the center of the buffet table overflowing with gourds and squash.

Candlelight:

Complete the look with lots of candlelight. The warm glow creates a convivial vibe that will encourage mingling and enjoyment among your party guests. Create a rustic look by placing candles in glass mason jars and tying brown twine around the rims of the jars. Scatter the candles along the buffet table, on the kitchen counter, at the dining table and along mantles and fireplaces to bathe the party in candlelight, mimicking the glow of the Harvest Moon.