Pumpkin Picking - Our Family Tradition

I love Halloween, it feels like the start of the winter activities and I love nothing more than dark evenings snuggled under blankets with candles glowing in the corner, stews bubbling away and thick socks keeping toes warm.

It also means we get to go pumpkin picking, this has become our tradition and something that not only allows us to go and choose that perfect pumpkin ourselves, but also enables the children to see where they come from and that food doesn't just come from the shops.

It also supports a local farm and business and for that I am happy to pay a bit extra for my pumpkins, the guys over at Maxey's have had their pumpkin patch for the last four years and we have visited every year.

Watching it grow and more and more people visit each year has been great and I take my hat off to them in creating something that brings people together.

My two absolutely love choosing their own pumpkins to carve, my son even named his. It is seeing them sat in the fields that really brings home the amount of work that actually goes into producing these these well loved vegetables.

From tiny shoots to bright orange beauties, we should all support our local farmers and ensure that they can carry on producing wonderful foods and memories for years to come.

Did you go pumpkin picking this year or do you have any traditions for you and your family?

Pumpkin Picking - Autumn Fun at Maxeys Farm Shop

With Halloween not far away we decided to head up to one of our favourite places at this time of the year and take part in one of Autumns most fun activities, pumpkin picking.

We've been pumpkin picking at Maxeys Farm Shop for the last few years, so with this year being bigger and better we decided to head up during a break in the rain last weekend.

It was muddy, but for me this added to the fun.  We donned our wellies and slid around the field looking for that perfect pumpkin, the sun shone brightly and we couldn't wait to find the ones.

You just know when you see the pumpkin that you want, it stands out, it looks at you with those take me home orange wrinkles or for me this year white and blue.

We walked around that field for over an hour, searching for that special pumpkin and eventually each of the children found theirs. We even found a couple of rather bumpy pumpkins that we decided to bring home too, so they could fulfil their pumpkin destiny.

Afterwards we walked through the spooky wood, paid our respects at the pumpkin graveyard and then the children both had a go on the pumpkin bouncy castle.

The field of orange was awe inspiring and to see so many pumpkins growing you can't even begin to imagine the hard work and commitment that goes in to growing them, it is definitely a long term relationship.

A quick ice-cream (and might I add very yummy ice cream from Thaymar) and a sit down in the sunshine before we headed back down the field to pay, it had at this point started to get a bit cloudy and not wanting to get stuck in the rain we headed home.

Not before a quick lunch stop in the farm shop and to pick up my white pumpkin and blue squash, they look gorgeous sat amongst the orange.

If you are local to Nottingham I can only re-iterate what I have said in previous years, this is a great place to see how food grows, to help out a local business and to spend a few hours outdoors with the family