A Night of Hope

This time of year we find ourselves doing everything we can to avoid Halloween and all that surrounds it. The kids have never liked it and they usually have an alternative like a Bright Lights party to go to instead.

Last year, I ended up drawn in by the lure of doing something creative with pumpkins, so this year, I have deliberately avoided all the facebook Halloween competitions but at the same time I don't want the kids to miss out on doing something fun and creative.

So when World Vision got in touch to see if we would like to carve a heart into a pumpkin as a symbol of hope to many who live in fear around the world, we were more than happy to take part as our alternative to halloween.

Here's how we got on:

 And you can get involved too. Everyone who downloads a 'Night of Hope' pack from World Vision will be entered into a special prize draw to win a fabulous prize with Lesley Walters. You can find out more here.

We didn't let the insides of the pumpkin go to waste either - we made pumpkin soup! There is a Lesley Walters recipe in the Night of Hope pack too. We did an even simpler version by softening a chopped onion in a little oil on the hob, then added the scooped out bits of the pumpkin too (not the seeds - you can save those to make pepitas). Added some stock and simmered a little longer. Then it was blitzed in a food processor (I added some parsley at this point as I had some I needed to use up) and hey presto - pumpkin soup:

This really is a wonderful opportunity to turn what is usually considered a night of fear into a night of hope. And as your friends and neighbours admire your pumpkin carving skills, it opens up the chance to remind them of the children who are living daily in fear and what can be done to help them through organisations like World Vision.