One of my most favorite parts about Halloween is carving pumpkins. For our first Halloween as a married couple in 2009, Zack and I invited his cousin Brian over to carve pumpkins together. That was also the year Michael Jackson died, so I decided to carve a tribute pumpkin in his honor. MJ has been inextricably linked to Halloween ever since “Thriller,” so it seemed seasonably appropriate as well.
For the last eight Halloweens, we’ve kept up the tradition of getting together with Brian to carve pumpkins. And if/when there’s a notable death in the world of pop culture (we had a hundred to choose from in 2016), we’ve made a tribute pumpkin in his or her honor.
In the years since, we’ve had Brian’s partner Rion join us, and last night we were also joined by Zack’s cousins Kenny and Jessi. It has become a really fun holiday tradition with dinner, cupcakes, and a Halloween playlist.
We have our pumpkin carving down to a science, with garbage bags cut in half and spread out on the countertops and a collection of carving tools procured over the years.
Our tribute pumpkins from over the years
2009: The OG tribute pumpkin for Michael Jackson
2010: Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett
Okay, so technically these two legends died in 2009, but because this was at the beginning of our tribute pumpkin tradition, I’m going to let it slide. Plus we added these little paper halos, so I think we get some bonus points. If you can’t tell, my Patrick pumpkin is from “Dirty Dancing” with Johnny and Baby on the floor together. I also gave him wings.
2011: Steve Jobs
I credit Steve Jobs for me marrying Zack because we met thanks to iTunes. I didn’t think I could do a Steve pumpkin and have it be recognizable, so I went with the Apple logo instead.
2014: Robin Williams and Joan Rivers
2014 was a rough year for celebrity deaths! It was another tough call for how to carve a Robin Williams pumpkin, so I went with the quote from “Dead Poets Society” instead. My hand was about to fall off when this was finished – who knew letters took so long?! Brian and I were and still are Joan Rangers, and losing her that year was a big bummer. I love the little halo he carved above her head.
2016: Gene Wilder, Prince, and David Bowie
Well if 2016 wasn’t one of the worst years EVER for celebrity deaths. Seriously, such a bummer of a year. We had our pick of the litter when it came to paying tribute via pumpkins, so we went with our sentimental favorites. Rion did a Willy Wonka tribute to Gene Wilder, Brian did the Prince pumpkin (a full circle moment after an amazing job dressing up like Prince several years ago for Halloween), and I did the Aladdin Sane David Bowie. I must also note that Zack is always good for a VOTE pumpkin during an election year.
2017: Hugh Hefner and Tom Petty
I guess we couldn’t expect to get through 2017 unscathed. Tom Petty passing away unexpectedly was a tough one. I loved having the addition of a hat to complement my Petty pumpkin, and am thankful for Google and an artist’s rendering of him that would make it a simpler carving process. It was pretty priceless having Stella ask Brian why he was carving a bunny.
In looking back over the last eight years, there were a few exceptions to the tribute pumpkin trend. In 2012, I made a Hunger Games pumpkin (so technically that could have been considered a tribute pumpkin now that I think about it) and Brian made a Tigers pumpkin in honor of their amazing postseason run.
In 2013, our daughter Stella was seven months old and on the move, so I went with a simple jack o’lantern face that had two bottom teeth (just like Stella). Note Brian’s Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” pumpkin though!
And in 2015, we commemorated the craziest ending to a football game ever by carving the U of M fan doing the Surrender Cobra pose and the final score of the Michigan State win over Michigan:
I love our pumpkin carving tradition! Last night was the perfect way to end a wonderful fall weekend in Michigan.