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Foxboro -- "Who doesn't love fall?" A simple answer from Deborah Fertitta, Foxboro resident and crafter extraordinaire, explaining, a few days before her annual Fall Harvest Party, why she's about to go all out in celebration of the season.

Traditionally held to mark the end-of-summer harvest, as farmers and other laborers prepared for the fall and winter seasons, fall harvest parties have taken on new life and become a chance for family and friends to get together and feast while enjoying all the things they love about fall.

Some consider them a great alternative to Halloween parties, and a way to enjoy the last bit of great weather.

The Fertitta family harvest party tradition started just last year, when a newly married Deborah Fertitta decided to take up gardening and found herself overwhelmed with the idea of planting.

"I thought, how in the world could I plant all these bulbs? And then I said, I know! I'll have a harvest party," she said. "But we didn't plant one bulb." Instead, she set up tables for pumpkin carving, a piñata and a Wiffle ball spot.

Dozens of family members, friends and neighbors descended on her South Grove Street home to enjoy a cookout and a pie-eating contest.

Her afternoon of planting turned into a day-long party that lasted well into the evening with a campfire crackling in a pit.

The party was such a hit, she and her husband Tom decided to make it an annual event and held this year's party earlier this month.

Building on last year's success, the Fertittas - a very outgoing and welcoming couple - sent out themed invitations and set up their yard to resemble a fall lover's dream.

Decorated with corn stalks and hay stacks against an old-fashioned looking barn, scarecrows and flowers, the lawn was scattered with tables for pumpkin carving, bird feeder making, clay pot decorating and, of course, for eating.

The grill was going all day long, as kids made their way through a scarecrow relay race, doughnut eating contest and outdoor fun.

There were hamburgers, hot dogs, apple cider and pies. And there was plenty of laughter and chatting.

"It's fun. I came last year and the action, the people, are fun," said Kerry Long, 11, a neighbor. "It's nice to be outside."

Standing with Long, busily carving pumpkins, Rachel Ferlong, 11, was visiting her grandmother, a Fertitta neighbor, when she read the invitation. "It had a lot of food, fun and people on it," she said. "It's really fun."

And not just for the kids.

Over at the picnic table, Debbie's mom, Priscilla Garrison, said she was delighted with the party, and impressed young people could have so much fun celebrating the harvest.

Gushed Jessie Mosher, the Fertitta's next door neighbor, "It's the best party I've ever attended. Look at all these kids having a ball."

The theme of appreciating a summer's worth of hard work and good fortune is still there.

Debbie jokes that Tom gets philosophical in his description of the party, and he gladly shares his feelings.

"I'm a fall guy, and I love the fall," he said. "When I think of fall, I'm thankful. This is all about being thankful for what I have. I'm a firm believer in God and that he provides for us. There's a lot of joy and sharing."

REBECCA KEISTER can be reached at 508-236-0336 or at rkeister@thesunchronicle.com.