Carving pumpkins is fine - but there are so many other fun activities that you can do with pumpkins. Paint them, draw on them, glue things on them, give the kids a bin of art supplies and let them go to town. But if you’re looking for something more structured, something prettier, I’ve got a few pumpkins to inspire you to do more than carve.
Melted Crayon Pumpkin
This is one of our favorites and one that we’re going to attempt this year. The easiest way to do this pumpkin is to peel the crayons and glue them to the top of the pumpkin, in a circle. A half crayon works fine, and you’re going to want to make sure that you’ve covered the surface in newspaper. Work with a hair dryer, but don’t hold it too close to the wax, you don’t want to heat the pumpkin too much. Use the heat setting, and watch the crayons melt on the pumpkin to make a fun design that’s perfect to brighten up a gloomy night, or spooky decorations.
Tip: We’re going to use red to make the ‘spookiest’ pumpkin
Embroidered Pumpkin
Use a screwdriver or drill to make small holes in the pumpkin. You can choose to make a grid, or a design and let the kids work with an oversized plastic needle and wool to create an embroidered design. There are many templates (use halloween cross stitch patterns) that you can find online, or you can choose to let them create a freehand design of their own. For younger kids, you can show the basics of creating the designs, and even use more than one color. It would be a great way to practice letter making, too.
Thumbtack Pumpkin
Have some fun thumb tacks at-home? Give older kids an easy way to make a design that’s simple, and will take a few moments to create something unique. Afterwards, you can always re-use the thumb tacks (if you wish), making it a simple design.
Glitter and Glue Pumpkin
A paint brush, some glue and glitter is all that you need to decorate the glitter and glue pumpkin. You can choose a simple design like polka dots, or let the kids paint the entire pumpkin and choose the glitter that they are going to use on the design.
Decoupage Pumpkin
Halloween tissue paper is easy to find, and it’s inexpensive. Paired with a container of glue and a paint brush, you can create a halloween pumpkin that’s going to look great inside or out. Take this a step further and use a drill to create holes throughout the pumpkin to create a spooky, and unique way to decorate the porch for Halloween.
