When I think of Halloween, the first thing that comes to mind is big, bright, orange pumpkins! And lots of them!! And no sooner than when the first batch of pumpkins show up at the local grocery, my son is already asking when he can pick one out.
Because everyone knows, picking out the perfect pumpkin and deciding on what sort of face he is going to have is the best part of Halloween!
When my children were little, I did all the cleaning and carving to keep them safe. As they grew and became more capable, they were quite excited to let loose on their own creativity! We’ve done all sorts of pumpkin faces over they years. Everything from simple and sweet, to delightfully scary. As always, as each year passed and other people shared their creativity, lots of new ideas popped up all over the internet helping us to put yet another cute face on our pumpkin!
So, here, I’ll share some fun and easy ways to decorate a pumpkin and keep the project simple.
Paint:
Not ready for your little one to grab a carving tool and cut some holes in their pumpkin? Consider giving them some children’s, non-toxic paints and let them paint their pumpkin! What a treasure that would be to have a photo of your little artists’ work to look back on over the years.
Or, how about using some bingo dobbers and letting your little one cover their pumpkin with bright and colorful dots!
Construction Paper:
Another fun option is cutting big, goofy eyes out of construction paper. Add a cute nose and mouth. Glue them straight onto your pumpkin! If your kids are old enough, let them draw the shapes and cut them out. If they’re young, let them draw and you cut out their creations. There are so many options to make this work, no matter your child’s age!
Google-Eyes:
Google-eyes are so much fun! Pick some up in several sizes from your local hobby store and let your child glue them all over their pumpkin. What a fun, non-scary monster this could be!
Flowers:
Take some pretty artificial flowers and poke them straight into your pumpkin, adorning the top of it like a cap. You could go any color direction with this, and it would certainly be cute enough to use as a center piece on your dinner table. I’m thinking I might like to try this option myself this year. Of course, my son will still want his own pumpkin to carve.
Pattern Books:
There are lots of these books available at the grocery store. Additionally, the patterns themselves can be found online. Find a pattern of your child’s favorite cartoon character to emulate on a pumpkin. (This option does involve sharp objects so, of course, use your best judgement in whether or not they need some adult assistance.)
Carving Kits:
As your kiddo’s get older and become more capable, pick up one of the
very convenient pumpkin carving kits, available at most of the grocery stores in town. The tools available now make the actual carving of the faces a little easier to accomplish than in years past. Each year I say, “this is the last kit I’m going to buy because we have enough tools at home.” Yet, each year they come out with one just a little bit different… and in the shopping cart it goes.
Do Nothing:
There are so many fun looking pumpkins available! Jaded Pumpkins, Knucklehead Pumpkins, Cinderella Pumpkins, and of course your regular, bright orange pumpkins. Just buy a pretty one and let it’s own natural beauty take over!
