Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pumpkin Carving Alternatives for the little ones

September 24, 2011 by  
Filed under Crafts

Carving Pumpkins is a tradition in my family that we do every Halloween, but there are other ways you can decorate a Pumpkin besides carving them. So I am going to share with you some fun Alternatives to Carving that are great for both the kids and the adults.

When you have younger kids having them carve a pumpkin can be scary. I know I was always afraid they may hurt themselves – even with our assistance.

Even though we will continue to carve pumpkins each year sometimes it is fun to change things up and have a mix of different alternatives. Usually it is my daughter and I who change things up since my Hubby and Son both love to get their hands in those Pumpkins and then carve away – Boys !!

Painting Pumpkins:

Lets start with the most obvious alternative – Painting your Pumpkins. This can really be a lot of fun for anyone. You can really get very creative when painting a pumpkin. In 2008 I decided that this is what I was going to do vs carving. I turned my Pumpkin into a Dog as you can see in the photo above. I used gourds for the ears and added a small piece of fur material to the top of the pumpkin. My daughter also followed and made her own Kitty and Puppy. We made ears using foam and attaching toothpicks to the back to stick into the pumpkin and some Pom Poms we glued on for her Puppy Ears.

The paint we used was basic Acrylics I have in my craft room, but you can also use Poster Paints. You can even use markers if that is all you have available. Really anything goes and it is fun.

Here are the Pumpkins my daughter created that year – she was 8 years old.

This is a great Halloween/Fall Party Idea for the kids too – if you are having a Pumpkin Decorating Party with younger kids then get out the paints and any fun craft supplies you have around such as Foam Sheets, Paper, Yarn, Beads, Buttons etc.. and let them get creative. Glue Dots are great for this project to add on the extras so you do not have to worry about hot glue guns or glue having to dry.

This has to be one of my favorite painted Pumpkins I did back in 2002. I just placed it on top of a Stuffed Shirt & Pants – added some sneakers and a Hat and I had the cutest Pumpkin Scarecrow.

Here are a few of my personal favorite Painted Pumpkins others have done !!

Possibilities are endless !!

Dressing your Pumpkins:

Don’t want to use paints then you can use some of the Pumpkin Decorating Kits available to dress your Pumpkins. The kits come with pieces that you can stick into your Pumpkin to give it a fun festive look. You can also make your own pieces using Foam, Cardboard, Potato head pieces etc… When I make my own pieces to stick into my Pumpkins I attach either toothpicks to the back or Skewers so they can securely stick in and stay in. Or have the kids stick them on using Glue Dots.

You can find so many Pumpkin Decorating Kits in the stores and they are easy for the kids. Last year I posted about these Pumpkin Push Ins I used and they were a lot of fun.

Many years back we tried out these Pumpkin Pegs (Fright Lights) that reminded me of Lightbrite. I tried to find my picture of our Pumpkins, but could not locate it. These were very different and a lot of fun and it really was just like Litebright in the fact that you have a pattern you tape on the Pumpkin and then you can use the mallet that comes with the kits and bang in the pegs (kids like that part). Then at night you place in the battery operated light and watch it glow.

Other fun things you can use to Dress up your Pumpkins – Cut up Magazines – Cut out Eyes, Mouths, Ears etc… Have the kids stick them on to create some very unique Pumpkin Faces. How about some Stickers, Rhinestones, Old Halloween Costume Wigs & Hats, Fabrics etc… Again anything goes and that is what makes it so much fun.

Just use your imagination and you can create a masterpiece that will have all your neighbors talking when they come to Trick or Treat at your house.

Here are some of my favorite Pumpkin Decorating Kits which are also referred to as Pumpkin Push Ins or Pumpkin Wear. Yes they even have Mr. Potato Head Pumpkin Kits too !!

So ya see – if you do not want the kids to use a Pumpkin Carving tool just yet or just want to try something different then go for it !!  I also think these Pumpkin Carving Alternatives are the best choice when it comes to a Pumpkin Decorating Party for the little ones.

If the kids are at an age where you think they can handle it with supervision of course – then carve away. I think lots of kids love to get into those pumpkins and get all messy – and messy it is !!

Now I wonder what I will choose do with my Pumpkins this year… Hmmmmmm

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