Beyond the costumes and candy, there’s one other important aspect of Halloween that can’t be missed: the pumpkin. And I have to be honest – even with a stencil, I can never master the perfect carving. What usually ends up on our porch is a silly-looking orange fella with triangle eyes and a toothless grin. Since having kids, I’ve become even more aware of the chaos that ensues with pumpkin carving. From pumpkin guts to tiny hands and sharp knives, it can all be a little much. While I still love a good jack-o’-lantern’, I’ve tried to find creative ways to dress up our pumpkins that are both fun and safe for the whole family.
Gauzy Mummy Pumpkin
If you want to completely transform your pumpkin, then try your hand at this cute gauzy mummy pumpkin. His little face is so adorable and this would go perfectly with any Halloween decor. All you need is some gauze, googly eyes, a pair of scissors, and a hot glue gun.
Paint!
For youngsters, there’s nothing more exciting than painting something that’s not paper. You can paint a face, a spooky saying, or get creative and go abstract, the options are really endless. For me, I can’t carve Frankenstein’s monster let alone paint him – but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the pumpkin is your blank canvas.
Get out the Power Tools
A few years ago, I took a power drill to our family pumpkin – and the result was actually pretty incredible. After piercing holes in different sizes, we ended up with a pumpkin that looked like a star constellation. It was easy and fun, and it looked really pretty lit up on our front porch!
Play Dress Up!
Get out the yarn, felt, and googly eyes and dress up your pumpkin! Make a monster family, adorable animals, or even dress up the pumpkin to look like you! Cats and bats are fairly easy – paint your pumpkin black, cut out wings and ears, eyes, and a tail and secure them on your pumpkin with hot glue. Pipe cleaners make great whiskers and pom-poms can work well for a nose.
Whether you’re carving or painting this year, we would love to see your creations! Be sure to tag us in your photos on Instagram @looklocalmagazine.
