Pumpkin Alternatives

Halloween and pumpkins go together like bread and butter or peas and carrots. However, carving pumpkins can be messy and a pain, especially if little ones want to "help". Here are some alternatives:

• For a super easy craft, decorate a pumpkin. Give them a small pie/sugar sized pumpkin, glitter glue, stickers, plastic spiders, etc., and let them decorate their own! You can often find cheap plastic bugs, skeletons, bats, bells, and spiders at the dollar store or local craft stores. For a really easy, non-messy option, use foam craft stickers. You can often find eyes, mouths and other shapes.

Bernardo's pumpkin

• Dress Up Pumpkins: Tie on bandannas and glue on eye patches to create pirate pumpkins. Glue on small straw hats and a circle of twine to create a cowboy. Cut a square out of an old white sheet (or handkerchief), cut out some eye holes and place over pumpkin to create a ghost. If you don't want to ruin a handkerchief or sheet, place painters tape in the shapes of eyes on the pumpkin and then paint white. Once the paint dries, peel off the tape for a ghost.  Place a witches hat and a small decorative broom to create a witch. Wrap with strips of cloth to create a mummy. The possibilities are almost endless!
• Paper Pumpkins: If you don't have a pumpkin, print out the coloring page below and let them decorate that!

Coloring Page