5 Adorable Pumpkin Crafts for Kids

Halloween is often ranked the second most favorite holiday for both kids and adults. This holiday is great, not only because spooky things are fun, but also because it can be done on a budget without much fuss from the little ones.

If you’re like us, you’ll see the month of Halloween as a great opportunity to bring out everyone’s inner-Picasso. There are unlimited possibilities when it comes to arts and crafts, you just need to look beyond standard pumpkin carvings and house decorating.

To help give you some ideas, we’ve gathered five of our favorite pumpkin crafts for kids that are cheap, easy, and fun.

Are you ready to conjure up some fun? Let’s go!

1. Candy Corn and Pumpkins

We understand the struggle when it comes to carving pumpkin faces, especially for the artistically-challenged or underage ghouls who can’t wield metal knives yet. This pumpkin craft for kids doesn’t require any cutting or carving, though.

Instead, let’s use the power of sweets in all their various shapes, sizes, and colors to construct the face!

There’s plenty of options to pull from the candy aisle for facial reconstructive surgery: mini marshmallows, candy corn, Twizzlers, gumballs, cotton candy, pixie stix powder, caramel chews, and more!

Make a sketch on paper to plan out an awesome face and let the kids do all the fun constructing.

2. Seed Art

Next, after you’ve successfully assembled a face that will frighten as well as delight the neighbors, repurpose those seeds that you dug out of your pumpkin! Set aside some to make some snacks if you like, but use some of them to make this next pumpkin craft for kids.

Set aside half for the kids and have them glue them in random spots on a piece of construction paper. Next, ask them to draw objects/people/animals using those seeds.

This is an art assignment that can be used with other materials, like cotton balls, glitter, dried pasta, magazine clippings, and anything else you can find that will add to their story.

3. Paint Splatter Pumpkins

This next pumpkin craft for kids is another easy art piece that they will absolutely love doing. It’s all about creating accent pumpkins that you can place anywhere in the yard or porch like statues.

First, take a mat, large piece of paper, or anything else you can find to use as a barrier between the paint and your work surface. Next, give your pumpkin a base coat color of paint.

The base color can be anything you want, but try to follow the color wheel to plan your 1st and second colors for the best effect. Make sure you have good coverage on your pumpkin and wait for it to dry completely.

Now, here comes the fun part! Take your second color and mix it with about half water in a large bowl. Using a large paintbrush, soak it lightly in your mixture.

Take it out and hold your brush above the pumpkin, then shake it a little to make the paint drop onto the pumpkin. You will find your groove with the patterns of paint splatter you want to make.

After you’ve covered the top well, move onto the sides by flicking it, but not too fast, unless you’re in a space where the paint won’t get on the house/valuables.

Kids will learn by example, so don’t make demands, just show them how to get the best-looking results by your technique. You could likewise hold a trial paint splatter session using paper barriers to show them different splatter effects.

Make sure you capture all the action on video, in a GIF, or memes if your paint splatter reaches new heights, furniture, faces, or sides of the house!

4. Pumpkin Tambourines

Here’s another pumpkin craft for kids that can be done on a budget. Simply gather some plates, paints, craft supplies from the previous decorating project, and some noise-makers — buttons, beans, paperclips, and pumpkin seeds are all great.

First, take your paper plates and paint pumpkin faces on them. After they dry, have your little ones paint and decorate whatever they want on top to really make them unique.

Make sure your pumpkin faces are done on the bottom parts of the plates. This is a common brain-fart when setting things up.

When they’re done decorating, have them experiment with which kind of noise they want their tambourine to make. Fill them up, leaving about half the space empty, then staple or glue them shut.

5. Pumpkin Silly Putty

To make this extremely gooey, no-mess, non-toxic, Halloween-themed putty, you are going to need: borax (don’t worry, it’s completely safe!), warm water, Elmer’s glue, food coloring, and pumpkin pie spice.

First, mix 3/4ths tsp of borax with 1 & 1/3rd cup of warm water. In another bowl, combine 2 cups of glue, 1 & 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 tsp pumpkin spice, with 1 tsp of orange food coloring.

Combine both mixtures together, incorporating them gradually. You will begin to notice a change in both texture and consistency.

Now for the fun part: start sliding your hands through the mixture to remove all the excess slime and liquid from the goop. This will take some time, but it’s extremely satisfying for both kids and adults.

You’ll know when you’ve achieved maximum putty once it becomes easy to grab and stretch. If you think your mixture needs more spring or goop, make a second, smaller batch with either more or less glue, then knead it into your first putty.

Capture Timeless “Kodak Moments” With These Pumpkin Crafts for Kids

Don’t forget to have your phone ready to snap all the awesome candid family moments with these great pumpkin crafts for kids. Your kids will say and do the most darn of things when candy, paint, glue, and putty is involved.

Trust us, when your friends and family see all the amazing art, messes, messy art, and fun captured in photos, gifs, and videos, they’ll die of laughter and want to come over to join in on the festivities!