13 easy pumpkin carving and decorating ideas - Today's Parent (2024)

Carve a big hole and clean out your pumpkin. Add fake nails as teeth by pushing them into the flesh (gnarly!). There are plenty of fake nails around this time of year, plus you can take them out, rinse and reuse them next year. Your monster may be scary, but at least she has excellent oral hygeine. Watch how to make this pumpkin here.

Photo: Scott Simpson

A drill makes quick work of pumpkin carving, but also looks really impressive. Clean out the pumpkin first thenstart drilling. Try different size drill bits—we also used the bigger circle cutter attachments. Just make sure you clean your drill bit wellbefore storing away. Watch how to make this pumpkinhere.

Photo: Scott Simpson

Make your gourds shine with puffy glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. You can scribble designs or make little dot patterns—it’s so easy and highly addictive. Amp up the glow by shining a black light on your pumpkin. Far out! TIP:Brushing on glow-in-the-dark paint is too transparent and won’t give you anice even finish, so save your money and stick to a puffy paint texture. Watch how to make this pumpkinhere.

Photo: Scott Simpson

We all love those pinterest-worthy typography pumpkins, but you might be scared to attempt yourself. Here’s a sweet hack: Use big letter stickers. Stick on your words, repostioning as needed until you are happy with the design. Then trace around the letters with a pen. Remove the stickers and carve out your letters. Tricky tricky! Watch how to make this pumpkinhere.

Photo: Scott Simpson

Want something dead-simple, but still creative? Grab a creepy toy (dollar stores are great for this)and paint it blackfor a creepy graphic effect. Hot glue thetoy to a pumpkin (real or fake). Done! It feelsmodern, but very festiveand will look great on a lit-up porch. And it's very easy to make multiples of.

Photo: Jeff Carlson

Want something a little lighter and funnier thanthe typical spooky genre of jacks.Try some funny faces using stuff you have around the house and maybe pick up some fake moustaches at thedollar store (or cut the staches out of felt). At the end of the night,you can just remove the sunglasses and wipe them clean. Looks like this security detail will keep an eye on your house. Watch how to make this pumpkinhere.

Photo: Scott Simpson

Painted pumpkins look great as a centrepiece, and are a fun, safe alternative for kids to decorate because no knives are required. Try using fake pumpkins that way you can trotthem out year after year. Keep the designs simple, we just did little brush strokes all over—no special artistic talent required.

Photo: Jeff Carlson

You cut the big hole, and the kids can do the rest. Clean out the guts and you have a great space to let your imagination run free. To make this dino-themed diorama, grab some moss and little plants (even carrot tops will do the trick), maybe some rocks and sticks. Then place in your toy dinosaurs. Add LED candles around the bushes and it will light up to reveal a prehistoric scene. Watchhow to make this pumpkin here.

Photo: Jeff Carlson

Here is a no-carve alternative to the typography carved pumpkinthat still lights up. Use big letter stickers to trace a word or cute pun. Then paint in the letters with glow-in-the-dark craftpodge. While it's wet, sprinkle glow-in-the-dark glitter and shake off theexcess.Let it dry andpaint one more layer of podge. The thickness of the layers with the glitter will give you a great result—justshine a black light on it to help it really glow.

Photo: Scott Simpson

We used the same method as the dino dioramavideobut turned this one into a bat cave. We carved a more jagged shape for the cave. Line the bottom of your pumpkin with polyesterstuffing or just stretch out some cotton balls. Make a fence out of popsicle sticks and paint it black. Cut bats out of black construction paper and hang them from the roof of the pumpkin with thread and a thumbtack. Finally, wrap a napkin around a lollipop (secure it with a tie) to make a spooky ghost. BOO!

Photo: Jeff Carlson

Here is another no-carve pumpkin that is quick to decorate. Paint your gourd a bright red and glue on a green paper leaf.

Photo: Roberto Caruso

What’smore horrifying than a screaming baby? Cleaning out your pumpkin, carving outa sad crying face and topping it with a cute bow. Kidding—that's actually pretty fun. You can also try this on a white pumpkin for a departure from the standard orange variety.

Photo: Jeff Carlson

Use inepensive doilies as paint stencils first, then paint them and glue them on for a chic gothic effect. Full instructions here.

Photo: Roberto Caruso

Read more:22 cute and easy halloween costumes for babies13 Halloween crafts for kids11 smashing no-carve pumpkins