With Halloween a mere week away I’ve spent this last weekend getting crafty with the girls creating all manner of spooktacular things. This post is all about the pumpkin. It is after all a main stay of Halloween so it seemed only fitting.

Last year I shared a myriad of spooky craft ideas and sweet treats so do take a peek for some wonderful ideas of things to do with your little ones.

NO CARVE PUMPKINS

Every year we get a pumpkin and the girls love it. What isn’t so fun is watching mummy trying to carve some magnificent creation, failing miserably and instead cutting two triangle eyes and a zig zag mouth all the while trying not to swear as I get covered in gooey pumpkin flesh. Last year to avoid this I decided to take a different approach. Instead we got the girls craft kit out and I let them loose. Who knew a pumpkin covered in purple tissue paper and dotted with pom poms could look so good? This year we have carried on the ‘no-carve’ pumpkin theme and Molly and Alice have devised these wondrous ideas for you. Aren’t you lucky?

Stickers

By far the simplest and least messy option. I just gave the girls their craft box and they got busy with some stickers. They opted for an Autumnal theme but if I had been more organised I would have purchased some spooky Halloween stickers for them to go wild with.

Paint

Painting pumpkins is a lot of fun. Last year we created a wonderful pink and purple striped pumpkin extravaganza. Not exactly halloween colours but Molly chose and as we all know, she loves pink. You want to use quite a thick paint for this so that it sticks to the pumpkin. Once it’s dry you can add any other decorations you like.

Sharpie Pen

This is a pretty easy and non messy approach to pumpkin decorating. Give your kids a few Sharpie pens and let them loose to create a masterpiece. You could stick with black and draw faces, spiders and cobwebs or a messy rainbow spectacular can look just as good. You may want to supervise though as the nature of the permanent pen means it is just that. Great on a pumpkin just not on your kids face. Or your sofa.

Glitter

I love glitter. Our craft kit contains a lot. Simply paste on some PVA glue and then sprinkle liberally with the sparkly stuff. You could dip the whole base in glitter or create glittery dots or stripes. This works wonderfully on the elusive white pumpkins but is just as pretty on orange.

Mummy

Grab a bandage and wind it around the pumpkin. It looks good if you can see bits of orange through. Add some googly eyes for a finishing touch.

Spiders Web

All you need is some wool or string and keep winding it around the pumpkin until you have the desired cobweb effect. We then made a spider from some black card and pipe cleaners but you could add a toy spider or even a pom pom.

Animals

After spotting this adorable fox on Pinterest I just had to make him. So simple and cute. You need orange card and some white paper or felt. Cut out some ears and a tail from the orange and then add some white card or felt as details. Fix to the pumpkin with tape. Cut a semi circle from the white and glue on for his tummy. Finally cut a face shape from the white and add a nose and eyes using a black pen. Stick on and your foxy friend is ready.

Unicorn

I am well aware that a unicorn is absolutely nothing to do with Halloween but this was too good not to include. Paint your pumpkin in a colour of your choice. Pastel shades work best. Make a cone from paper and cover in glitter. Or making it from glittery paper would be a much easier option! Once the paint is dry draw on a face using a black marker pen. Add some wool for hair and two little cardboard triangles for ears. We then added some pretty gems and stickers for detailing. So pretty and a perfect party piece at any time of the year.

PUMPKIN TREATS

As you now know from my cake post I do a fair bit of baking. Luckily the girls have inherited my love of it and will happily mix up cakes and even more happily decorate them whilst munching away on the sprinkles. I’ve come up with a few super simple baking ideas for you to do with your little ones but if you fancy something a bit more grown up for yourselves then last year I created a delicious pumpkin pie and a lovely spiced ginger and pumpkin loaf over on Rock My Style.

Also, non of these are exactly healthy but it is Halloween so forgive me.

Pumpkin Cookies

You can find my recipe for sugar cookies over on Rock My Style in the archives. I picked up a pumpkin cookie cutter from the supermarket but you could just use a round cutter or glass. Once the cookies are baked cut out some orange sugar paste icing using the same cutter and place on the cookies. You can use a bit of water to help them stick together. Add a little green stalk and use black food colouring or a food colouring pen to draw on the features.

Pumpkin Orange Jelly

As a kid my mum used to make us shark infested jelly as a treat. We loved it. Before you make the jelly use a marker pen to draw some pumpkin faces on to plastic cups. Grab yourself some orange jelly and mix up as per the packet. Pour in to the cups and leave to set.

Pumpkin Fudge

This is actually a healthy fudge (I’m not kidding) and is gluten and diary free. Line an 8inch square tin with baking parchment. In the microwave melt together 2 cups of smooth cashew butter (or any other nut butter) and 1/2 a cup of coconut oil. Once melted stir in 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree. Pour in to the tin and leave to set before cutting in to squares.

Pumpkin Patch Brownies

These are a super cute little idea for making with the kids. Bake a batch of brownies (or buy some if you prefer). I favour my gluten and dairy free brownies for which you can find the recipe here or to incorporate the pumpkin this recipe looks rather good. Once cooked cut in to squares. Spread a thin layer of chocolate buttercream, Nutella or similar over the top and sprinkle on chocolate vermicelli. Use some orange sugar paste to create little round balls for the pumpkins. Add a green stalk and some green twirls to complete the look.

Pumpkin Fruit Cups

If you steer away from too many treats for your little ones then how about creating mini pumpkins from hollowed out oranges. Cut the top off and scoop out the flesh. You can carve teeny tiny faces in if you are nifty. Fill with berries for a tasty treat.

Jammy Donuts

I am not the greatest donuts maker so I just get some from the supermarket. Mix up some orange icing and pour on. Once it has set add some eyes and mouths using black sugarpaste icing. The added halloween fun is the oozey red jam when you bite in. You could use mini donuts if a full on jam number is a bit much for your little one to cope with.

Sandwiches

Not officially baking unless you are so inclined to bake your own bread but use your cutters to cut circles or pumpkin shapes out of sandwiches for a sweet halloween picnic. You could cut faces out as well if you like.
 

Hope that has given you a few ideas and please do share your pumpkin creations with us using #rockmypumpkin.