One of the major events that kids look forward to every October is pumpkin carving. It's their chance to get their hands dirty while they create some spooky and fun pumpkin designs that will go on the front porch. Your kids can carve their pumpkins the traditional way, or they can get even more creative and carve scenes out of their pumpkins. There are also fun alternatives to pumpkin carving designs. Now your kids can paint their pumpkins, cover them in Washi tape, or even decorate them with random materials that can be found lying around the house. So if your kids want their pumpkins to be bright, colorful, and super unique, there are a few pumpkin decorating ideas in this collection of Halloween Ideas for Kids: How to Carve a Pumpkin + 11 No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas that they should try.

Your kids should never run out of fun Halloween crafts to make! Grab your free copy of 23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Decor, and surprise your little ones with more spooky crafts.

 

How to Carve a Pumpkin

Pumpkin carving is one of the most important events during the month of October. It's not a bad thing to get really creative and make your pumpkin design look like Cinderella's carriage, but nothing beats the traditional pumpkin carving designs. With the help of these simple pumpkin carving directions, your kids can grab their materials and carve out a spooky or silly face on their pumpkins!

Materials:

• Black, Sharpie marker
• Pencil
• Pumpkin (big or small)
• Carving knife
• Large spoon
• Bowl
• Newspaper
• Tea light candle or a LED tea light

Instructions:

1. Spread newspaper to protect your work surface.
    
2. Using your Sharpie, draw a circle around the stem. It should be big enough for you to stick your hand inside the pumpkin to scoop out the pulp.
    
3. Draw the face on your pumpkin with a pencil. Once you like your design, go over it with a Sharpie.
    
4. Using your pumpkin carving knife, cut off the top of the pumpkin. Once you remove the top, you and your kids can start scooping out the inside of the pumpkin to make it hollow. Put the pulp in the bowl once it's removed.
    
5. Once you've hollowed out the pumpkin, you can carefully carve the face. This step should be done by an adult.
    
6. When you've gotten everything carved, you can drop in a tea light candle.

Other Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Now that you've mastered the art of traditional pumpkin carving, you can move on to some of the more advanced pumpkin carving ideas. Here are two of our favorite themed pumpkin designs! The best part about these designs is that your kids can add in other materials, like toys and jewels, to make their carved pumpkins look spectacular.

• Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach
• Sesame Street Painted Pumpkins

No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

Sometimes kids might get a little creeped out by having to touch the slimy pumpkin insides. If your little ones don't feel like getting their hands dirty by carving pumpkins, they can paint their pumpkins instead! There are a ton of pumpkin designs that your kids can choose from. They can use anything from paint and crayons to junk that they can find in a drawer. Painting pumpkins can also be a better and safer alternative decorating idea for younger kids. They can still have fun decorating their pumpkins, and you won't have to worry about them trying to handle a carving knife. They will also be able to do a little more by themselves when they paint, color, or bedazzle their pumpkins.

• Totally Tie-Dye Pumpkin
• Funky Harlequin Pumpkins
• Fabulous Washi Tape Pumpkin
• Think Pink Painted Pumpkins
• Scribble Pumpkin
• Vibrant Pumpkins
• Neon Painted Pumpkins
• Mike Wazowski Painted Pumpkin
• Glitzy Glitter Painted Pumpkins
• Marvelous Melted Crayon Pumpkins
• Junk Drawer Pumpkin

Can't get enough pumpkin crafts? You can find even more in this collection of Fall Crafts for Kids: 28 Pumpkin Ideas.

Which is your favorite pumpkin design?