Fun Littles

Fun and easy kids activities

Halloween Mini Pumpkin Craft

Oct 17, 20128,787 views
Crafts
Ages1–6 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity45 min
Leveleasy
MessHigh
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Kids paint mini pumpkins and gourds with finger paint and jumbo brushes, let them dry, then turn them into silly pumpkin faces using leaves, hay, googly eyes, pom-poms, Cheerios and foam stickers. Frugal, easy to set up, and could work at a toddler or preschool Halloween party.

⚠️ Safety first

  • Googly eyes, tiny pom-poms, Cheerios and pistachio shells are small parts and a choking hazard. Supervise closely, and for babies and young toddlers let an adult handle the small pieces.
  • Pistachio shells are a tree-nut allergen. Check for nut allergies or swap in pom-poms or googly eyes.
  • Finger paint and glue are not food. Use non-toxic, washable products and keep them away from mouths, especially with babies who get messy.
  • Cheerios are food used as craft decoration. Don't let kids eat them off the pumpkins or the table.
  • Supervise the messy play part at all times and wash hands and skin afterward.

Before the kids arrive

  • Pick up mini pumpkins and gourds (a pumpkin patch trip is part of the fun).
  • Plan two sessions: paint first, then let the pumpkins dry (ours dried through the evening) before decorating.

Steps

  1. Spread a mat or old sheet on the floor and set out bowls of finger paint with jumbo brushes.

  2. Paint the mini pumpkins and gourds all over.

  3. Let the little ones get messy. Hands and feet can be the canvas too!

  4. Set the painted pumpkins aside to dry completely.

  5. Open the craft box and set out leaves, hay, glue, googly eyes, Cheerios, pistachio shells, pom-poms and foam stickers.

  6. Glue on leaves and hay for hair. Wrap a rubber band around the stalk to hold leaves on.

  7. Glue on googly eyes, pistachio shells or pom-poms for eyes.

  8. Add Cheerios or foam stickers for a mouth.

  9. Line up your silly pumpkins and show them off. Tada!

Tips

  • The Jumbo Brushes from Melissa and Doug were perfect for the baby's grasp. My 4 year old used them so she could lift off more paint than with the smaller brushes. Ha, she knows the shortcuts!from the author
  • The little one was too busy getting messy. She realized she herself was the canvas, so it was officially time for some messy play.from the author
  • You could easily switch the materials with whatever you have on hand in your craft box.from the author
  • The rubber band helps hold some leaves onto the stalk.from the author
  • Fun, frugal and easy to set up. It could work as an activity for toddlers and preschoolers at a Halloween party.from the author
  • The finished nature pumpkins would be fantastic for some small world play.from readers

Make it your own

  • Make leaf hats and hay hair for witchy or scarecrow pumpkins.
  • Use the finished pumpkins for small world play.
  • Start with a pumpkin patch trip and let kids pick their own mini pumpkins and gourds.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · October 2012
Pumpkin Activities for kids: Halloween Pumpkin Craft
Today's pumpkin activity for kids is fun, frugal and easy to set up. The kids picked out mini pumpkins and gourds at a nearby pumpkin patch.
1 / 6

Halloween Mini Pumpkin Craft: the original post

We have been having fun thinking up with Halloween crafts for kids and pumpkin activities for kids. Today’s pumpkin activity for kids ais a fun, frugal and is easy to set up. A we say, we loved themed, seasonal crafts and activities - they are a great way to engage the kids, introduce new concepts and keep them happy and playing. This pumpkin activity could possibly work as an activity for toddlers and preschoolers at your next Halloween party. At our household we spent an afternoon at a nearby pumpkin patch and the kids picked out mini pumpkins and gourds for our home. They spent the whole afternoon playing and running through the maze and doing hay rides and hauling this mini wagon full of pumpkins. Big S couldn’t wait to get back home so she could start her pumpkin decoration. It was too late in the evening and we waited for the next morning to get crafty. Needless to say what a night that was – Mommy when is going to be morning? Can we do some now? Why can’t we do it at night? Is it morning now? The morning after we got crafty.

Pumpkin Activities for kids : Painting the pumpkins

  • Finger paint
  • Melissa and Doug brushes

Note : The Jumbo Brushes from Melissa and Doug were perfect for the baby’s grasp . My 4 year old used them so she could lift off more paint with them than the smaller brushes. Ha, she knows the shortcuts !

Once they finished painting the pumpkins, Big S did all of them, the little one was too busy getting messy. She had realized she herself was the canvas. It was officially time for some MESSY PLAY.

We let them dry through the evening and started our decorations soon after. Big S has her box with all her crafting materials and here’s what we found. This is what had in our craft box. You could easily switch the materials with whatever you have on hand.

  • Leaves
  • Hay
  • Glue
  • Googly eyes
  • Cheerios
  • Pistachios Shells
  • Tiny pom poms
  • Foam stickers
  • Rubber band

The leaves and hay made the hair for a few fellas. The rubber band helps hold some leaves onto the stalk.

Googly eyes, pistachios shells and pom-poms for the eyes.

Cheerios and foam stickers made the mouth. Drumroll… Tada!

It was so much fun to turn these mini pumpkins into silly pumpkins. Hope these inspire you and you all have as much fun as we did with decorating pumpkins. Happy Halloween y’all.

Thanks for reading

Happy Sharing

Please take a moment to comment Don’t forget to check our Pumpkin Contest Hello Visitor, Thanks for stopping by our little space here. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at couple of our popular posts.



What readers say

💬 3 comments ✍️ 1 answered by the author

✨ Readers' twist

Use them for small world play

A fellow blogger loved these nature pumpkins and suggested using the finished pumpkin characters for small world play.

“And they would be fantastic for some 'Small World' play too!”
Sarah @ How Wee Learn, Sep 2013

🎉 Worked for us

Silly faces that make people smile

A link-party host found the pumpkin faces cute and fun and featured the post on her Discover and Explore link-up.

“These are so cute and fun! Their little expressions make me smile.”
Shaunna (@Shaunna_FFL), Oct 2013

Tried it?

Reviewed before it appears. No links, and please no children's names.

Read all 3 comments
  1. TurkeyMomAuthor · Oct 2013 · replying to Shaunna (@Shaunna_FFL)

    Thanks so much for the feature Shuanna! I get excited when I have a post that fit your weekly theme..

  2. Shaunna (@Shaunna_FFL) · Oct 2013

    These are so cute and fun! Their little expressions make me smile. Thanks for linking up to Discover & Explore. I'm featuring this post today.

  3. Sarah @ How Wee Learn · Sep 2013

    I love these! Nature pumpkins --- so cute. And they would be fantastic for some 'Small World' play too!

Similar activities

🛒 Materials