Halloween is here and it's time to get your gourd on! But decorating for spooky season doesn't mean that things have to get messy or unsafe for little hands when it comes to pumpkin fun. Check out these easy, no carve, ideas for pumpkin fun with your munchkin.
Plus, check out all the best books for Halloween at The Scholastic Store.
Wicked Witch (pictured above)
Create a witch's hat out of construction paper – or, buy a witch hat and perch it on top of the pumpkin. Then, glue feathers (we took ours from a boa!) to the brim. Paint the pumpkin olive green. To make the eyes, cut the top third off of two round white stickers. Craft pupils out of small round black stickers and attach the eyes to the pumpkin. Using craft glue, attach two small feathers above the eyes as eyelashes. Cut two pink office labels in half, and use three segments to create the mouth.
Gourd Ghost
Paint pumpkin black. Use spray adhesive to adhere three layers of white tissue paper together, then cut into a circle 24" in diameter. Fold circle in half twice; slice a hole for the stem at folded point. Cut zigzags along the bottom. Unfold and cut out two ovals for the eyes. Apply double-stick tape along the pumpkin’s ridges. Place tissue paper over stem and smooth down, pinching to create pleats. Place pumpkin on a clear plastic cup so it appears to hover.
Horned Monster
Cut triangle shapes from three shades of orange paper. Place double-stick tape on the base of each triangle. Starting two-thirds of the way up the pumpkin, attach the triangles, overlapping the bases, until you reach the stem. Glue googly eyes underneath the bottom row of triangles so they’re peeking out! Cut two horn shapes out of thick yellow construction paper. Attach with glue.
Check out these sweet Halloween board books for toddlers.
Cute Owl
Coat the pumpkin with black paint. Cut two thin, wide triangles out of yellow foam for the tufts and top with a sliver of patterned paper. Cut a kite shape out of the foam for the nose. Cut two large white circles and two smaller black circles out of paper for the eyes. Affix with glue.
Spooky Skeleton
Paint the pumpkin white. Let dry, then paint eyes, nose, and mouth in black. To make the bow, fold the ends of a ribbon toward the middle and secure with glue. Then, wrap a shorter piece of ribbon around the center and glue to secure. Glue the bow onto the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Pirate
Paint a plastic bottle cap white. Draw a small dot with black marker; glue to the pumpkin. Tie an eyepatch around the pumpkin with bakers’ twine. Affix a faux mustache and thread green beads on each end. Tie a red sash diagonally across the top of the pumpkin.
Green Monster
Cover the pumpkin with green paint; let dry. Add white paint for the eye and a small black circle for the pupil. Paint an orange mouth and a small white tooth. Paint orange dashes around the pumpkin’s “face.” Create a tophat out of construction paper or plop a child or doll's hat on top of your gourd.
Take a look at these spooky — but not too scary — Halloween picture books.
Night Ninja
Paint the pumpkin black. Cut a rectangle out of patterned paper, then cut slits where the eyes will go; glue to pumpkin. Apply double-stick tape to two green googly eyes, and slide them into the slits. Tie black ribbon around the pumpkin to make a mask. Crisscross it in the back and tie on one side. Snip the ends of the ribbon into points.