5 No-Carve Ways to Decorate a Pumpkin
Halloween’s not complete without the requisite jack-o’-lantern grinning on your front porch. Carving a tough-shelled gourd can be a frustrating endeavor, though, especially with young kids. So leave the knife behind and check out these five no-carve ways to decorate a pumpkin.
Sharp objects and small children don’t go together. Honestly, sharp objects and some adults don’t go together. While a carved pumpkin is traditional, it’s not always the smartest, or even the sweetest, way to decorate your front porch on Halloween.
From many, many non-traditional ways to decorate a pumpkin, we’ve narrowed it down to our five favorites. So whether you’re celebrating with children this year, or just don’t want the mess that comes with carving a gourd, we’ve got you set with these simple, no-carve ways to decorate a pumpkin.
Paint Your Pumpkin
Painting a pumpkin is an obvious choice. Basic craft paint turns a pumpkin’s hard shell into a canvas. And with the large variety in pumpkin sizes, shapes, and colors, you won’t have to settle for an oblong and orange canvas either.
For an effortless and creative take on painted pumpkins, try the nail-polish technique: Swirl a few drops of your favorite polish in water. Then run your pumpkin through the water, picking up the colored polish as you do so. The effect is sleek, dark, and creepy—perfect for a haunted house or spooky soiree.
For more detailed instructions on the nail-polish paint technique, check out PopofGold.com.
Use a Stick-On Craft Kit
The easiest way to avoid carving pumpkins is to use a craft kit. Kits are sold in all the major big-box stores this time of year, or you can use Amazon to find a favorite. If you’re decorating with kids, we recommend buying a few extra kits. They tend to be cheap, and having a few extra of the prized pink pompoms or giant stick-on eyes means fewer rare treasures to fight over.
Make sure you do this one indoors. Kits tend to have a lot of lightweight, stick-on parts that are just as likely to be blown away in the breeze as they are to be stuck on your pumpkin.
Put Your Cute Office Supplies to Use
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