My husband and I used to carve a jack-o-lanterns together at Halloween every year--even before we had kids. So the first fall that our son was finally old enough to help with this fun tradition, I couldn't wait to see how he would react with delight when he got to scoop out the wet, slippery, slimy insides of the pumpkin. Because kids love to get messy, right?
Not our kid.
Upon leaning forward to look down into the pumpkin, he got a whiff of the pumpkin smell, and began to gag. I never imagined that this wouldn't be a fun activity for him! We calmed him down from the smell, and convinced him to stick his hand down into the hole to grab the seeds and pulp. He was completely grossed out.
Our family now does pumpkin-themed activities--including painting the outside and leaving the inside, well, inside where it belongs.
Here are 5 fun pumpkin activities that don't involve carving:
- Glow in the dark pumpkin ring toss — Buy some simple bendable glow sticks for this one. Try your best to toss them onto the stem. Best fun when it’s a little dark out!
- Felt jack-o-lantern — Cut out a pumpkin from orange felt, and a variety of eye, nose, and mouth shapes from black felt. Creating different expressions by tweaking the shapes could last hours for your little one. Bonus: Pack it away with your Halloween decor to do it again next year!
- Candy corn trail mix — mix candy corn & candy corn pumpkins, peanuts, and pretzels for a sweet and salty Fall treat.
- Pumpkin painting — Skip the mess of carving, and use paints on had to paint faces or other fun designs.
- Paint jack-o-lantern faces -- on acorns, rocks, or leaves.
