ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas

Updated on October 13, 2013

No-Carve Pumpkins Last Longer And Are Easy for Kids to Create

Carving pumpkins is a fun Halloween tradition, but it takes a bit of time and skill to create a great-looking jack-o-lantern. These no-carve pumpkin ideas are quick, fun and easy. If you have young kids who aren't old enough to carve (or don't like the goopy pumpkin guts), these ideas will allow them to participate in the fun of making jack-o-lanterns without requiring fine motor skills they haven't yet developed. As an added bonus, these pumpkin creations will last longer than carved pumpkins because you're cutting out large sections of the pumpkin and exposing it to the elements. Have fun!

(Image of Mr. Potato Head vampire provided by BuyCostumes)

Make a Pumpkin Skeleton - Add a pumpkin head for a fun no-carve idea

Here's one of the easiest projects possible for little kids. Simply let them use marker pens or paints to create a face on your pumpkin. If possible, choose a white pumpkin instead of an orange one to give it even more of a "skeleton" look.

Then stick your child's creation on top a stand made to look like a skeleton. You can buy one like the stand shown here, or you can make your own stand with materials around the house. A cardboard box painted black or covered with black paper will work great. Then paint a white skeleton on it or attach a skeleton cutout from the store.

You'll have a great no-carve pumpkin decoration for Halloween in minutes. It's quick, easy and kids will love it!

no-carve pumpkin bats
no-carve pumpkin bats

Create Pumpkin Bats

Simple project with paint and foam board

Kids will love these spooky pumpkin bats. CafeMom shared this project back in 2009, and it's easy enough for most kids, although they'll need some help with the wings.

To make bats like the ones shown here, get some black spray paint and coat the entire pumpkin. You can use black foam board or regular cardboard for the wings. If you're using cardboard, spray with black paint and allow it to dry. Then cut a slit in the side of the pumpkin and insert the wings.

Finally, use some silver or white paint to create eyes and a mouth. Or for even more fun, use glow-in-the-dark paints to give your bats an eerie look!

(Photo by Lisa Howard)

Make a Mr Potato Head Pumpkin - Just push in the pieces to create great no-carve pumpkins

This is another super simple one for kids. After all, what could be easier than creating a great-looking no-carve pumpkin with Mr. Potato Head pieces? These sets come with pieces that push into your pumpkin, making it easy for small kids to create their own jack-o-lantern if they're not old enough yet to draw a picture or carve a pumpkin. Choose a set to create a no-carve pumpkin vampire, pirate, skeleton or witch for Halloween.

Kids Love No-Carve Projects!

(photo by Lisa Howard)
(photo by Lisa Howard)

How to Make a Glow-in-the-Dark Pumpkin - Easy no-carve pumpkin glows in the dark

This video explains how to make an easy glow-in-the-dark pumpkin using a powder you sprinkle on. Very simple! You could also use glow-in-the-dark paint.

Paint Your Pumpkin - Create a jack-o-lantern that lasts longer

For kids, painting or drawing on a pumpkin is often easier, safer and quicker than carving. These creations will also last longer since they're not carved. An easy way to make no-carve jack-o-lanterns is to use marker pens or non-toxic paints to create your own designs. (Don't use water colors or your paint will run in the rain!) To make fancy designs, cut out the carved areas of a printed pumpkin carving template and use it as a mask for painting your jack-o-lantern.

Glow-in-the-Dark Pumpkin Powder - Available in several colors

This works great for creating a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin.

Make an Elmo Vampire - Great fun for little kids

Preschoolers will love this kit that will turn any pumpkin into a silly Elmo vampire. Simply push the pieces into the pumpkin to create a Halloween version of this beloved Sesame Street character.

Paper Magic Group Spooky Home Decor, Pumpkin Push-In, Sesame Street Elmo
Paper Magic Group Spooky Home Decor, Pumpkin Push-In, Sesame Street Elmo
Product description: * Dress your pumpkin up like Sesame Street's Elmo * Set of 4 parts * Officially licensed Sesame Street accessory
 

More Halloween Articles - You might also enjoy these pages

Free Cute Pumpkin Patterns
Carving pumpkins at Halloween is a lot of fun for everyone, but some of the patterns for scary monsters, ghouls and witches are too spooky for little kids. B...

Finn and Jake Costumes for Halloween
Are you looking for Finn and Jake costumes for Halloween? Despite the popularity of the animated Adventure Time series on Cartoon Network, finding costumes f...

Facts About Pumpkins for Kids
Did you know that pumpkins are the world's largest fruit? Or that early American colonists used pumpkin for the crust, not the filling? Or that U.S. farmers ...

Plus Size Disney Princess Costumes
We can't all be Kate MIddleton and grow up to marry a prince, but who wants to put up with all that paparazzi anyway? These plus size Disney Princess costume...

Halloween Costumes: Nightmare Before Christmas Characters
Traditional icons for Halloween include bats, cats, vampires, witches and ghosts. But if want a costume that says "Halloween" without resorting to ...

Bestselling Kids Halloween Books
My kids love Halloween books. My son is old enough to read spooky books on his own, and my youngest one still enjoys having us read illustrated books to her....

More No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas - Examples with photos of other projects to create

These pages have examples of no-carve pumpkins you can create at home and provide photos and instructions.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)