If you dread carving pumpkins with little kids, fear not! Non-carving alternatives are becoming more and more popular for Halloween…especially when you have toddlers in the home.
One of our favorite ways to decorate pumpkins is of course with candy! Because with Halloween creeping up, there’s bound to be a stash of candy lying around the house.
So instead of munching on all those goodies, use them as your main tool to decorate with. All you need is a few chocolates or sweets and your creativity!
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Tips for decorating pumpkins with kids
First, you’ll want to be sure to have a good variety of small pumpkin sizes. Keep this in mind when pumpkin picking, because oftentimes we pick out the biggest, plump pumpkin to leave outdoors, but forget how unpractical they are for little ones.
Once you have 2 or 3 kid-size pumpkins to work with, set up a space for your activity.
A table or setting low to the ground is best so the kids can work comfortably.
You’ll also need a few good pieces of candy to decorate with. Think about how you can use each candy creatively.
- Dum-dum lollipops
- Gummy worms
- Candy corn
- Spice or gum drops
All make great options to work with.
Next, grab some kitchen utensils that will help you poke small holes into the pumpkin. An adult should supervise here. Grab some kabobs and toothpicks.
You can also melt some chocolate and use as adhesive.
How to decorate your pumpkin with candy
Show your child all the fun ways they can decorate a pumpkin. I started with lollipops for the eyeballs, then embellished them with candy corn as lashes layered with some candy worms.
Using toothpicks and gum drops I demonstrated how to make a mouth.
The kids quickly followed suite, practicing their fine motor skills as they inserted toothpicks into the candy. 
They had so much fun making their own “monster pumpkin”.
Note: We made sure to display these very close to Halloween as the candy wouldn’t last long on a pumpkin outdoors. So as with most things toddler-made, it’s more about the creative process then final result!
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