If you have been following my blog, you know that I have four kids. Two of my kids were born in the month of October.
I remember at the beginning of October visiting our local pumpkin patch. Taking pictures with the pumpkins by my belly because according to all the pregnancy apps, the baby was the size of a pumpkin. I remember letting the kids play in the dirt, the hay maze, the corn bin, the animals, and trying to find the perfect pumpkin for everyone in our family, including the baby in my tummy. We love visiting the pumpkin patch every year.
I had no clue when my boys would decide to make their debut into the world so what better time than to go before their due date to be prepared.
At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with the pumpkins - carve them, color them, use them as decor, or do nothing. I just knew that I wanted everyone to have a pumpkin.
The last few years we have gone to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. The week before Halloween, we usually decorate and carve our pumpkins. Every year we decide what we want to carve and start carving our pumpkins while the kids decorate their pumpkins with Sharpies.
Pumpkins can be a challenge to carve, especially the tiny pumpkins you get for your kids. The last few years, I remember thinking, How are we going to carve that pumpkin?
The answer is simple, YOU DON'T.
Yes, you read that right. There is no need to carve your infants tiny pumpkin. Carving pumpkins is a Halloween tradition across the world, but the truth is, your little one can't carve their own pumpkin. I am an adult and I have trouble carving a pumpkin. The older the kids get, they can at least pick out or draw a design and watch as a parent carves it but lets face it, my infant/toddler is not going to understand what is going on and they are not going to be able to do it so why not do something with the pumpkin that they can enjoy and participate in?
Your toddler is going to remember coloring or painting their pumpkin over watching mommy or daddy cut their pumpkin up. They are more likely to remember it if they get to experience it and if you really want their reaction to cleaning out a pumpkin and feeling the squishy inside, have them help clean out your pumpkin.
Here are some ways you can decorate your infant's pumpkin or let your toddler decorate their pumpkin:
1. Baby Scribbles & Monogramed Initial
My daughter's first Halloween 2014, I let her color her pumpkin with markers. I then personalized her pumpkin with her initial. I'm sure you can make a better monogramed initial than I did. There isn't very many ways to make the letter "L" look cute.
That same year we had recently found out we were expecting our second child so we bought an extra tiny pumpkin to announce that we were expecting. I then used a sharpie and drew a baby face and pacifier on the pumpkin.
***Check out our pumpkin pregnancy announcement HERE***
2. Toddler Painting
My son's first Halloween 2015, we decorated a tiny pumpkin with paint for him at one of the toddler programs I took him too. Be careful what paint you use because some paint will run if it gets wet and can destroy the surface the pumpkin is on.
Sorry for the photo quality, I had trouble finding a picture of the painted pumpkin.
3. Painted Baby Feet
My third child's first Halloween 2016, I decorated his pumpkin by painting his feet and putting his foot prints on the pumpkin. I then turned his footprints into baby ghosts and wrote, "My 1st Halloween" on the pumpkin with a paint pen.
4. Sharpie Halloween Design
For our fourth child, Halloween 2019, I used a sharpie and drew a spider web with a spider on it and wrote, "My 1st Halloween". You can easily draw anything Halloween related on the pumpkin.
Sharpies and paint for the win!
Sharpies and paint are a fun and easy way to decorate your infant/toddler's any pumpkins. If your child is old enough, let them decorate their pumpkin with the Sharpies or paint. As my children are getting older, they still ask me if the can color on their pumpkins before we carve them and of coarse I let them. That way the pumpkins are pretty during the day and spooky at night.
If you really want try to carve a tiny pumpkin then go for it, but be careful. Another alternative to carving the tiny pumpkins is to drill holes in them. We have drilled holes in the tiny pumpkins a few times and made cool designs because the kids wanted to play with the pumpkin seeds. It may not look the best in the light but once you put a candle in the drilled pumpkin, it looks really cool.
I'd love to know how you decorated your little one's first pumpkin. Comment below!!!
You may also like:
- 5 Reasons to Ditch Supermarket Pumpkins and visit a Pumpkin Patch
- Baldwin Farms: Our visit to the Pumpkin Patch
- DIY Family Themed Halloween Costumes
- Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Decorations
- Happy Fall Y'all / Merry Christmas Reversible Welcome Sign
- No Sew Felt Mask
- Pumpkin Carving with a Drill - Toddler Pumpkin Decorating
- Wood Scrap Pumpkin Decor
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