30+ Best Pumpkin Activities For Celebrating the King of Gourds!

Autumn always greets us with a weaving of vibrant foliage, warm sweaters 🧥, and, of course, those incredibly endearing pumpkins. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with my children during pumpkin season. 

Pumpkin-themed crafts, pumpkin carving🎃, and visits to pumpkin patches are some of our favorite activities.

I’m going to list a few of the pumpkin-themed activities that I did with my kids here. Every project not only encouraged our creative minds but also included priceless moments and valuable lessons in the fabric of our family time.

I’m optimistic 😁 that this will give you some ideas for your autumn celebrations!⤵️

Pumpkin Activities for Kids

Pumpkin Sensory Bin

Kids can stimulate their senses and learn in a fun way with the engaging pumpkin sensory bin activity.

It promotes the development of fine motor skills and allows for tactile exploration because kids can play with soft pumpkin guts, seeds, and different textures.

Puffy Paint Pumpkin

Shaving cream and white glue should be combined in equal amounts. Allow children to add a small amount of pumpkin spice and their preferred food coloring.

Encourage the children to paint 🎨 🖌️the paper plates with puffy paint using a paintbrush and then cut out pumpkin shapes.

Pumpkin Art

This craft encourages kids’ creativity by turning plain pumpkins into colorful works of art. Children can use paints, markers, and other craft supplies to decorate pumpkins with vibrant faces, patterns, or designs.

Every time, my kids would come up with something artistic.

Baking Pumpkin Bread

For children, baking pumpkin 🍞 is a fun culinary delight. Incorporating flour, spices, and pumpkin puree, this hands-on task stimulates young bakers’ senses and cultivates an affinity for baking.

Having freshly baked bread for supper would be a huge hit with my kids. 😋

Drip Painting 

Through the strategic application of different colored paints onto pumpkins, young artists craft intriguing and distinctive designs.  

My kids felt a sense of creative accomplishment😊 blossom as the colors blended and cascaded down the surfaces of the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Sun Catchers

Help children cut a pumpkin-shaped piece of plastic wrap and tap it to the window.🌞

As the sun passes through the pumpkin-shaped opening, it will create a lovely pattern on the wall. Kids of all ages can enjoy this simple and enjoyable activity.

Fizzy Pumpkins

When vinegar and baking soda are mixed inside carved pumpkins, a fun fizzing ⚗️reaction takes place.

The display is aesthetically pleasing due to the bubbly bubbles that come out of the pumpkins’ mouths. My kids would add food coloring to make it more entertaining. 

Painting Pumpkins

Kids can express their endless creativity and sense of creative👩🏻‍🎨 delight by painting pumpkins, which makes it a fun and interesting seasonal activity. 

For easy painting, choose pumpkins with smooth surfaces and few blemishes. Kids can even use glitter for decorating the pumpkins. 

Pro Tip😃

Choose kid-safe, washable, non-toxic paints.

To catch spills and drips, cover the painting area with newspaper 📰 or a plastic tablecloth. To facilitate speedy cleanup, keep paper towels and water handy. 

Play Pumpkin Golf

Make a miniature golf course with carved pumpkins serving as the “holes.” Children maneuver through obstacles and uneven terrain as they take turns putting a golf ball into the pumpkin holes.🚩

My son had a lot of fun playing this in our backyard with his friends.

Frozen Pumpkin 

After adding tiny toys or objects, fill a pumpkin with water and freeze 🥶 it for the night. The following day, let the kids dig out the treasures from the ice using brushes, warm water, and spoons. 

My kids enjoyed this activity, which kept them busy for a long time.

Visit Your Local Pumpkin Patch

Take your kids to the pumpkin patch nearby. It’s a wonderful way to take in the autumn 🍁 foliage and some fresh air.

Make it a special family memory by participating in autumn activities like hayrides, corn mazes, and petting zoos. 

Ball Drop Inside Carved Pumpkin 

Make holes in the top and sides of a pumpkin, varying in size. Kids watch as tiny balls are dropped through the holes, noting their paths and speeds.⚾

To add more enjoyment to the activity, my kids would use a variety of-sized balls.

Pumpkin Carving 

Kids’ creativity gets to shine with this classic autumn activity. Equipped with secure carving instruments, kids turn pumpkins into imaginative or scary works of art. 

Through the use of templates and meticulous carving, children love this immersive sensory experience.

Pro Tip😃

Make sure your pumpkins have strong walls and a smooth surface. Pumpkins that are too big for children should be avoided. 

When carving, ensure there’s an adult present to supervise the process and provide assistance as needed.

Glow-in-the-Dark Pumpkin Ring Toss

To make pumpkins glow in the dark, hollow them out and insert glow sticks. Toss glow-in-the-dark rings onto the pumpkin stems from a distance. 

This would be an evening activity that we would do in our backyard. We would truly enjoy ourselves.

Pumpkin Stand

To make a little pumpkin stand, kids can decorate and carve pumpkins. Pumpkin stands, whether for a family get-together or a community event, are, in my opinion, a fun way for kids to show off their work and make new friends.

Pumpkin Playdough

Children can make a tactile, sense-stirring experience by combining orange playdough 🟠 with pumpkin-scented essence. Their imagination, combined with molds, can help them shape leaves, pumpkins, and more. 

My kids would enjoy using the playdough to create many different things.

Pumpkin Wash

Arrange a washing station with towels, scrub brushes, and water. As they clean the pumpkins, kids discover the patterns and textures hidden beneath the dirt. 

To keep things tidy, we would set up the tub in our backyard.

Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups

Children create a ‘dirt’ base by layering chocolate custard and crushed cookies 🍪 in cups. To resemble a pumpkin patch, they can then be decorated with edible grass, candy pumpkins 🎃, and gummy worms. 

It was my kids’ favorite thing to do, and they thoroughly enjoyed eating it.

Pumpkin Oobleck

Kids can play with Oobleck, which is tricky and entertaining material. Pour the water into a mixing bowl and stir in the cornflour.

Puree the pumpkin and add the food coloring, stirring well. It was fun for my kids to pour and squeeze.

Pro Tip😃

Watch closely over younger children to make sure they do not put the oobleck in their mouths, eyes, or hair.

Encourage children to describe the sensations they feel as you talk about the oobleck’s texture and how it’s both solid and liquid.

Stamp Pumpkins

The best way to do this activity is to cut pumpkin shapes from potatoes 🥔 and use them as stamps.

Children can customize their pumpkin stamps by experimenting with various stamp sizes💮, colors, and techniques.

Even glitters can be used by them for stamping.

Add Stickers To The Pumpkin

Stickers on pumpkins is a simple and entertaining 😁 craft for children. Children can decorate pumpkins with their favorite faces, designs, or characters using a variety of bright stickers. 

The kids will be occupied with this mess-free activity for a considerable amount of time.

Pumpkin Geoboard

Kids can make geometric patterns and shapes by tying rubber bands to the surface of a pumpkin. Understanding geometry, spatial awareness, and fine motor skills are improved through this practical experience. 

Enjoying themselves, my kids played with different band arrangements, learning about different shapes. 

Pumpkin Volcanoes

Make a hole in the pumpkin’s top. Put the baking soda into the pumpkin.🌋🗻

Insert the straw into the opening. Release vinegar through the straw.

The kids will enjoy witnessing the “volcano” eruption that results from the reaction between the vinegar and baking soda.

Pro Tip😃

Apply red ♥️ food coloring to make a lava-like eruption. Allow the children to play around with varying quantities of vinegar and baking soda to observe how it impacts the eruption.

Pumpkin Seed Art

Children can wash and dry the seeds after scooping out the pumpkins. They can then use glue to put together the seeds into elaborate patterns, pictures, or designs on paper or cardboard.

My son made some designs, which we hung around the house.

Jack-o’-Lantern 

With the Jack-o’-Lantern 🎃 craft, children can turn pumpkins into jolly works of art. Children carve their own distinctive Halloween decorations by making faces, patterns, or other designs. 

Kids can craft for the seasons creatively and enjoyably with this universal activity.

Pumpkin Slime

Children may make a gooey, stretchy slime with a pumpkin theme by mixing slime ingredients with orange coloring and pumpkin-scented essence.

My kids enjoyed 🤥 the scent of the fall-inspired slime as they shaped, stretched, and squashed it. 

Coffee Filter Stained Glass Pumpkins

With coffee filters and washable markers, kids can create colorful pumpkin designs. A stained glass effect can be achieved by spraying the filters with water.☕

We added a little touch of fall charm to our home by showcasing the filters as lovely, translucent pumpkin decorations once they were dry.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 

Kids can wash and pat dry pumpkins after they’ve scooped out the seeds. The seeds can then be seasoned with flavors like honey 🍯, cinnamon, or salt🧂. 

To give their creation a delightful crunch, my son roasted the seeds in the oven. 

Pro Tip😃

Start with basic seasoning, such as salt, for younger children. They are free to try a variety of flavors as their taste buds grow.

When roasting, adult supervision is essential. Educate children on the value of oven mitts and oven safety.

Counting Pumpkin Seeds

Children can sort and count 🔢 the seeds after removing them from a pumpkin. This fun activity teaches the fundamentals of grouping and counting.

By exchanging seeds with friends or organizing them in various patterns, kids can work on addition and subtraction skills.🤔

Glue Pumpkin Collage

Give kids different colored, sized, and shaped paper along with glue. Allow them to design and make their collages of pumpkins by pasting the pieces of paper onto a larger sheet.

To inspire him, I displayed the collage that my son had done.

Handprint Pumpkins

Provide paper, brushes, and washable paints in orange and green. Encourage children to make pumpkin shapes by dipping their hands in orange paint and pressing them onto paper.👐

My kids had a great time participating in this activity. They enjoyed their hands dipped in paint.

Pumpkin Boats

Allow kids to decorate little pumpkins that have been carved into boats 🛶. After that, go outside to a pool or tiny pond. Place the decorated pumpkins in water and observe their boat-like movements.

There would be boat races between my son and his friends.

Pro Tip😃

Remove the seeds and some of the flesh from the pumpkins to help the children in hollowing them out. Make sure the wall is thick enough to keep it afloat.

If needed, trim the pumpkin’s bottom a little bit to make the surface flatter. This promotes even settling of the pumpkin in the water.

Pumpkin Head

Give different facial features, such as mouths, noses, and eyes 👀, as well as headgear like hats 🥳 and glasses 🕶️. Kids can stick and arrange these features on a pumpkin to create funny and unique faces by using push pins or Velcro. 

My children would use the pumpkin to tell stories.

Roll and Mark Pumpkin Dot Art Activity

A dice and several colored markers should be ready. Each child rolls the die once and then uses the color of the matching marker to draw dots on a pumpkin template based on the number that comes up. 😁

As your child continues to learn, this is the ideal activity for them to do.

Pumpkin Fairy House

Let kids create a fairy 🧚 house with natural materials like twigs, leaves, and pebbles by hollowing out a pumpkin. They can make windows, doors, and furniture.

To make it more enchanted, I assisted my kids in inserting some light inside the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Car Tunnel

Create pathways or tunnels by hollowing out a large pumpkin. The pumpkin becomes a dynamic play surface when kids zoom their toy cars 🚗 through these tunnels.

My kids have a lot of fun racing their toy cars through this tunnel.

Pumpkin Squish Bag

Stuff hair gel, orange paint, and tiny pumpkin-themed trinkets into a resealable plastic bag. After securing the bag’s closure, tape it to a level surface. 😊

Kids will feel the textures and colors as they squeeze and press the bag, uncovering hidden objects in the process.

Water Bottle Cap Pumpkins

Gather the caps from orange water bottles and supply glue and green pipe cleaners. Children can glue the caps together and add pipe cleaner stems to make them into tiny pumpkins. 

Making this recyclable artwork with my children was so much fun. 

Pumpkin Bubble Wrap Art

Provide orange and green paint, and cut the bubble wrap into the shape of a pumpkin. Kids can make textured pumpkin prints by dipping the bubble wrap into the paint 🎨 and pressing it onto paper.

This activity blends art and sensory play, which is why I did it with my kids.

Pumpkin Balloon 

Provide black markers and blow up an orange balloon. Kids can make their jack-o’-lanterns by drawing funny or spooky pumpkin faces on the balloon.🎈

My children used to decorate the balloons with faces and release them into the sky.

Pumpkin Investigation Tray

Arrange a tray with everything related to pumpkins, such as seeds, pulp, small pumpkins, measuring cups, and magnifying glasses.🤨

Let kids look into the shapes, sizes, and textures while honing their observational skills. My son would take great pleasure in summarizing all he discovered from this exercise.

Pumpkin Clay Modeling

Give green and orange modeling clay to kids. They can experiment with different sizes and designs by shaping the clay into pumpkins and stems. 

To provide your children with an even more engaging experience, you can mix some pumpkin essence into the modeling clay.

Pro Tip😃

Make use of kid-friendly, air-dry clay that is non-toxic. This kind of clay will solidify with time and doesn’t need to be baked. 

Kids can proudly display their creations once the clay has dried. If desired, they can also use clear sealant to preserve the pumpkins.

Real Pumpkin Cloud Dough

Children can make a soft, moldable dough with a delicate pumpkin scent 😁 by mixing flour and puree.

They can use their imaginations and gross motor abilities to shape, squish, and mold the dough into a variety of shapes. 

Tissue Painted Mini Pumpkins

Kids can use tissue paper squares and water to make colorful patterns on small pumpkins. They can create unique designs by experimenting with layering tissue paper and blending colors.

My children enjoyed using the tissues to make all kinds of new designs.

DIY Pumpkin Puzzle

Kids can exercise their creativity and problem-solving skills by making their pumpkin puzzles.

Cut an image of a pumpkin that you’ve drawn or printed into puzzle pieces. Before cutting, give the puzzle pieces 🧩 some paint or color for extra fun. 

Pumpkin Join The Dots

Let the kid join numbered dots to uncover an image of a hidden pumpkin. These worksheets are readily available online. 

I printed them out and gave them to my kids. They loved piecing together the dots to reveal the figure.

Pumpkin Finger Play Craft

Children can use their fingers to draw faces on pumpkins to create characters. They can then act out creative scenarios and stories using these pumpkin puppets. 

We engaged in this activity while relaxing by our fireplace 🔥 in the evening. 

Pumpkin Mummies

Children can create mummy-like figures by wrapping mini pumpkins with gauze 🫢 or white fabric strips. 

We removed the pumpkin’s interior and carved faces out for more fun. After that, we wrapped them and added some interior lighting.

Read Pumpkin Books

Obtain a collection of books with a pumpkin theme, ranging from factual information to narratives. With these books, kids can improve their language and knowledge. 📒📖

I would often plan storytimes for my children. They would read the stories aloud with excitement.

Pro Tip😃

Create a cozy and welcoming reading set up with pillows, covers, and mood lighting to enhance the pleasure of reading. 

If the book has themes of family, friendship, or overcoming obstacles, talk to the children about these topics so they can make connections between the story and their own experiences.

Drilling Luminary Holes

Children can drill holes in the surface of a pumpkin in patterns using safe drills or hole punchers. These holes create stunning patterns when lit 🔆from the inside by a candle 🕯️ or other source of light.

During their autumn vacation, my children loved to make this craft.

Pumpkin Paper Lantern

Kids can use orange construction paper to cut out pumpkin shapes and draw facial features on them. They can make adorable pumpkin lanterns by stringing the pumpkins on a fairy light string. 

This was so much fun for my kids to make into a Halloween decoration.🏮

Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

Make Xs and O’s on rocks by painting or drawing pumpkin faces. To win, take turns putting the pumpkin markers in the grid that you have drawn on the ground with chalk. 

When we went camping, my kids enjoyed playing this game.😅

Create Pumpkin Treat Cups

Kids can decorate orange cups or containers with pumpkin shapes, patterns, or faces. They can even use glitter or googly eyes.

Stuff the cups full of popcorn, candy, or tiny toys. Then, for Halloween parties, kids can arrange them on tables.

Pumpkin Mask

Kids can cut out shapes of pumpkins and use orange construction paper to add eyes, noses, and mouths. To make a mask 🎭 that can be worn, attach a string.

I would encourage my kids to act out plays wearing masks.

Pumpkin Lacing Activity

With a cardboard pumpkin shape that has holes all around it, kids can create intricate patterns by tying colorful yarn or shoelaces through the holes. 

Using this activity, I was able to extend my children’s attention spans. 

Pro Tip😃

Begin by demonstrating to children how to thread the lacing material through the holes, going forward from the back. Create a loop and show how to pull it through. 

Pumpkin Seed Shaker

Children can store pumpkin seeds inside a tiny plastic container 🫙 once they have cleaned and dried them. To add a bit of flair, my kids decorated the container with fall-themed designs. 

Kids can use the container as a musical instrument by shaking it to produce rhythmic sounds.

Hammering Pumpkins

Children can carve designs into pumpkins by pounding wooden golf tees into them with a toy hammer. 🏌️

My son loved to do this kind of thing. When engaging in this activity, you should always exercise caution.

Pumpkin Bowling

With a small pumpkin serving as the bowling ball 🎳, arrange pumpkin-shaped pins. To remove the pins, children roll the pumpkin in turn. 

My children were fascinated with this. To get plenty of space, we would do this in your backyard.

Pumpkin Counting Cards

Children can count and match numbered pumpkin images on cards to their corresponding numbers. 🔢

I let my daughter even practice sorting the cards into groups according to quantity or order.

It’s a great way to help your child develop their numerical sense.

Yarn Pumpkin

Children can make a textured and colorful surface by wrapping orange yarn around a cardboard or foam pumpkin shape. 

Many such little yarn pumpkins were created by my kids. We used yarn pumpkins to make keyrings.

Paper Plate Pumpkin Craft

Kids can paint a paper plate orange and decorate it with a stem. They can then attach a face and paper leaves to make an adorable pumpkin character.

My son made paper plate pumpkins, which we hung as wall hangings.

Pro Tip😃

Make sure you give the painted plates enough time to dry before moving on to the next step.

Help your children cut out the construction paper eyes, nose, and mouth of the pumpkin using a pair of scissors

Five Little Pumpkins Fingerplay

Children can act out the well-known rhyme about the five pumpkins sitting on the gate with their fingers. They may imitate the pumpkins falling off the gate by lifting one finger with each verse. 

Stacking Pumpkins

Children can practice their balancing skills with the Stacking Pumpkins activity. Kids can try to stack little pumpkins on top of each other without them toppling over.

They can test their coordination and hand strength ☺️ with this entertaining and engaging activity.

Pony Bead Pumpkins

Children can make pumpkin shapes by stringing orange and green pony beads onto pipe cleaners. They can even use it to create bracelets or necklaces.🤗

It’s no surprise that children will adore wearing the jewelry they made.

Pumpkin Color Mixing 

Children can experiment with combining red and yellow paint to create a variety of orange hues. With these specially blended colors, they can paint pumpkin images.🌈

This is a fun and creative way for kids to learn about blending colors.

Pumpkin Gak

You can make a gooey pumpkin-themed substance by combining glue, borax, water, and orange food coloring. Children’s visual exploration and motor abilities are improved by this hands-on learning.

To make it look more attractive, my kids would even add some sparkles.

Button And Ribbon Pumpkins

This is a very adorable craft that kids can do. They can make pumpkin-shaped decorations with ribbons 💝 and buttons. 

My kids used ribbon for the stem and various button arrangements to create the shape of the pumpkin. 

Conclusion

The moments we spend together as a family have been enriched by these pumpkin-themed activities. It has been priceless for me as a mother to see my children’s eyes brighten with every discovery and to see their happy grins when they show off their creations. 😊

If you and your children have completed any other pumpkin-themed activities, please leave a comment below.