Halloween Ideas: Creepy Crawly Halloween Pumpkin
Create a spooky shrub for your scary stoop!
Submitted by
Kayla Chong
Kayla Chong
Carving yet another scary-faced jack-o'-lantern is soooo last year. Try this Halloween idea instead—why not think outside of the pumpkin and create a pumpkin tree? This spooky spin on that Christmas essential will be worthy of even the scariest of houses. (And, let's face it, your house can be pretty scary even when it's not Halloween!)
- Pumpkin:Not your own little "punkin'," we're talking about an actual squash.
- Rat, cat, bat and spider stencils or cookie cutters:Yep, believe it or not, someone actually makes a rat-shaped cookie cutter. Sounds delish, doesn't it? Whether it tempts your palate or not, find it (and many other unexpected cookie cutters) at Kitchen Collectables.
- Construction paper:In Halloween colors like orange and black.
- Ribbon:Again, go for hues of the season, like black and orange. Save the pink for your next baby gift.
- Florist's foam:Find it at your local craft store. Or maybe you have some lying around from the dozen roses your partner brought home for absolutely no reason last week! (Hint, hint!)
- Tree branch:Have your kid pick one with lots of little branches for hanging.
- Glitter glue
- Googly eyes
- Hole puncher
- Tempera paint and markers
- Knife and spoon:Forget the fork.
- Moss and fake cobwebs
Happy Halloween! Head on out to the pumpkin patch and get your kid to grab a big old pumpkin!
Bring the pumpkin home, but don't clean it up. The dirtier the better for this old jack-o'-lantern!
Mom or Dad can then cut the top off of the pumpkin and let the little one scoop out all the guts with a spoon. (Save the seeds for snacks! See the "Do Note" section for a quick recipe.)
Have your kid stuff the florist's foam into the bottom of the cleaned-out pumpkin.
Stick the tree branch into the foam so it looks like a barren tree growing out of the pumpkin. (Are you spooked yet?)
Cover the foam with moss.
Have your child dress the tree branches up with a little glitter glue. (Everything looks better with a little sparkle—just ask Beyonce!)
To decorate the tree, have your child create some rat, cat, spider and bat critters out of construction paper. First, have her trace the shapes using stencils or cookie cutters onto the construction paper. Then carefully help her cut the shapes out.
Invite your kid to decorate the creature cutouts. Draw little black beady eyes on the rats, whiskers and a meowing mouth on the cats or little fangs on the bats. If you're feeling really ambitious, jazz them up with some googly eyes.
Next, have her punch holes in the tops of the critters and loop a ribbon through the holes to create hooks for hanging.- Help your kid decorate the tree by hanging up the creepy critters.
- Add moss and fake cobwebs for that authentic witches' den look. Boo!
- Here's another great Halloween idea! Need an after-pumpkin-carving snack? Mix cleaned pumpkin seeds with a little melted butter, sprinkle with salt and bake at 300° F for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Thanks to Elizabeth Woodson
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