Ideas for No-Carve Pumpkins

Pumpkin carving can get very messy, and it can be dangerous for small children. There are many alternatives to carving pumpkins for Halloween decorating, from utilizing scraps of ribbon to simply painting them. Although I love carving pumpkins for the seeds, I really like the idea of no-carve pumpkin decorating. Plus, I can always decorate them and, after Halloween is over, scoop out the seeds and bake them before the pumpkins turn to mush. Here are five of my favorite ideas for no-carve pumpkins.

1. Use a black Sharpie or paint instead of a knife

Instead of carving a face into each pumpkin, draw them and fill in the spaces with a black marker or some paint. To get the best use from your marker, make sure your surface is clean and dry. Try a fine tip Sharpie for outlining the facial features and use a larger one to fill in the spaces. Play around with various facial expressions for each pumpkin, like you would when carving a jack-o-lantern.

2. Create a tacky pattern

Literally. Use brass thumb tacks to design a sort of nailhead look on your pumpkin. You can create a jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin or come up with a unique design of your own. What is your favorite team's logo? Do you have a lucky number? "Draw" a witch's hat, a cat or one of many Halloween-related symbols onto your pumpkin using thumb tacks.

3. Bedazzle your pumpkin with glitter

This is probably my favorite no-carve pumpkin decorating idea so far, and I'm excited to try it this fall. For a not-so-flashy dazzle, choose orange glitter. I like the idea of covering my pumpkins with silver and gold glitter, though. Brush a thin layer of glue onto the surface of your pumpkin and sprinkle it with glitter. You choose how heavily to coat the pumpkin. Let it dry before moving the pumpkin outdoors.

4. Wrap it like a present

Do you have scraps of ribbon or tissue paper lying around unused? Put those scraps to use by wrapping them around your pumpkin. Cut them into thin strips first. Wrap the strips around the pumpkin in horizontal and vertical lines with varied distances between each piece, using glue to bind them to the surface.

5. Spray the pumpkin with metallic paint

This is another of my favorite no-carve pumpkin ideas. I like the idea of using metallic spray paint because it is often translucent, meaning you can still see a little bit of the pumpkin's surface underneath. Of course, you can always choose a solid color, but imagine various bronze, pewter and other metallic colored pumpkins on your patio, surrounded by colorful leaves.

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