Thumbtacked Pumpkins

 

We did a quick and simple Thumbtacked Pumpkins Halloween craft that didn’t make a mess and provided a great fine motor workout. It’s an awesome way for kids to decorate their own pumpkins!

 

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

(E was 34 months old.)

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You’ll need:

  • Foam pumpkins. {We got ours from the Dollar Tree.}
  • Thumbtacks.

 

 

I set up a pumpkin on the table, thumbtacks in a bowl next to it, and explained to E that she could push the thumbtacks into the pumpkin to decorate it.

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

She had some trouble keeping the pumpkin under control with one hand while applying pressure to the thumbtack with the other hand at first

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

until I removed the thumbtacks from the bowl and had her place the pumpkin in it. It still took a bit of getting used to but after a while, she successfully pushed her first thumbtack into the pumpkin and was very pleased!

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

She very carefully and methodically added more thumbtacks, mostly around the top of the pumpkin.

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

 

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

 

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

She got so good at it that she was able to take the pumpkin out of the bowl again and still keep both the pumpkin and the thumbtacks under control.

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

E wanted me to do some decorating as well, so I grabbed a second pumpkin. The process was really quite meditative, and I think it looks cute, too!

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

E finished off her pumpkin by finding out how many thumbtacks you can push into the stem.

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

It’s a lovely decoration for fall and Halloween, and a source of great pride for E.

Simple Fun for Kids: Thumbtacked Pumpkins

{The next day, she took my pumpkin and pulled out all the thumbtacks – maybe she has different plans with our remaining foam pumpkins 😉 }

 

 

 

Additional suggestions:

  • You can try this with a real pumpkin but a toddler might not have the strength to push thumbtacks through the skin.
  • Use different colored thumbtacks. Orange and black ones would look great, or just a bunch of random colors.
  • Glue on sequins or small gems.

 

 

 

Have you decorated pumpkins with a toddler? Do you let your toddler use thumbtacks? Leave a comment!

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6 Comments

  1. Sugar Aunts says:

    Love this! We’re featuring your post on Share It Saturday this week over at Sugar Aunts! Thanks for linking up 🙂

    1. Thanks for stopping by, and thank you so much for the feature!

  2. Thank you for linking this great idea to ‘Share It Saturday’. I look forward to featuring in on my round up of pumpkin ideas.

    1. Thank you, Kate! Can’t wait to see the post!

    1. Thank you! Let me know what he thinks if you try it with him!