The holiday season is kicking off with a costume laden, candy stuffed, social distanced 2020 Halloween. 

 

While it’s true that technically we’ve all been wearing masks and eating candy for months now, there’s just something feel-good about getting out the spooky decor- especially pumpkins.

 

Jack-o-lantern carving is deeply embedded in classic Halloween decorating, but in today’s day and age, there are plenty of ways to take the humble pumpkin above and beyond the traditional jagged grin. 

 

If you’ve hauled your pumpkins home from the patch and are excited to display them for all the neighbors to envy, don’t be afraid to get creative! Whether you’re looking to decorate differently or you just loathe scooping out gooey pumpkin guts, then read on for fresh, easy DIY pumpkin display ideas.

Share a word 

 

For this easy pumpkin display, all you need is a word (perhaps something spooky, like ‘eek’ or ‘boo’), a handful of pins, black string, and letter stencils (you can print them out online).

 

Use one pumpkin for each letter. Stick a letter stencil onto each pumpkin, then stick pins into the letter borders to outline the letters. 

 

Remove the letter stencils and, using the black string, thread it through the pins multiple times until the letters become completely filled by string and the word is easily visible.

 

Set it up however you like outside. Some ideas include stacking the pumpkins or accentuating the display with small gourds or a hay bale.

Cute painted pumpkins

Painted pumpkins

 

This fun pumpkin craft is great for kids and adults alike. Get out your paint supplies and let your vision come to life!

 

Don’t be shy- you don’t have to stick to the typical Halloween color palette. Here are some painting ideas below.

 

Princess pumpkin: Use pink, white, and gold to paint designs on your pumpkin. Tie a satin ribbon around the pumpkin stem or place a small costume tiara on top. Finish it off by sprinkling glitter around the pumpkin.

 

Bat pumpkin: Paint small pumpkins black and use a knife to scoop out eyes (don’t cut all the way through, the orange of the pumpkin flesh contrasts nicely with the black paint. Cut bat wings and triangles for ears from black construction paper, glue them onto the pumpkin and you’re done.

 

Pirate pumpkin with Fire Glass treasure: Make trick-or-treaters shiver their timbers with the coolest pirate pumpkin on the block. Paint or carve a kooky pirate face on the pumpkin, then adorn the top with a handkerchief or hat. Place a small box filled with Fire Glass next to the pumpkin and scatter more Fire Glass around the entire display for treasure. 

 

House number pumpkin: This is a minimal idea that enables you to display your pumpkin throughout autumn and not just for Halloween. Paint a pumpkin white and use number stencils to paint your house number on the side. Place it in your front yard where it’s easily visible to guests.

No- paint pumpkin displays

 

Pumpkin planters: You don’t even have to paint pumpkins to make a killer display. Gather up pumpkins and gourds of all sizes and stack them in a planter. Look for unique planters, which can be everyday items around the house. Some ideas include a red wagon, wheelbarrow, wood box or pallet, bathtub, baskets, etc.

Pumpkins with candles, bats and candy

 

Fire Pit Pumpkins: Use your gas-powered fire pit to display your pumpkins. Fill the fire pit with shiny black Fire Glass, then stack your carved or painted pumpkins on top.

 

Extra accents: Another paint-free option is to add small accents that will make your pumpkin stand out. There are tons of small knick-knacks you can glue onto the pumpkin. Here’s our list of ideas:

 

  • Plastic spiders
  • Skeleton figurines
  • Colored Fire Glass
  • Painted garden stones
  • Fake spider web
  • Beads
  • Ribbon
  • Fake autumn leaves