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We all know it is the season of the pumpkin! (it’s not like you could miss it!) and they are everywhere this time of year, but what can you do with them exactly?

group of pimpkins, white and orange

I don’t know about you but sometimes it fills me with dread thinking about ways to be inventive with the pumpkins each year so I thought I would write a list of my favorites so that you don’t have too! The best part about it is that there is nothing going to waste with these so you won’t end up throwing away a lot of pumpkin guts this year!!

Carve Faces

This one is pretty obvious, you can carve pumpkins to make them look like they have faces! You can get creative and give them all kinds of goofy, crazy, or even scary expressions. Check out this simple step-by-step guide (including some free printable templates) for carving your pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. Put candles or battery powered tea lights into the pumpkin and they will glow at night. In the UK putting them on your doorstep is a sign that you are in for trick or treaters.

pumpkin lantern - 5 fun ideas for pumpkins this fall

Cook With Them

Everyone forgets at this time of year that pumpkins are actually edible which means that you shouldn’t waste all the “insides” when you are carving! Here are just two of the ways that you can cook with pumpkins but there are so many options out there!

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Have you ever tasted roasted pumpkin seeds? They are delicious and super easy to make too. Here is how:

  1. Cut the top off your pumpkin
  2. Scoop out all of the guts and seeds and put them in a bowl
  3. Separate the seeds from the guts, put the seeds in a strainer and rinse
  4. Coat the seeds with butter and salt
  5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
  6. Spray a baking tray with non-stick spray (or coat with greaseproof paper) and spread the seeds out on it
  7. Bake the seeds for about 45 minutes or until golden brown

You can eat these on top of yogurt or just a healthy snack!

pumpkin seeds in a bowl - 5 fun uses for pumpkins this fall

Pumpkin Pie

It is definitely the season for pumpkin pie but it is definitely intimidating to make it from scratch (and to be honest I haven’t been that successful at it!) But if you want to give it a go here’s the cheats way of getting it done (shh):

Ingredients:

  • Pre-made pie crust (you can get ready to roll which is the easiest)
  • 350ml Evaporated Milk
  • 2 Eggs (beaten
  • 170g Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Tsb Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Cut the top off your pumpkin
  3. Scoop out all of the guts and seeds and put them in a bowl
  4. Separate the seeds from the guts
  5. Boil the pumpkin guts until fully cooked
  6. In a large bowl, add pumpkin 2 cups of the mashed cooked pumpkin and all of the ingredients above (apart from the crust obviously)
  7. Use an electric mixer and mix until a smooth consistency.
  8. Line a pie dish with the crust and then pour the smooth mixture on top
  9. Bake for 40 minutes and test when it is done by poking a fork in the middle (when it comes out clean it is cooked!

Pumpkin Pie - 5 fun ideas for pumpkins this fall

Turn them into art

If you don’t like carving the pumpkin you can use acrylic paint to decorate your them with all kinds of spooky designs to adorn your front porch. Some choose chic designs and others try cute pictures, the Disney no carve pumpkin ideas are my favorite, like this Cinderella pumpkin idea from Sister Suitcase Blog:

Cinderella pumpkin - 5 Fun ideas for Pumpkins this fall
Find the Tutorial here: Suitcase Sister Blog

Make it a Centerpiece

There are so many fall decor ideas out there and it makes sense to incorporate the pumpkin! If you are having guests during the fall season (or maybe even a Halloween party?) then use the smaller pumpkins as a fall bouquet for centerpieces for the table. For larger pumpkins you can incorporate them into the current decorations or make them candle holders, like these from Twig and Thistle:

glitter pumpkin candle holders - 5 fun ideas for pumpkins this fall
Credit  and tutorial here: Twig and Thistle

Here are 8 centerpiece ideas you might like.

Pumpkin Games

We are definitely a family of fun and competition! Why not mix up the Baby Bowling with this fall special?! Just cut the stem off the pumpkin to round it off, find 10 empty bottles and have fun bowling. Just a note: make sure you do it on a hard floor or surface so it is easier to clean up!! You can also choose to have other pumpkin games or competitions, like the best face or idea or even a pumpkin eating contest! (although not sure we would do that one!)

Ultimately, it is important to use the whole pumpkin, even if it means you are making pumpkin pies for days. You can donate them to a homeless shelter or take them into work and charge per slice for charity but don’t let them go to waste and throw them away! What do you do with your pumpkins?

Struggling with ideas for pumpkins this year? Here are some fun and interesting ways to mix it up, plus some recipes too for using your pumpkins this fall.

 

31 comments on “5 Fun Ideas for Pumpkins this Fall”

  1. Oooo so many fun ideas!!! My daughter and I are all about pumpkin art!!! So pretty and since my daughter is on the younger side it’s so much easier than carving!

  2. I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins to decorate. It’s souch fun and everyone has a blast! Maybe this year I’ll try my hand at making a pumpkin pie.

  3. I love the idea of putting them as a centrepiece. I recently bought two glittery ones that you put candles into and they’re gorgeous!

  4. Every year I love to make centerpieces and front porch decor out of pumpkins. I make roasted seeds and also make pumpkin ravioli’s, the best! I love that you are advocating to use the whole pumpkin they so easily go to waste! Great post.

  5. I love the candle and decorating ideas!!! We have always roasted pumpkins seeds for as long as I can remember, and of course decorating them and making pumpkin pie is a tradition. But the innovative ways you have of decorating them… let’s just say my daughter is a Disney princess buff and she is going to LOVE the Cinderella idea!

  6. I have pumpkin cookies in the oven as I read this. It’s such a great way to celebrate Fall. I love pumpkin season!

  7. I love these pumpkin ideas. There are so many things you can do with pumpkins, other than the traditional jack-o-lantern. I will be making a pumpkin center piece with my girls, they love Cinderella!

  8. I love the gold pumpkins! So pretty! I went for a walk with my kids last night and we saw a Star Wars pupmkin set. They were so cute and my kids flipped!

  9. I love all of these ideas. I have two pumpkins sitting on my kitchen table right now that we’ve been trying to decide what to do with. Thank you for the ideas!

  10. I love this! I have several pumpkins at home waiting for some crafty love. Thanks for the great ideas! And I love eating the pumpkin seeds.

  11. Sometimes the Zoo will take the leftover pumpkins if they are in good shape. We make pies from the sugar pumpkins and pumpkin butter too.

  12. I am loving all of these ideas! The centerpiece is something that I haven’t done, I’m definitely considering that this year. The candles would make the whole setup even more lovely!

  13. I just started making my husband pumpkin pie a few years ago. It is super easy to make. I also have tried a few times to roast the pumpkin seeds but have been unsuccessful so far. Love your ideas.

  14. We love roasting the seeds at our house, it was something my mom always did as a kid. I think it was that don’t waste anything mentality but they are delicious!

  15. Roasting pumpkin seeds is one of my favorite fall activities. Just by changing up the spices used you can enjoy sweet or savory seeds. Yum!

  16. Can’t wait to start decorating up some pumpkins this year – we have to wait until closer to Halloween or they’ll go bad because of our indecisive weather.

  17. I am glad I came across this post today. Halloween is not celebrated much here in Austria as it is a tradition that is just starting out. Now at least I have an idea of what to do with all the pumpkins being gifted.

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