Sweet friend, there’s a basket by our back door right now holding three little sugar pumpkins the children picked out themselves. One is lopsided. One has a scar where a toddler thumb pressed in too hard. And all three have been carried around the house more times than I can count.
Fall has a way of slowing us down around here. The light comes in lower and softer through the kitchen window, the wool socks come back out, and the afternoons feel made for sitting at the table with our hands busy and our hearts unhurried.
Scripture says it so plainly — to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This is the season I look forward to most. The season of warm mugs, line-dried quilts, and little hands covered in orange paint.
So I gathered up sixteen of the easiest pumpkin crafts we’ve made over the years — the kind you’ll actually want to make, not just pin and forget. Most use what you already have tucked in a drawer or a recycling bin. None of them ask for a perfect afternoon or a tidy table.
Pull up a chair, friend. Let’s make something together.
why i love an afternoon of pumpkin crafts
There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over our kitchen when the three of them are bent over a craft. The baby gumming a paintbrush handle. The middle one narrating a whole story about her pumpkin’s feelings. The oldest very seriously declaring his is the best one anybody has ever made.
I used to think crafting with tiny humans had to look like the pictures — matching smocks, a wiped-down table, a finished project worthy of the fridge. It almost never does. There’s usually glue in someone’s hair and a puddle of water where the rinse cup tipped.
But these afternoons are some of the sweetest we have. We’re not making museum pieces. We’re making memories, and a little mess is just proof that small hands were here.
16 easy pumpkin crafts to make this fall
Here they are, friend — sixteen simple ideas, gathered from the easiest toddler-friendly ones to a few the bigger kids can really sink into. Start wherever feels good for your crew.
1. paper plate pumpkin
This is the one I reach for when I need something the littlest ones can do without much help. A paper plate, a swipe of orange paint, and a little stem cut from brown paper — that’s all it takes. If your kids fall in love with it, we’ve got a whole basketful more in our roundup of easy paper plate crafts for kids to keep the afternoon going.
2. pipe cleaner pumpkin
Bend a few orange pipe cleaners into a soft round shape, twist a green one on top for the stem, and you’ve got a pumpkin that fits right in a little pocket. It’s wonderfully low-mess, which my heart appreciates on the busy days. For more bendy-wire fun, these bright pipe cleaner crafts are a favorite around here.
3. pumpkin felt craft
There’s something so cozy about felt in the fall. Cut a few pumpkin shapes from orange wool felt, then let the children glue on faces or sew a few simple stitches if they’re a bit older. The soft texture makes this one feel like a little hug.
4. pumpkin handprint craft
Press a small hand into orange paint, stamp it onto paper, and turn those five little fingers into a pumpkin patch. I date every single one. There’s no craft I treasure more than the ones that hold the shape of a hand that’s growing far too fast.
5. cupcake liner pumpkins
Flatten a few orange cupcake liners, layer them up, and glue them down for a ruffly little pumpkin with so much texture. It’s a lovely way to use up the liners hiding in the back of the baking drawer.
6. egg carton pumpkins
Snip the cups from an egg carton, paint them orange, and add a twist of green pipe cleaner for the stem. We crack a lot of eggs in this farmhouse, so this one gets made often. If your recycling bin is overflowing like mine, you’ll love these other egg carton crafts too.
7. clay pumpkin pins
Roll little pumpkins from air-dry clay, press a line or two down the sides with a toothpick, and glue a pin back on once they’re dry. The big kids love wearing these on their jackets all season long.
8. pumpkin suncatcher
Tear orange and yellow tissue paper, press it between two pieces of clear contact paper cut into a pumpkin shape, and hang it where the afternoon light can pour through. Ours glows like a little stained-glass window all October.
9. apple stamping pumpkin craft
Cut an apple in half, dip it in orange paint, and let the children stamp round little pumpkins across a page. It uses up the bruised apple at the bottom of the bowl and smells faintly sweet the whole time.
10. lollipop pumpkin
Wrap a round lollipop in a square of orange tissue, tie it off at the base with green ribbon or twine, and you’ve got a pumpkin treat that’s almost too sweet to unwrap. These are a hit for class parties and little gifts.
11. pumpkin wreath
Cut pumpkins from paper or felt and glue them around an embroidery hoop or a cardboard ring for a wreath the children can hang on their bedroom door. It’s a sweet way to bring a little of the season into their own small corner.
12. glow-in-the-dark pumpkin jar
Paint the inside of a clean glass jar with glow-in-the-dark paint, add a simple face, and let it charge in the window. Come evening, it casts the gentlest little glow — no flame, no worry.
13. 3d paper strip pumpkin
Cut several strips of orange paper, fasten them at the top and bottom, and fan them out into a round, three-dimensional pumpkin. It’s a little bit of paper magic that always earns a delighted gasp.
14. toilet paper roll pumpkins
Wrap a cardboard tube in orange paper or paint, add a stem and a curl of green for the vine, and stand it up on the windowsill. Humble supplies, happy little result.
15. popsicle stick pumpkin
Glue a few craft sticks side by side, paint them orange, and top with a little green stem. Once they dry, they’re sturdy enough for the children to play with. We never run out of uses for a bag of craft sticks — here are more popsicle stick crafts if you’ve got some on hand.
16. button pumpkin craft
Glue orange buttons into a pumpkin shape on a square of card, or thread them onto a pipe cleaner for a little dimensional pumpkin. My button jar has lived on the kitchen shelf longer than I can remember, and this is one of my favorite ways to dip into it. There’s a whole post of simple button crafts if your jar is as full as mine.
a few simple supplies to keep on hand
You don’t need a craft cupboard to make any of these, friend. Most afternoons, we just pull together whatever we already have. But if you like to keep a little stash tucked away for slow days, here’s what we reach for most:
- orange and green paint, plus a few good brushes
- construction paper and a glue stick
- pipe cleaners and craft sticks
- a recycling bin’s worth of egg cartons, jars, and cardboard tubes
- a jar of mismatched buttons
- a roll of clear contact paper for suncatchers
That’s truly it. Everything else is just imagination and a willingness to wipe down the table afterward.
crafting with the littlest hands
With three little ones under three, I’ve learned a few gentle things about making crafts with babies and toddlers. I’ll share them here, in case they save you a little frustration on a long afternoon.
Keep it short. A toddler’s attention is a fleeting, beautiful thing, and ten good minutes is a win.
Let go of the outcome. If the pumpkin ends up muddy brown because every color got mixed together, let it be brown. The joy is in the doing, not the displaying.
Set the baby up with something safe to squish — a blob of taped-down paper, a chunky brush, an empty cup. They just want to be part of it, and that’s more than enough.
turning a little pumpkin into a quiet faith lesson
Some of my favorite afternoons are the ones where a simple craft turns into a gentle conversation about the One who made this whole beautiful season.
While we paint, we talk about how God dreamed up autumn — the gold leaves, the cool mornings, the pumpkins growing fat on the vine. Little hearts understand far more than we think when we point them toward wonder.
If you’re gathering ideas for a Sunday school table or a homeschool morning, I’ve tucked a few more away in my post on faith-filled fall crafts for Sunday school. They’re simple enough for small hands and rich enough to spark a real conversation.
the coziest way to round out a crafting afternoon
When the gluing winds down and the table is more orange than it started, I like to pour something warm and let everyone settle. The children get a little mug of their own, and we sit a while longer before the cleanup begins.
If you want to make it feel extra special, a homemade pumpkin spice latte — or a gently watered-down version for the tiny ones — is the perfect soft landing to a busy, happy afternoon.
pick one pumpkin and make it this week
Here’s my gentle nudge, friend: don’t try to make all sixteen. Pick the one that made you smile, gather a few odds and ends, and give yourself one slow afternoon this week.
The table will get messy. The pumpkins will turn out a little crooked. And years from now, those crooked little pumpkins will be the very ones you can’t bear to throw away.
And when the calendar turns toward October and the little ones start asking about costumes and candy, we’ll be ready for that too — these spooky-cute Halloween crafts for kids are waiting right around the corner.
Which pumpkin craft are you going to try first? Tell me in the comments below — I read every single one, and there’s nothing I love more than picturing your kitchen table covered in orange paint right alongside ours.
With love,
Betty
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frequently asked questions
what’s the easiest pumpkin craft for a toddler?
The paper plate pumpkin and the apple stamping craft are my top picks for little ones. They’re forgiving, they don’t need fine motor skills, and the worst that happens is a happy mess. Start there and work your way up as their hands grow.
what supplies do i need to get started?
Almost nothing special, friend. Orange and green paint, paper, glue, and a handful of recyclables like egg cartons, jars, and cardboard tubes will carry you through most of this list. A jar of buttons and a pack of pipe cleaners round it out nicely.
are these pumpkin crafts safe for babies?
Many of them can be, with a watchful eye and a few simple swaps. Use taped-down paper and chunky, easy-to-hold brushes, skip the small pieces like buttons and beads, and choose non-toxic paint. Always stay close — little ones explore the world with their mouths, and a baby and a button don’t mix.
can i use these for sunday school or homeschool?
Wonderfully so. Most of these come together with simple supplies and very little prep, which makes them lovely for a classroom or a homeschool morning. They pair beautifully with a quiet conversation about the season God made.
when’s the best time to start fall crafts?
Whenever it feels right to you, friend. We usually start when the first leaves turn and the mornings get crisp — sometime in early September around here. There’s no wrong week to slow down and make something pretty with the people you love.
