It takes a lot of skill to carve a pumpkin, it also takes a very sharp knife. Two things that young children don’t often have. I am all for giving children tools they can use to create what they want to create and in a few days I will be carving two HUGE pumpkins with my children’s help but neither of them are ready to do it solo yet. They were ready to help me design and cut out the foam pieces, and pop them on to the pumpkins. Not only does this easy no mess pumpkin carving craft let kids decorate them themselves, they also get to make something that would be very tricky even for me to do with a knife. Like a Minecraft creeper or princess. A huge bonus for us is that these pumpkins won’t mold before Halloween!

Gather your materials. You will need some sticky back foam, scissors, and pumpkins. You may also want a tray to pop all the face pieces in. We decided what we wanted to make ( classic Jack-O-Lantern, princess, ghost, and creeper) before we picked out our pumpkins but you can do it anyway you want.

Cut out the shapes you need for the faces and pop them in a tray.

Start creating. In a classroom I would have all sorts of face pieces available with zero pre-planned designs. My kids and I thought this activity up together so they had ideas set before we made the shapes. Have a mix of everything if you are doing this with a group.

Peeling the backing off and placing the sticky foam is not without worth, it uses fine motor skills and takes concentration to place it properly.

My son was thrilled to find a green pumpkin to make his creeper.

And look NO MESS!

This list includes affiliate links to items used ( or very similar items) in the tutorial above.Sticky-Back Glitter FoamSticky Back Foam Sheets