5 Adorable No Carve Pumpkin Ideas

I think it’s safe to say that Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. There are so many fun happenings and traditions to take part in! I love decorating the front porch, making costumes, visiting spooky villages, baking all the autumn treats, and, of course, pumpkin decorating! And this year, we decided to add some no carve pumpkin ideas into the mix.

Usually, I’m a bit of a traditionalist. I almost always go with your standard carved jack-o-lantern face. I might mix it up with one angry/spooky face, one grinning, and one looking frightened. But that’s about as far as the variety goes for me.

But now that I’ve had a few Halloweens under my belt with toddlers, I needed to find some no carve pumpkin ideas. Especially with a little one who wants to do everything her big brother is doing. And while she’s definitely game to reach in and grab out handfuls of pumpkin guts, decorating is really what it’s all about!

Since there’s not really a good way to involve her in carving her own face with a knife, we got creative and found some other adorable ideas for her! So if you’ve got a young one or are simply looking for some fresh ideas, here are 5 no carve pumpkin decorating ideas to try this year!

1. Drilled hole designs.

This is the no carve pumpkin decorating idea we went with a few years back when our son was three. He already loves using tools, so we knew he’d enjoy using the power drill to create holes in his pumpkin. Not to mention it’s something he can easily do (with only a slight bit of assistance) and the end result is really snazzy!

We kind of just went crazy and drilled random holes all over. But if you wanted to get fancy, you could try drilling some dots on your pumpkin in different patterns, shapes, or even constellations. You can also change up the size of the drill bit so that you have a variety of hole sizes!

For some ideas of different hole patterns you could make, check out this tutorial!

2. Pumpkin fairy house.

This is by far one of the most fun no carve pumpkin decorating ideas that I’ve tried! Alright, I lied….there’s a tiny bit of carving involved. But once you’ve taken care of the doors and windows, there’s still plenty for the kids to do! Let them arrange the scene around the pumpkin house or drill holes for them to poke flower stems and acorns into.

Even the younger ones who might not have to patience to stick with the entire decorating process of this one would probably still be delighted by the results! In fact, they’ll probably end up playing with it in the weeks leading up to Halloween!

Here are the materials you’ll need:

• Pumpkin (Real or artificial)
• Twigs
• Bark
• Moss
• Dried flowers
• Acorns
• Wood slabs
• Figurines (Mine were from Target, but these are also adorable)
• Fall leaves
• Anything else your imagination comes up with!

3. Monster Face Pumpkins.

I’m pretty sure any young kids would be delighted with this no carve pumpkin decorating idea. (I know I was!) I mean seriously…how adorable are these goofy little things? I love the idea of using moss to decorate! And you can’t really go wrong with googly eyes.

Check here for the full tutorial on how to make these fun little monster pumpkins!

4. Nature pumpkins.

This might be one of the most unique no carve pumpkin decorating ideas I’ve ever seen! I love that to make this pumpkin, you and the kids get to go out and collect all the fun autumn nature things! And the results are super adorable. (Although I’m sure you could make them spooky as well, if that’s your cup of tea.) Here’s how to make these!

5. Pressed nature pumpkins.

This no carve pumpkin decorating idea is so beautiful with all of the pressed flowers and nature confetti! It’s a great nontraditional idea if you’re in the mood for something a little different this year. All you need are some flowers, ferns, leaves, etc. and mod podge. We also make nature confetti by stamping out shapes from leaves with little hole punches like these.

Just have your kids work around the pumpkin painting a layer of mod podge and pressing on nature pieces as they go, then go back over everything once more after the first layer has dried to seal it in!

And that’s it! Have you decorated your pumpkin yet this year? Hopefully now you’ve got some unique no carve pumpkin ideas to try out with the kids! These ideas are especially great if you’ve got really young ones who need some no-carve ideas in order to still be involved in the pumpkin decorating festivities! Happy decorating!

If you’re looking for more fun fall ideas, check out these nature potions or our fall bucket list!