A Scary Good Halloween Idea
Have you heard about the latest Halloween trend? No, not Wonder Woman costumes or crazy beauty tricks.
I’m talking about NO-CARVE PUMPKINS. And I am here for it. It’s a genius idea that means even my leave-it-to-the-last-minute self can get on board with the holidays.
One of the first things I realized as an adult was that my very shoddily carved pumpkins start to rot way too quickly. Plus, it’s actually not easy to stab a gourd with a little knife repeatedly and get a result that I’m happy about. I (and soon, you) can get such better results without knives or a mess. (The only downside for me is not getting any fresh pumpkin seeds to roast.)
How do you achieve this no-frills Halloween decor? Simple. Forget about finding a newspaper to lay down or buying those cheap-o carving tool sets. You don’t need any of that, just a few felt pens, maybe a little paint or nail polish (if you’re feeling adventurous) and a pumpkin or two. Here are a few sample ideas I’ve pulled from the internet.
Stranger Things Pumpkin
If you haven’t seen this hit Netflix show then you won’t get the reference but with many folks dressing up as Eleven you’re bound to be surrounded by more than a few Eggos and ‘The Walls’.
Got a black sharpie? An extra tangled-up strand of Christmas lights? Boom you’re done. Well, you do need to go buy a white pumpkin, then scrawl the alphabet on it and wrap it in the lights. Like so:

Push Pin Pumpkin
Yes please! I hope you can figure this one out yourself. I’m pretty sure any ol’ push pin or thumbtack or brass tack will do.

Melted Crayon Pumpkin
For this one you’ll need a box of crayons, tacky glue, and a blow dryer. Unwrap those bad boys, slice ’em in half, glue them around the top of the orange guys and plug in your hair dryer. The effect is pretty cool:
Painted Pumpkins
Skip the candles and opt for a bit of glow-in-the-dark paint. I’ll leave it up to you to get creative with your designs.
Striped Pumpkin
Grab a pumpkin or two, a gold or silver Sharpie, and draw some fun lines on the gourds.
Succulent Pumpkin
Love succulents? Use a pumpkin as the pot! Find any pumpkin that has a relatively deep divot on top, cut of the stem and get a little dirty arranging a few succulents.
Stenciled Pumpkin
If you’re up for embracing your inner Martha Stewart, print out stencils or buy them, adhere them to the pumpkin, and sponge some sort of white paint on. Then peel off the stencil and repeat to add the designs to the entire pumpkin.
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Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you have an idea or two for decorating those pumpkins you impulsively bought on October 1st. Now go eat too much candy, then get back to work on your other holiday marketing campaigns.