Pumpkin Fun: Alternative to Jack-O-Lantern

It's the time of year for great fun in pumpkin patches and corn mazes. We always brought home several pumpkins - some for carving, some for decorating and some for eating.

There are alternatives to traditional carving that make for fun fall decorations. Sometime you want a twist on the expected or you'd like to skip the mess that comes with carving or you'd like to find something all ages can do. Here are some options you might like to try.

Painted Pumpkins - Using tempra or poster paint decorate your pumpkins with faces or character that you can't get when carving. You can choose to make a design on your pumpkin rather than add a face. You can add glitter, gems, yarn, hats or other props to create pumpkin personalities that will charm and greet anyone coming to your home. Remember whatever your child creates is worthy of display!

Mummy Pumpkins - This design couldn't be easier. Wrap your pumpkin in gauze style bandage rolls - tuck the bandage in at the back. Leave a slit for the mouth area and insert google eyes. Secure eyes with a glue dot or tape. You can unwrap and reuse the badages and eyes next year.