30+ Tips for Decorating Your Halloween Pumpkins

Set your pumpkins on fire with this cool pumpkin decorating idea. Mimic a bonfire by carving flames into pumpkins, then stacking them in the shape of a fire pit. Our free stencil makes this design easy.

"Double, double toil and trouble"—this cauldron pumpkin is the perfect addition to your outdoor Halloween decorations. Simply paint a large pumpkin black, cut off the top third, and hollow out the inside. Mount on a black plant stand, then fill with dry ice, if desired. Surround with carved pumpkins, like this black cat and a word like wicked, for an eye-catching outdoor display.

Let your outdoor Halloween decorations do the talking—literally. Metallic leaf and thumbtacks form letters on the pumpkins spelling out Boo. Stack pumpkins vertically or horizontally, and stick to short, spooky sayings like "boo" or "eek."

Ready for the simplest screams ever? Just attach a fake spider on a plain pumpkin. The black creepy-crawly stands out against the orange to spook visitors of all ages. For best results, choose a realistic-looking spider. 

Cinderella called, and she's missing her pumpkin carriage! This chic craft takes outdoor pumpkin decorations to a new level. Get the look by applying silver spray paint to one large pumpkin and four mini pumpkins. Carve out two circles and a square to make carriage windows and door, then detail with a silver paint pen. A glass cabinet knob in place of the pumpkin's stem is the finishing touch. 

Re-create your favorite furry friend with the help of outdoor pumpkins and a few craft supplies. This pug-inspired pumpkin uses paint to define basic facial features. Gourds were tacked on for the ears and eyes. Experiment at a local garden store until you find the perfect combination of gourds to make your own faux Fido. 

Whether you base them on favorite literary characters or your family, these cute pumpkin people are guaranteed to bring charm to your outdoor Halloween decorations. Use paint to draw on eyes and other facial details, then adorn with fuzzy fabric, yarn, or hats.  

Get ready to spook friends and family with these eerie pumpkins. Apply a bat or moon stencil, then paint all around it. Outline the shape with nails, then twist yarn in and around the nails to create a spiderweb effect. 

Your little prince and princess will be charmed by these pumpkins straight from a fairy tale. Pick a color palette—like the white, gold, and rosy pink shown here—then paint an assortment of pumpkins in your chosen hues. Decorate with ribbons, tiaras, stencils, paint pens, and more. 

Carve a monogram on pumpkins and place them on your front porch to welcome guests to your bewitching abode. Using a small, medium, and large pumpkin; carve the initials in different sizes and fonts. Layer the pumpkins on an old chair or stool to show off your handiwork.

Place colorful no-carve candy corn pumpkins around your yard for fun Halloween outdoor decorations. Choose cone-shape pumpkins and clean their surfaces. Spray-paint the pumpkins to achieve the candy corn look.

Editor's Tip: Cover stems with painters tape to keep it clean.

Skip the carving and cast a spell by drawing bats on white pumpkins using a permanent marker. To hang, cut a length of thick jute and knot one end through a large washer. Drill a hole in the top and bottom of each pumpkin and use wire to pull the twine through the holes.

Let your creative side take flight with this easy DIY pumpkin project. Glue a flock of bats cut from black poster board across a painted-white gourd. Or opt for white bats on a black gourd. Graphic and giddy—your porch never looked this good.

Give your porch a ghostly glow with a trio of shining pumpkins. You can use any kind of pumpkin, but we like the different colors and sizes of the Lumina, Long Island Cheese, and Jarrahdale types. Hollow out each pumpkin, making sure to scrape the sides smooth. Use a drill and a small bit to create different patterns of holesjust large enough to accommodate the string lights. Finally, create a larger hole in the back so you can connect the cords to power.

Grinning jack-o'-lantern faces will be all you'll see on Halloween night with this collection of carved outdoor pumpkins. Simply paint your jack-o'-lantern with black acrylic or spray paint before carving. Use painters tape around the stems to keep them paint-free.

Quotes are a popular trend this year, and the holidays are a fun time to employ the trick. To get the look of these wordy Halloween pumpkin decorations, paint your gourds with chalkboard paint and trace on your words using stencils. Remove the stencils, then fill in the letters with traditional white or colored chalk. Just don't forget to bring these delicate pumpkins in if it rains or else you risk runny rhymes.

Illuminate your Halloween decor with pretty and unexpected luminarias made from large, smooth-skin gourds. Their green color lends a fresh look to the season’s harvest motif.

First, make a hole large enough for your hand, then scrape out the inside. Mark your favorite design on the skin. Using an awl, paring knife, or crafts knife with a V-shape blade, carve out your designs. (You also can use a power drill with different bits.) Finally, tuck a strand of lights inside to illuminate the night.

Fill a wire tiered plant stand on your porch to display your fresh fall finds, such as apples, foilage, pumpkins, and other gourds. Wooden bowls and vintage crocks add interest.

Create welcoming Halloween pumpkin decorations for guests and trick-or-treaters this year. Pick three short, wide pumpkins for this front porch display. Print the free pattern onto transfer paper. Transfer one word per pumpkin, and use black acrylic or crafts paint to fill in the outline. Stack pumpkins on an urn laced with creepy vines or spooky spiderwebs.

Display a collection of various sizes and shapes of pumpkins for a beautiful outdoor Halloween decoration. Simply pile your gourds in a planter and place on your porch. If the planter is too large for your collection, fill with a block of florists foam to keep your pumpkins at the top.

Create your own gourd-geous no-carve pumpkins by incorporating two traditional office supplies: thumbtacks and a permanent marker. For one: Draw on a weblike chevron pattern in black permanent marker on a white-painted pumpkin. For the second: Push white thumbtacks into an orange pumpkin in the shape of a ghost. Black thumbtacks provide his eerie eyes and mouth.

It's fun to create a strikingly sweet pumpkin grouping with a little masking tape, spray paint, and a drill. Use the tape to outline stripes, and cover the parts you'd like to remain orange; spray-paint black. Let dry completely, then remove the tape to reveal your design. Use a permanent marker to adorn each pumpkin with your favorite Halloween saying, drill holes along the black stripes for light to flicker through, and arrange in a vintage metal washtub for a rustic feel.

Capture the essence of autumn with a simple basket filled with cute miniature pumpkins and gourds. Layer different colors, sizes, and shapes in a wicker basket or old bowl, and place the arrangement on a patio table or porch railing.

Bring beautiful shine to your outside Halloween decorations with a pair of pretty metallic pumpkins. Collect fallen leaves and spray-paint them gold; let dry. Paint one pumpkin white and the other gold. When dry, use crafts glue to attach the metallic leaves to the white pumpkin, then arrange the pair together on your porch or front step.

Setting the perfect autumn ambience starts with an exquisite Cinderella pumpkin. Cinderella pumpkins are large and deeply lobed, making them ideal for holding water and floating tea lights. Hollow out the pumpkin and remove the top with scalloped cuts to emphasize its natural shape. Add water, light the floating candles, and let the moonlit magic (or mischief) begin.

From its Swiss cheese cutouts to its miniature residents, our funny mouse-house pumpkin packs a lot of charm. Just hollow out a large pumpkin, then use a power drill and 1/2- and 1-inch flat wood bits to cut holes in the pumpkin. Spray-paint the pumpkin a light yellow, making sure to cover the cut edges of the holes. Purchase plastic mice and place them in the holes and around the pumpkin.

Put the carving kit away. These trendy outdoor pumpkins require no messy hollowing or cutting. Instead, use patterned duct tape in animal prints, such as zebra and leopard, to create different patterns and designs. Strips of black tape add simple accents to the fun patterns.

Create these crawling critters for creepy Halloween yard decorations. Choose orange or white medium-size round pumpkins for this project. Poke four holes in each side of the pumpkins with an awl and attach jumbo black chenille stems to create spider legs. Use adhesive glue dots to attach white and black crafts foam circles for spider eyes. Place around the lawn for a frightful surprise.

What better way to welcome guests this fall than with a wheelbarrow filled with pumpkins and gourds? Use a paint pen to write a friendly greeting on one of the larger pumpkins. Choose a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes to make the display especially pretty.

Editor's Tip: Add a jack-o'-lantern to the pile to get ready for Halloween.