Pumpkin-Carving Ideas for Kids

Playful eyes and uniquely shaped gourds turn this year's pumpkins into easy-to-make silly monsters any kid will love. Our free pattern download and pumpkin-carving how-to make carving these smiling pumpkins a breeze.

Give your seal of approval to Halloween this year with a thumbs up emoji pumpkin stencil. This positive pumpkin decoration is sure to get a few thumbs up of its own.
 

Generate your kids' enthusiasm by choosing silly combinations and cute pumpkin-carving ideas. Here, a sweetly sneaky cat and a small friendly mouse take the stage in this animal pumpkin-carving scene. Our pumpkin stencils make carving with kids easy. Use black felt to create cat ears, and glue or pin them above the eyes. To make the whiskers, use a gouging tool.

This adorable Halloween pumpkin decoration is crafted with colored papers and just a bit of carving—perfect for pumpkin-carving with kids who are a bit younger.

For the face:

Paint the pumpkin white; let dry. Download the pumpkin stencil pattern and transfer the design onto the pumpkin. Using a knife or carving tools, cut out the eyes and beak. Use a gouging tool to cut the chest feathers, going just deep enough to reveal the inner rind.

For the ears and wings:

Cut the outer ears from black cardstock and inner ears from patterned orange cardstock. Cut outer wings from patterned brown cardstock and inner wings from patterned orange cardstock. Glue together the outer and inner ear cutouts and the outer and inner wing cutouts. Glue wings to black cardstock; cut out, leaving an 1/8-inch black border all around. Fold and clip ears and wings as noted on the patterns. Attach them to the pumpkin with straight pins.

Middle school-age kids will love these easy pumpkin-carving ideas. Transfer the stencils onto uncarved pumpkins and scrape away the surrounding areas using a gouging tool. Use the pumpkins to line a walkway, or decorate your steps for Halloween.

Let your kids pick the message for these carved pumpkin decorations. Mask off the areas you want to remain unpainted, spray-paint the pumpkins black, and remove the tape to reveal your design. Draw the outlines of block letters onto your pumpkins and let your kids fill in with black crafts paint; add polka-dots by carefully drilling holes with a cup drill bit. Display pumpkins at varying heights.

Minimal carving means these adorable owl pumpkins are perfect if your pumpkin-carving session includes younger kiddos. These charming owls come together with just a bit of carving, glue, and sunflower seeds. This cute pumpkin-carving idea looks great on orange pumpkins, too!

Use this pumpkin-carving for kids idea to create a likeness of your favorite feline. Chenille-stem whiskers, crafts-foam ears, and a pretty bow make this carved pumpkin kitty a surefire kid favorite. Simply download the free pattern and carve out this feline's face before adhering her whiskers, ears, and bow with hot glue.

There's something to be said for funny pumpkin-carving ideas that play up classic jack-o'-lantern features and techniques. This sweetly smiling pumpkin offers an expressive face that promises to turn on the smiles. Get our pumpkin-carving pattern to make the face just right.

It's hard to say who will enjoy this trio of pumpkin decorations more: your kids or the trick-or-treaters who visit on Halloween. If you’re looking for pumpkin-carving ideas for kids who are a little younger, let them help with the tracing and decorating while the bigger kids assist with the surface carving.

Put together this silly pup pumpkin decoration with your dog-loving kids. Carve a silly grin, paint the mouth and nose black, and paint on a brown face. Use wire hangers to attach white gourds painted with brown circles as eyes and green gourds for ears. Cut a tongue from the part of the pumpkin you removed for carving the mouth, then paint it red and place it inside the mouth.

Let your kids express themselves with an emoji pumpkin stencil. Spread good vibes with everyone’s favorite sparkly heart.
 

Keep pumpkin carving simple by using an apple corer. (While it’s not as sharp as a knife, kids should still proceed with adult supervision.) Punch out a funny smile of circles and use the punched-out plugs for more pumpkin decorations, such as for the nose or pupils.

If you’re looking for pumpkin-carving ideas for kids who are a little more advanced, try pumpkin stencils with a little more detail but still completely achievable, like this wistful grinning jack-o’-lantern.
 

Kids who love all furry creatures will have loads of fun with animal pumpkin-carving stencils like this adorable raccoon.

Pumpkin carving with kids and animal pumpkin-carving ideas just seem to go together. Find your favorite dog breed pumpkin stencil and put your pup’s likeness on display.