Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Kids

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

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. Our pattern downloads make it easy to transfer the images to your pumpkins. Use black felt to create cat ears and glue or pin them above the eyes; to easily make the whiskers, try a gouging tool.

This adorable Halloween creation is crafted with just a bit of carving and colored papers.

For the face:
Paint the pumpkin white; let dry. Download the pumpkin carving pattern and transfer onto the pumpkin. Using a knife or carving tools, cut out the eye and beak openings. Use a gouge 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 the outer and inner ear cutouts together and the outer and inner wing cutouts together. Glue wings to black cardstock; cut out, leaving a 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 youngsters will love these easy pumpkin carving ideas for kids. 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.

Watch to get our insider secrets to the easiest way to clean out your pumpkins. Hint: We start from the bottom! Once you have the pumpkin carving basics down, any design will be much easier to create.

These mummies are only a wee bit scary, making them the perfect pumpkin carving idea for kids. After prepping the pumpkins, cut slits in each: two for the eyes, wide and tall enough to accommodate marbles; one for the nose; and one for the mouth. Cut more slits around the gourd and on the edges of the lid. Place a toothpick vertically into each eye opening in the gourd and glue a marble to each toothpick.

Let your kids pick the message for this carved pumpkin creation. 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 for making with kids. These charming owls come together with just a bit of carving, glue, and sunflower seeds. This cute pumpkin carving ideas looks great on orange pumpkins, too! 

Watch the video to learn how to make this adorable feathered friend. With just a few easy steps, you can turn your pumpkin into a cute owl! One of our favorite easy pumpkin carving ideas, we'll show you exactly how to make it! 

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.