Try this easy no carve pumpkin decorating idea with your toddler or older kids this Halloween!
One of my favorite movies when I was a kid was The Mummy Returns. You read that right. The Mummy Returns. As in the sequel to The Mummy. The one with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
I’m not sure what it was. Ancient Egyptian lore. The gold body paint. Uncle Jonathan’s snarky quips. Brendan Fraser’s no-frills fighting style.
I’m actually getting kind of nostalgic thinking about it. *sighs* I know I’m weird.
Moving on, let’s talk about this adorable little mummy pumpkin.
I absolutely loved doing this easy no carve pumpkin decorating idea with my toddler.
I felt like we were dressing up the pumpkin for Halloween. So much nicer than butchering the poor guy and scooping out its insides. Which, kind of ironically, is what the ancient Egyptians did to their dead to make mummies. *ahem*
We decorated two small-ish pumpkins in about half an hour with plenty of time for pictures. Here’s why I think you’ll love this no carve pumpkin decorating idea.
- So simple, a toddler can do it
- No knives or dangerous equipment needed
- Cheap to make
- Fun and appropriately “spooky” for Halloween
- Turns out so cute every time
Here’s how we did it.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
How to Make a Mummy Pumpkin
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We normally don’t decorate or carve pumpkins for Halloween. Halloween is my least favorite holiday. I don’t completely hate it… only because of the candy. And pumpkins are fun, too. So, decorating pumpkins was a spur of the moment decision. Luckily, Amazon Prime had me covered.
Two day free shipping. Sometimes one day free shipping. Free returns. As a mom with no time to shop, that two day free ship has saved me time and time again!
If you’ve never tried Amazon Prime, then you’ve probably been living under a rock for the past five years, or are over the age of 93 and just don’t care about things getting to you in two days or less, because at this age, what’s the point?
I digress. But seriously, if you don’t have it right now, click this link for a 30-day trial absolutely free. Thirty freaking days for free…!
Anyway, I ordered all of the items below except the pumpkins, which I picked up at my local grocery store, and they arrived at my house the next day. Just in time for a quick pumpkin decorating sesh and photo shoot.
Here’s what you’ll need.
- pumpkins (we used “pie pumpkins” which are bigger than the mini and smaller than the big ones… obviously)
- googly eyes
- white gauze rolls (2 inch size, one roll per pumpkin)
- scissors
- glue
First, glue the end of one gauze roll to the back of your pumpkin.
Then wrap the pumpkin all around. Cut off any excess gauze and glue the end to the pumpkin. Make sure to glue it to the pumpkin and not another piece of gauze so it really stays in place.
Glue two googly eyes onto the front of the pumpkin. Arrange the gauze to partially cover the eyes. And that’s it!
It’s a mummy pumpkin!
Pumpkin decorating with Elena was so much fun. I think we’ve discovered a new fall family tradition.
Your Turn to Make a No Carve Mummy Pumpkin
We used a roll of two inch wide gauze to decorate our mummy pumpkins. I’ve seen some tutorials where people dye them with tea and spray them with starch to make them look more aged and authentic (as authentic as you can get for a gauze-wrapped pumpkin anyway).
I opted not to do this because I wanted to save time and effort and because I was going for cute and not “authentic.”
This pack of gauze will provide you with enough material for two dozen mummy pumpkins. My suggestion? Have a pumpkin decorating party!
I hope your toddler will love their mummy pumpkin just as much as mine does. Here she is giving it a cuddle. This girl cracks me up!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!