Easy Painted Pumpkin Ideas for Kids

If you want to skip the carved pumpkins this year and let your kids decorate their own gourd, then these painted pumpkin ideas are just what you need!

Great for toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten age kids – or anyone who just doesn’t want to get messy with a traditionally carved pumpkin!

While we also like to carve pumpkins during the fall season, our son desperately wanted to paint one as well, so we did both!

The urge to paint a pumpkin hit him when we saw these completely snow white pumpkins at our grocery store. He saw it as a blank canvas and couldn’t wait to cover the whole white pumpkin in paint!

So, I bought this miniature white pumpkin, got it home and was so excited to start painting with him…

Turns out, he wanted to paint the entire thing orange.

Y’all, I couldn’t stop laughing! It was so sweet!

In his mind, that pumpkin should NOT be white, it should be orange. And it was his job to fix it! Precious!

Painted Pumpkin Tips for Kids

Whether your child wants to paint their pumpkin a solid color, or wants to paint it like their favorite movie or game character, there are a few things to do that will make the experience more fun for everyone!

1. Wash Your Pumpkin

First, you need to prep your pumpkin. Gently wash the surface with soap and water – GENTLY. Rinse well and thoroughly dry before starting your project.

2. Cover Everything:

Since kids aren’t known for their ability to keep paint on the object they are painting, you’re going to want to lay down a thick cover of paper or something.

We actually had this box top from a pair of tall boots I had recently purchased, so we used that instead. It worked out really well!

3. Cover EVERYTHING – including your child!

Again, paint is going to get everywhere. So, make sure your child is wearing a paint shirt or is otherwise protected.

If you have a paint smock, that also works!

4. Use Acrylic Paint:

Don’t use an oil based paint, it will rot the pumpkin SUPER fast. Instead use acrylic paint. It coats well and is washable off of most things!

5. Toss Our Your Expectations:

Let your child go crazy with whatever ideas they have for their painted pumpkin. If they want to paint the whole thing orange, let them!

The point of this painted pumpkin activity idea is to have fun together. So don’t stress over the finished results and instead enjoy the time together!

Tell them how proud of them you are and admire their work when it’s all done!

Painted Pumpkin Ideas and Inspiration for Kids

If you want a few specific examples of painted pumpkins to help get the creativity flowing, here are a few of our favorite painted pumpkin ideas for kids!