TL;DR: Nothing says “fall” like “pumpkins”, but nothing says “pumpkins” like “anxiety!” This blog is full of toddler-friendly pumpkin ideas that do not involve knives, carving, or extreme supervision. Dough play, soap sculpting, simple recipes, and ways to decorate without pumpkin guts or knives are all spelled out in this fun fall blog.

Toddler-Friendly Pumpkin Ideas (Without a Carving Knife!)

Fall and pumpkins go together like peanut butter and jelly; however, pumpkins and toddlers most definitely do not! Pumpkins are heavy, they are messy, and they require sharp objects in order to carve and use. Not anymore! If you are looking for toddler-friendly pumpkin ideas that do not involve a carving knife or pumpkin guts, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for our favorites, including how you can create fun pumpkin-shaped bars of soap to scratch the pumpkin itch!

Pumpkin Dough Play and Soap Sculpting

For super small toddlers, craft lovers, dough play lovers, or just a simple screen-free activity, soap dough is the most fun way to sculpt pumpkins for fall!

Has your child ever made a super cute creation, only for it to dry, shrink, crack, and eventually get thrown away? Rather than sending it off to a landfill, put it next to the sink as usable, bubbly soap!

Innobaby soap dough gives you all the fun stuff that dough play does. It rolls, sculpts, stretches, and molds to your heart’s content without leaving the huge stuck-in mess behind.

Grab a set and create some fun pumpkin soaps for your bathroom. Make extra for friends and family, too!

Simple Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin spiced this-that-and-the-other is all over the place now that it is September! If you’re obsessed and want all the things pumpkin-flavored, we have a couple of super simple recipes you and your toddler can work on.

Pumpkin Banana Mini Muffins

Mash 1 ripe banana, mix with ½ cup pumpkin puree, 1 egg, 1 cup oat flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp baking powder, and 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips. Bake in a mini muffin tin at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes. [source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DP1u3NfDkmK/ ]

Pumpkin PB Yogurt Dip

Combine ½ cup canned pumpkin puree with ½ cup plain or Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter or peanut butter powder. Serve with apple slices, banana rounds, or crackers for dipping.3-Ingredient

Pumpkin Oat Bars

Mash 1 ripe banana, stir in ½ cup pure pumpkin puree, 2 cups rolled oats, and ½ tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Press into a small pan or shape into bites and bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes until set. [source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgudogT08EY ]

Pumpkin Decorating without Carving or Messes

Pumpkin carving is a beloved fall tradition, especially as we near Halloween. However, now that you have a toddler, you are quickly realizing that this is definitely more of a “big kid activity” if you want it to be stress-free.

Instead, there are more fun, age-appropriate ways you can decorate pumpkins with your toddler that do not involve carving, sharp objects, or dealing with pumpkin guts.

Melted Crayon Decorating

Have some old, broken crayons lying around? Grab them and do this fun pumpkin craft!

• Unwrap the paper from your crayons. An easy way to do this is to use a small exacto knife (I don’t recommend kids do this part). I promise you…the exacto knife saves SOOO much time.
• Cut the unwrapped crayons in half. 
• Glue the crayons around the pumpkin. I used 16 crayons.
• Let the glue dry completely. 
• Place the pumpkin on top of cardboard or garbage bags.
• Use a hair dryer to melt the crayons. 
• Start with a low setting, it will be easier to direct the flow of the crayons melting. [source: https://colormadehappy.com/melted-crayon-pumpkin-decorating-idea/ }

Pressed Flower Decorating

Here’s a fun one from HGTV:

Channel your inner flower child with this pumpkin adorned with pressed blooms!

To achieve this whimsical look, use a paintbrush to apply a coat of decoupage glue to a real or faux pumpkin.

Next, use a pick-up tool such as tweezers to carefully place dried, pressed flowers onto the pumpkin in your desired pattern.

Seal the design with another coat of decoupage glue, and let it dry before displaying!

Emoji Pumpkins

This one is super simple and is guaranteed to get a smile from everyone in your neighborhood!

1. Paint your pumpkins yellow and let them dry
2. Use construction paper to cut out eyes, heart eyes, mouths, sunglasses, tongues, and more
3. Tape or glue them onto your pumpkins to make them look like emojis!