Since one-year-olds aren’t quite ready for traditional pumpkin carving, we wanted to include Clara in our Halloween decorating this year. After serving as last year’s hand model, she deserved a little upgrade in responsibility — but nothing involving sharp tools.
We decided to prepare three pumpkins with simple stencils made from painter’s tape so Clara could do the fun, colorful part: painting. To introduce the trio, we nicknamed them Big Brother, Middle Child, and Little Piggy. Each pumpkin got a different, easy-to-follow design made from painter’s tape so the final reveal would look crisp once the tape was removed.
For Middle Child I used painter’s tape to block out a classic jack-o’-lantern face. I cut a stencil with an X-Acto knife and, yes, clipped the pumpkin skin a little in the process, but the tape peeled off cleanly and left a neat pattern for painting.
Little Piggy got thin horizontal stripes. I tore narrow strips of painter’s tape using a ruler to keep the lines even, wrapping them around the pumpkin to create a fun striped pattern that would be bright and playful when painted.
Big Brother got a monogram: a capital “P” to represent our family name. We like monograms around here — they’re simple, personal, and easy for little hands to decorate around, especially with a loose circle painted around the letter for contrast.
With all three taped and prepped, Clara changed into just a diaper and got ready for the creative part. We set out Crayola washable paints on paper plates and let her explore. At first she gently painted the pumpkins, spreading color inside the taped shapes. After a couple of pumpkins she grew more interested in dipping her hands in the paint than in focusing on the pumpkins themselves — which is part of toddler art, and completely expected.
Sherry stepped in to finish the painting on Big Brother, creating a rough circle around the P. It was probably for the best: toddler hands are exuberant and don’t always stay within neat lines, so having an adult refine one of the pumpkins helped balance the trio.
Clara clearly enjoyed the process. She laughed, painted, and reached for brushes and fingers until she signaled it was time to stop — the classic toddler “all done.” We snapped a few pictures before Sherry whisked her off to the bathtub to wash up the paint.
After she was clean, I carefully peeled off the painter’s tape while the paint was still a little wet. We worried that waiting until everything dried could make the paint come off with the tape, so we revealed the designs right away. The result was a vibrant set of painted pumpkins — a bit psychedelic and joyful, full of bright, messy kid-made color.
They aren’t refined or designer-perfect, but they’re fun and full of personality. If you want a more muted look next time, white pumpkins with a limited palette — such as yellow and gray, emerald and navy, or teal and a muted yellow — would create a more polished aesthetic while still being kid-friendly.
Because the paints were washable, we sprayed the pumpkins with an acrylic sealer to help protect the colors from moisture and light wear. We used what we had on hand and hoped the sealer, together with our porch awning, would keep the paint from running if it rained.
This year’s painted pumpkins joined a little family tradition. Over the years we’ve tried many pumpkin projects: handprint-eyed jack-o’-lanterns, puffy paint pumpkins, painted insects on white pumpkins, and even carved monograms. Kids love simple painting projects because they’re safe, tactile, and allow for creative expression without the risks of carving tools.
Whether you’re decorating with toddlers or school-aged kids, the painter’s tape plus washable paint method is a great option. Tape creates clear shapes and patterns for kids to fill in, and the final peel reveals a satisfying, crisp contrast. It’s an easy way to involve young children and get festive decorations that look intentional, even when made by little hands.
What are you doing with pumpkins this year? If you’ve tried kid-friendly techniques like tape stencils or puffy paint, we’d love to hear about them or see photos. And if you have tips for including toddlers in the festivities, we’ll gladly bookmark them for next Halloween — Clara will thank you for the ideas when she’s ready for round two.