October 26, 2025
Turn your family into a patch of perfectly imperfect pumpkins (no Pinterest skills required)
Ready to bring The Bumpy Pumpkin to life? This activity celebrates what makes each family member unique. And before you panic, you need exactly zero craft skills. If you can hold a marker, you're qualified.
What You'll Need:
Option 1 - Real Pumpkins:
Option 2 - Zero Trip to Store:
Option 3 - Already Have Nothing:
The Activity:
Step 1: Choose Your Pumpkin (5 minutes)
If using real pumpkins: Let everyone pick their own. The weirder the better. That lopsided one? Perfect. The one that's more green than orange? Ideal.
If using paper: Everyone draws their own pumpkin shape. Wonky is good. Round is overrated. My pumpkins usually look like potatoes and that's completely fine.
Step 2: Add Your Bumps (10 minutes)
This is where it gets fun. Everyone adds what makes them unique to their pumpkin:
Little kids might just scribble. That's perfect. Their scribbles are their bumps.
Step 3: Name Your Pumpkin (5 minutes)
Everyone names their pumpkin. Fair warning: you'll probably get:
All acceptable. This isn't the naming Olympics.
Step 4: Pumpkin Introductions (10 minutes)
Everyone introduces their pumpkin to the family. Keep it simple: "This is Bob. He has glasses like me and loves dinosaurs."
Toddlers might just hold theirs up and yell "PUMPKIN!" That counts.
Teenagers might eye-roll through this part. They'll still secretly love it.
Step 5: Display Your Patch
Find a spot to display your pumpkin family:
Reality Checks:
Someone will cry because their pumpkin doesn't look right. Solution: "That's what makes it bumpy and special!"
Markers will get on clothes/table/faces. Solution: Washable markers or just embrace it. It's October.
A pumpkin will get dropped. Solution: "Now it's REALLY bumpy!"
The dog might eat one. Solution: Take photos early.
Simpler Version for Exhausted Parents:
Everyone draws a pumpkin on paper. Add one thing that makes you special. Tape to wall. Done. You've celebrated differences and it took 5 minutes.
No Supplies? No Problem:
Use rocks from outside. Paint them orange (or don't). Cut pumpkin shapes from cereal boxes. Use actual food. Oranges are basically tiny pumpkins. Just tell stories about what makes each person bumpy. No craft required.
The Hidden Magic:
While you're doing this simple activity, kids are:
But they just think they're decorating pumpkins. Sneaky parenting win.
Pro Tips from Families Who've Done This:
"We used paper plates and it took 10 minutes. My kids still talk about their bumpy pumpkins." - Sarah
"My teenager actually participated when I let him make his pumpkin 'ironically weird.'" - Miguel
"We just drew on lunch bags. Now they're puppets. Whatever works." - Jamie
The Bottom Line
This doesn't need to be Instagram-worthy. It just needs to happen. Messy pumpkins with marker smudges and crooked faces are exactly right. They're bumpy, after all.
The point isn't perfect pumpkins. It's a moment of connecting over what makes each of you wonderfully weird.
Next post: Why the science behind bedtime stories will blow your mind (and maybe help you win bedtime battles)...
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