For what age range(s) is this celebration most appropriate?
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

This Halloween celebration is:
Fun

This Halloween celebration can be done:
Either indoors or outdoors

This celebration can be done:
At home
With the entire neighborhood
At school or other community facility
With/through a specific organization or group

How much time does it take to prepare for this celebration?
A few hours

How much does this celebration cost?
$1.00 - $25.00

Describe your Halloween celebration idea:
Adjust cost upwards if this is done for a group, and if you are supplying both paint and pumpkins!

Carved Jack-O-Lanterns are great, and Halloween wouldn't be the same without them, but it's also fun to make some longer-lasting pumpkin faces, using brushes and acrylic paint (in a basic palette of colors plus black and white).

What steps should be taken to organize this celebration?
For home, paint as many pumpkins as you care to! For a group, it's perhaps easiest if people are asked to bring their own pumpkin, because it lessens the chances of not having enough. Paint and brushes will serve many; decide how many "stations" you will want to set up, with newspaper on tables, some paper towelling, containers of water (old butter tubs are fine), paint pots, and 1 brush per pot (discourage mixing of colors within the pots).

There are no hard and fast rules about the painting. I like to play around with painting the top part first sometimes, just to get a feel for the brush. Then I blob on a nose, and white eye area. When it comes to punkin' faces, whatever your opinion of the Veggie Tales guys may be, their eyes and noses are about the easiest style to replicate on a pumpkin. Relax, and take bold, silly strokes; no one is being graded on performance. Allow one color to dry before brushing over it/against it, as in painting pupils on eyes, and outlining. This may be easier to do with multiple pumpkins, because you can work on one while the other is drying. Allow more time to fully dry after pumpkins are finished.

Additional comments:
Any ol' craft shop acrylic paints will work OK on a clean pumpkin surface. Wipe pumpkin with a damp cloth prior to painting. Some flaking may occur if the pumpkins are handled much after being decorated; you'll notice that some of the painted pumpkins at the supermarket flake, too, from all the "love" they get. For the price of one pre-painted pumpkin, you can get a nice li'l set of paints, or a few bottles of the stuff at a discount store.

Some kids will even talk to their pumpkins, decide who is the momma, the daddy, and the baby, and make up little stories and plays.

These last longest in a room that's a bit cool. Small pumpkins are generally used because they are easier to cradle in your hands and paint, and also require less paint to look finished. The Jack Be Little pumpkins are perhaps the neatest to paint, after you have practiced on something a bit larger first! Those take a smaller set of brushes, and are easiest to outline with a black permanent marker vs. paintbrush. Utilize the "KISS" principle (keep it simple, silly!) and you'll enjoy the final product more.

Small children can also enjoy painting pumpkins. They may cover the pumpkin with layers of paint (the battleship grey look) or may swipe a smiley face on and leave the table. If the little one is happy with it, fine n' dandy.

If big kids and adults want to spend oodles of time making elaborate designs, it may work best to separate them, or choose a time when little ones are not in on all the action, because it's not worth the inevitable Friction of "you smudged my pumpkin!" I tend to spend about 10-20 minutes on the first one, and streamline them a bit more with each after that.

"Sugar Pumpkins", which are an ideal size for painting, are still OK to microwave and utilize as cooked pumpkin. Cut in half, remove seeds n' the other glop inside, and place on a microwave-safe plate, skin side Up. Microwave until the skin of the pumpkin becomes dark and leathery, and the pumpkin flesh begins to fall away from the skin, fully tenderized. Peel and puree' in a blender or food processor, and use as you would canned pumpkin.

Take Pictures of your child's pumpkin before taking a knife to it and cooking it! You'd be surprised how they'll still feel this way, even when a bit older.

Our school has a pumpkin decorating contest in the school library. It's not really exceedingly competitive; it's mainly for fun. Pumpkins are to be characters from books, movies, or other media, or celebrities. No carving allowed, because pumpkins mold very quickly after that, esp. indoors! The pumpkins are on display for only a few days. Past favorites include Cinderella's coach, and Cat in the Hat (a long, tall, pumpkin with bumps and dimples in all the right places, and toothpick whiskers). My daughter once did a pumpkin for the Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox book, and my son's pumpkin last year was a sort of hang-up scarecrow thang modeled after "The Little Old Lady who Wasn't Afraid of Anything."

If you've got some really talented adult or teen painters, and some donated pumpkins, you might be able to use them as a fundraising item about a week prior to Halloween. After that, the interest probably dwindles, because people have already bought/made decorations. Little ones (and some big people) may have difficulty parting with their pumpkins! Whatever you do with 'em, make it Fun.