Make Playdough Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns for Hands-On Halloween Fun

To make your own playdough pumpkin or jack-o-lantern, you’ll need:

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How to Make Playdough Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns – DIY Instructions:

Use our easy step-by-step tutorial to make a cute playdough pumpkin and jack-o-lantern kids’ activity that helps develop fine motor skills and promises hours of squishy fall fun!

Sketch jack-o-lantern features or download & print our templates.

Print out the desired printable jack-o-lantern features onto cereal box sides that have been trimmed to fit your printer (you may want to run a test print through first to make sure your printer can handle the thickness of the box). You can also print onto paper, cut out, and trace onto a cereal box or cardboard.

You don’t have to print our templates – drawing or cutting out imaginative jack-o-lantern features is a great creative exercise for kids all on its own! Sketch out your features and pumpkins onto cereal boxes or scrap cardboard and color or paint.

Cut out the jack-o-lantern features and color.

Use scissors to cut out all of your printable jack-o-lantern features. If you drew your own on the cardboard, you can color or paint them any way you like! Give ample time to dry.

Glue straw knobs to your features.

We added small, trimmed pieces of paper straw to the backs of our features so we could push them into our pumpkins. Use a hot glue gun to add a little dot of glue to the center back of your eyes, mouths, noses, etc., then attach a short length of paper straw to each. Let dry completely before use.

Make the pumpkin playdough and form your pumpkin.

You can use store-bought playdough or make your own using our easy recipe!

Combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar, and pumpkin pie seasoning in a small mixing bowl.

Bring a cup of water to a boil and add the oil and food coloring. Turn the burner down to low and gently stir in the dry ingredients until fully combined and smooth.

Form your playdough into pumpkin shapes. We squished ours into round balls, then used a piece of cardboard to create the ridges on the sides. You can add a paper leaf and twig stem, as we did, too!

Design & play!

That’s all there is to it! You can cut out as many pieces or pumpkin shapes as you like to build your own adorable jack-o-lanterns over and over again. The straw knobs make it easy for little hands to push the features into their playdough and re-arrange for hours of fun!

How to Use Pumpkin Playdough for Fine Motor Skill Activities

These little jack-o-lanterns are a great way to build fine motor skills, and there are so many variations you can quickly create for different kinds of play…

1. Decorate your playdough jack-o-lantern.

Instead of pushing in features to make a face, add some beautiful decoration to your pumpkin by sticking in a few feathers, and pushing in pebbles, gems, or cabochons.

2. Make stacked playdough pumpkin people.

Form a few pumpkins, then stack them like you would a snowman. You can add elements like stick arms, a hat, and more!

3. Make 2D playdough pumpkins.

Instead of 3D pumpkin forms, you can roll out the playdough and use cookie cutters to cut out flat pumpkin shapes. Experiment with adding the cardboard features, using simple tools (like forks or pinecones) to create texture, or add decoration with pom poms, dry beans, cinnamon sticks, pipe cleaners, and other Halloween baubles.

4. Turn your pumpkins into playdough pumpkin pie.

Invite your little ones to use a cutting wedge or kid-safe scissors to cut their 3D playdough pumpkins into slices. Use a rolling pin to roll flat, then grab a small round foil tin or dish and form into a pie. Your kids can practice cutting the pie into slices and “serving” from the tin with a fork, spatula, or small pie server. Top with a cotton ball of “whipped cream”!

5. Form letters or numbers with your pumpkin playdough.

Write a fall or Halloween word on a large piece of paper and have children roll the playdough into long ropes and form them into the letters. This activity can help improve their dexterity and introduce them to letter shapes. Preschoolers can form their playdough letters right over the written word, eventually moving off the paper and forming them without the help of the pre-drawn lines.

More Fall Pumpkin Play for Kids

As the leaves start to fall and pumpkin spice lattes make their triumphant return, it’s time to jump into a pile of seriously fun pumpkin-themed activities for the kiddos...

Give old boxes a new lease on life with a pair of cute recycled pumpkin activities. Grab a leftover box and transform it into a DIY pumpkin shape sorter. Not only does it give your recycling bin a break, it’s also an adorably cute (and seasonally appropriate) way to teach preschoolers about shapes.

For more jack-o-lantern goodness, make a patch of DIY cardboard pumpkins you can use for all kinds of fall learning and play activities.

Little artists can try making apple-stamped pumpkin art. Who knew apples could double as stamps? Dip an apple (or potato, or green pepper) half in paint, stamp it onto paper, and you’re well on your way to a gallery of gourds.

And last but certainly not least, we’ve rounded up our favorite no-carve pumpkins. Let’s face it, carving pumpkins can be a gooey, messy business, and not exactly kiddo-friendly. But who needs a carving knife when you’ve got paint, glitter, and a whole lot of creativity? These no-carve pumpkins are just as cool as traditional jack-o-lanterns (and no pumpkin guts!).

• Mouse mail leaf-cutting practice
• Fall fine motor skill activities
• A free printable leaf scavenger hunt
• Paper bag acorns

Kids’ Halloween Activities

Here for the boos? We have Halloween covered with this adorable free printable Halloween doodle book, some super hip upcycled costume ideas, and even a recipe (and ghost stickers!) for healthy homemade Ecto-Cooler!

In the mood for kid-friendly Halloween tunes that you can craft along to? Fire up our Spotify Halloween playlist!