DIY Pumpkin Lanterns

Well, of course we have to do the classic Jack-o-lantern with the kids! But I was inspired to try something new to add to the pretty on the porch! I’ve seen these types of “pumpkin lanterns” on Pinterest, and to be honest, I thought it’d be fun to try and use the drill! They turned out alright for my first try though I’ll give some tips on what I would have done differently if you want to try it this weekend!

I had a helper who was eager to scoop the guts so that was all good by me! I’d always just used a spoon but I picked up a pumpkin scoop from Dollarama for $2.50 this year and what a difference it makes! It has little claws on the end that helps scrape everything out – highly recommend! Griffin scooped while I cut the tops off – good teamwork!

The Cinderella style pumpkins are definitely harder to work with. I think they are a thicker gourd and more dense inside so I used the rose one but the green Cinderella pumpkins I couldn’t even cut the top off of. Don’t recommend trying but if you make it work, let me know!

I didn’t have much of a plan going into this. I think if you wanted to be super particular you could measure it out and mark with a pen to ensure accurate spacing – I kind of just eyeballed it. I used different sized drill bits to create different sized holes and mixed and matched as I went. After seeing them lit up, I do realize there are some that work better than others and that I probably should have spend the time to remove any pumpkin remnants from the holes I’d made as some were more clear than others. There’s so much you can do with different patterns and spacing – I’d love to do a whole slew of theses just to try a few fun designs. I tried to do stars on the bigger white one though I’m not sure you can actually make out that they’re supposed to be – ha! The pumpkins were easy to drill through and the drill was easy to manage. All in all a fun little project!

As you pull the drill out, it pulls out all the pumpkin you just pushed through so they needed a wipe down afterwards. I just used a damp paper towel to clean them all up before we moved them outside.

I put a tea light in each one and arranged them on one side of the stairs. We still need to do a few pumpkins with the kids and we aren’t trick-or-treating this year so I’ll probably bring them inside for Halloween and light them for the kids to do a candy scavenger hunt inside with! They are excited about that! Here is the finished product – I love them lit up with our existing lantern!

Here’s the finished product! What do you think?! I think it’s a fun way to change things up! I only did 4 pumpkins but would look really beautiful to do quite a few on the porch. Will attempt again next year I think! Let me know if you try a few this weekend too! I’d love to see your finished product!

Xo, Jodi