This Halloween is different that the Halloweens of years past. It marks the first time in six years we’re actually consciously decorating for the holiday, and I say consciously because the great spider infestation of 2010 took care of a lot of that for us with little to know effort on our part.

The thing is, we have a parenting strategy that basically has us running around putting out fires all day, leaving only small amounts of down time in which we can phone in all the other crap. Like baking non refrigerated cubes of cookies and making the house appear festive on the holidays.

But the thing is, our kids are starting to make memories and the cognitive ability to call us out on our shit. We had a good run, Andy and I, but the vacation is over, and we’re going to have to take this family shit to the next level.

Decorating for Halloween has actually been a really fun experience for me, as it’s my favorite Holiday. I blame the cool weather, candy corn and my desire to be Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic.

The kids have been really excited to decorate pumpkins, but you and I both know that carving a pumpkin this early means a fruit fly infested rotting corpse on your front porch in two weeks time.

So, I decided to take another approach…glitter. Even though I would rather spend an afternoon listening to Avril Lavigne read me Eat, Pray, Love than fish a piece of glitter out of my contact lens, it was worth it….for the kids.

Glitter Pumpkins Two Ways

Here’s what you’ll need:
Pumpkins (We used real ones.)
Spray Adhesive
Craft Glue
Glitter
Small Paint Brushes

The first pumpkin we made was an all over glitter fest. Take the pumpkin outside, coat with a layer of spray adhesive, and then begin the glitter assault. Gigi used a mix of purple and then pink glitter, because it adds more dimension.

TIP: Another reason to save those stupid clothing boxes from Christmas. Use half of them as a tray for crafts. Glitter, play dough, paint… they catch it all and prevent a mess. Gigi is glittering in the bottom half of an Ikea lamp box. We’re basically saving the planet with our art.

I decided to take a different approach with my pumpkin, and paint on glue to create a swirly design.

I used the bottle of craft glue to outline my design with a thin line of glue.

Then I used a paint brush to begin filling in the shape with extra glue and commenced glitter time.

The end result are some really cool pumpkins that cost way less to make than buying those already decorated fake ones, plus it keeps your kids occupied for at least two glasses of wine, depending on how fast you drink.

 

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