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We all know it is the season of the pumpkin! (it’s not like you could miss it!) and they are everywhere this time of year, but what can you do with them exactly?

I don’t know about you but sometimes it fills me with dread thinking about ways to be inventive with the pumpkins each year so I thought I would write a list of my favorites so that you don’t have too! The best part about it is that there is nothing going to waste with these so you won’t end up throwing away a lot of pumpkin guts this year!!

Carve Faces

This one is pretty obvious, you can carve pumpkins to make them look like they have faces! You can get creative and give them all kinds of goofy, crazy, or even scary expressions. Check out this simple step-by-step guide (including some free printable templates) for carving your pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. Put candles or battery powered tea lights into the pumpkin and they will glow at night. In the UK putting them on your doorstep is a sign that you are in for trick or treaters.

Cook With Them

Everyone forgets at this time of year that pumpkins are actually edible which means that you shouldn’t waste all the “insides” when you are carving! Here are just two of the ways that you can cook with pumpkins but there are so many options out there!

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Have you ever tasted roasted pumpkin seeds? They are delicious and super easy to make too. Here is how:

1. Cut the top off your pumpkin
2. Scoop out all of the guts and seeds and put them in a bowl
3. Separate the seeds from the guts, put the seeds in a strainer and rinse
4. Coat the seeds with butter and salt
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
6. Spray a baking tray with non-stick spray (or coat with greaseproof paper) and spread the seeds out on it
7. Bake the seeds for about 45 minutes or until golden brown

You can eat these on top of yogurt or just a healthy snack!

Pumpkin Pie

It is definitely the season for pumpkin pie but it is definitely intimidating to make it from scratch (and to be honest I haven’t been that successful at it!) But if you want to give it a go here’s the cheats way of getting it done (shh):

Ingredients:

• Pre-made pie crust (you can get ready to roll which is the easiest)
• 350ml Evaporated Milk
• 2 Eggs (beaten
• 170g Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsb Ground Ginger
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the top off your pumpkin
3. Scoop out all of the guts and seeds and put them in a bowl
4. Separate the seeds from the guts
5. Boil the pumpkin guts until fully cooked
6. In a large bowl, add pumpkin 2 cups of the mashed cooked pumpkin and all of the ingredients above (apart from the crust obviously)
7. Use an electric mixer and mix until a smooth consistency.
8. Line a pie dish with the crust and then pour the smooth mixture on top
9. Bake for 40 minutes and test when it is done by poking a fork in the middle (when it comes out clean it is cooked!

Turn them into art

If you don’t like carving the pumpkin you can use acrylic paint to decorate your them with all kinds of spooky designs to adorn your front porch. Some choose chic designs and others try cute pictures, the Disney no carve pumpkin ideas are my favorite, like this Cinderella pumpkin idea from Sister Suitcase Blog:

Make it a Centerpiece

There are so many fall decor ideas out there and it makes sense to incorporate the pumpkin! If you are having guests during the fall season (or maybe even a Halloween party?) then use the smaller pumpkins as a fall bouquet for centerpieces for the table. For larger pumpkins you can incorporate them into the current decorations or make them candle holders, like these from Twig and Thistle:

Here are 8 centerpiece ideas you might like.

Pumpkin Games

We are definitely a family of fun and competition! Why not mix up the Baby Bowling with this fall special?! Just cut the stem off the pumpkin to round it off, find 10 empty bottles and have fun bowling. Just a note: make sure you do it on a hard floor or surface so it is easier to clean up!! You can also choose to have other pumpkin games or competitions, like the best face or idea or even a pumpkin eating contest! (although not sure we would do that one!)

Ultimately, it is important to use the whole pumpkin, even if it means you are making pumpkin pies for days. You can donate them to a homeless shelter or take them into work and charge per slice for charity but don’t let them go to waste and throw them away! What do you do with your pumpkins?