HomeRecipesHome DecorDIY and CraftsHolidays and GiftsNatural Remedies All blogs

Holidays and Gifts

24 Pumpkin Decorating Contest Ideas That Win

Pumpkin decorating contest ideas that win, 24 no carve and carved designs with how to steps, from food pumpkins to book characters, plus judging tips and FAQ.

By Jen · Published

Save to Pinterest
Prefer us on Google
24 Pumpkin Decorating Contest Ideas That Win
Save

The best pumpkin decorating contest ideas make people stop and smile. They have a clear idea, a bright finish and a little story, and they do not need to be carved.

Below are 24 pumpkin decorating contest ideas, from food pumpkins and book characters to a lit diorama. Each one says what makes it a winner and how to make it.

After the list you will find a short set of judging tips and a quick FAQ. If you want more designs to paint, see our pumpkin painting ideas, and for carved entries try our pumpkin carving ideas.

1. Cheeseburger pumpkin

A pumpkin decorated like a cheeseburger with a seeded top bun, lettuce and cheeseSave

Credit: Lady Decluttered

A pumpkin that looks like a burger gets a laugh from every judge. The top is the bun with sesame seeds, and the lettuce and cheese sit right where the pumpkin naturally splits.

Paint the top half a toasted brown and glue on seeds or small beads for the sesame. Cut the lettuce and cheese from felt or craft foam, then slide them into a shallow slit around the middle.

2. Popcorn tub pumpkin

A pumpkin painted with pink and white stripes like a movie popcorn tub with popcorn piled on topSave

Credit: Aww Sam

A pink and white striped pumpkin becomes a movie theater tub, and the popcorn on top makes it look real. It is bright and cheerful, which helps it stand out on a crowded table.

Paint the stripes with painter’s tape for clean lines, then add a red label with the word popcorn. Hot glue real popped corn, or paint foam pieces yellow, in a heap on the stem end.

3. Ice cream cone pumpkin

Two white and mint green pumpkins painted like ice cream scoops with sprinkles stacked on a waffle coneSave

Credit: Aww Sam

Stack two small pumpkins on a cone and you have an ice cream scoop that never melts. Sprinkles and chocolate chips make the paint job look like a treat.

Paint the scoops in two flavors, then dot on sprinkles with a cotton swab dipped in paint. Make the cone from a sugar cone or a rolled piece of tan card stock and glue it under the top pumpkin.

4. Snow cone pumpkins

Two pumpkins painted in red, yellow and blue gradients like snow cones sitting in white paper conesSave

Credit: Country Living

A snow cone pumpkin turns a plain round pumpkin into a summer treat in the middle of fall. The rainbow gradient is the part judges remember.

Paint the pumpkin with a base of white, then blend two or three colors while the paint is wet. Set it in a white paper cone and brush a little glue and clear glitter on top for the icy shine.

5. Caramel apple pumpkin

A pumpkin painted like a caramel apple with green on top, caramel drips, sprinkles and a wooden stick with an orange ribbonSave

Credit: Lady Decluttered

This one looks like the caramel apple you would see at a fall fair. A stick through the top and a bow make it read right away.

Paint the top green and the bottom caramel brown, then add a dripping edge with a thick brush. Press on real sprinkles while the paint is still tacky and push a wooden dowel into the stem.

6. Fruit stand pumpkins

Small pumpkins painted as a yellow pineapple, a sliced orange and a red strawberrySave

Credit: Style Me Pretty

A trio of small pumpkins painted as a pineapple, an orange slice and a strawberry makes a cheerful group. Judges like a set because it shows more of your skill.

Use a yellow pumpkin for the pineapple and draw the diamond pattern with a black marker. Cut the leaves from green craft foam and glue them onto the stems and tops.

7. Cactus pumpkins

Green painted pumpkins decorated as cacti with white stitch marks and small flowers on topSave

Credit: Aww Sam

Green cactus pumpkins with tiny flowers are different from the usual orange, which is a plus in a contest. They also look sweet in a southwest or desert themed display.

Paint the pumpkins a bright cactus green and add white x marks as the spines. Glue a small paper or felt flower to the top and set the group in a tiny pot or on a bed of sand.

8. Spa day pumpkin

A teal painted pumpkin with cucumber slices over its eyes and a towel wrapped on its head like a face mask spa daySave

Credit: Good Housekeeping

A pumpkin in a face mask and a towel wrap is funny and easy to do. It tells a little story, and stories win contests.

Paint the face teal, leave the eyes closed with simple curved lines and glue on two cucumber slices cut from craft foam. Wrap a small white towel or piece of fabric around the top as the turban.

9. Fawn pumpkin

A white and orange pumpkin painted as a baby deer with felt ears, a pink nose and a crown of berriesSave

Credit: Mom Ooze

A baby deer with a flower crown is sweet and very easy for the eye to read. It is a good pick for a school or kids contest.

Paint the face orange with a white muzzle, then add a black nose and big dark eyes. Glue on felt ears and tuck in faux berries or flowers between them for the crown.

10. Unicorn pumpkin

A white pumpkin with a gold horn, glittery ears, closed eyelashes, gold stars and a crown of paper flowersSave

Credit: Love Coco and Bean

A white pumpkin with a gold horn and a flower crown is one of the most popular designs for a reason. The lashes and stars finish it off.

Paint the pumpkin white, then cut lashes from black felt and glue them on. Make the horn from a cone of gold paper or craft foam and surround it with silk flowers.

11. Hot air balloon pumpkin

A pumpkin painted with orange and white diamond pattern as a hot air balloon over a basket full of candySave

Credit: Project Kid

A hot air balloon pumpkin lifts the whole design off the table. The basket underneath can hold candy, which kids love.

Paint the diamond pattern and add a trim of green around the lower edge. Attach the pumpkin to thin dowels or sturdy sticks rising from a small basket so it floats above it.

12. UFO pumpkin

A silver pumpkin set in the middle of a round flying saucer with a ramp and a sign reading unidentified flying pumpkinSave

Credit: Flickr

A flying saucer pumpkin has a funny sign and a ramp for the aliens, which makes it a story as much as a pumpkin. A good title always helps with the judges.

Paint the pumpkin silver and glue it to the center of a large round plate or cake board turned into a saucer. Add a small ramp from craft sticks and a little sign on a skewer.

13. Camper pumpkin

A turquoise pumpkin painted as a vintage travel trailer with bunting flags, windows and tiny wheels, with miniature chairs next to itSave

Credit: Lady Decluttered

A pumpkin camper with bunting is cute from every angle. Add a tiny table and chairs and the whole scene feels like a campsite.

Paint the pumpkin in a retro color, then add windows and a door with a paint pen. Glue on black wheels cut from craft foam and string a little bunting from the roof.

14. Woodstove fireplace pumpkin

A black painted pumpkin shaped like a wood burning stove with a glowing window and a stovepipe, with birch logs next to itSave

Credit: Country Living

A cast iron stove made from a black pumpkin looks warm and a little funny. A glowing window sells it, especially in a dim room.

Paint the pumpkin matte black and add the window panes with orange and yellow paint. Cut the stovepipe from a dryer vent hose or rolled cardboard and set a few small birch logs beside it.

15. Barn animals pumpkins

A red barn display with pumpkins painted as a sheep, a pig and a chicken behind a white picket fenceSave

Credit: Lady Decluttered

A farm scene with pumpkin animals is perfect for a homestead family. It takes space, so it is a good pick for a porch or a big contest table.

Build the barn from a painted cardboard box with white trim. Paint small pumpkins as the sheep, pig and chicken, add felt ears and set them behind a fence made from craft sticks.

16. Witch’s cauldron pumpkin

A black pumpkin painted as a witch's cauldron with orange flames, green bubbling pom poms and black cat and witch legs sticking outSave

Credit: Lady Decluttered

A bubbling cauldron with witch legs sticking out is classic Halloween. The green pom poms give it texture that photographs well.

Paint the pumpkin black and add flames along the bottom. Glue green pom poms around the top for the bubbles and stand cat and witch legs cut from craft foam in the middle.

17. Pumpkin diorama

A carved pumpkin lit from inside with a tiny table, chairs and candles in a miniature roomSave

Credit: Glaminati

A tiny room inside a carved pumpkin is the one to beat. Judges lean in to look, and a lit scene looks amazing in a dark room.

Cut a large opening in the front, scoop it clean and add a battery tea light or two. Furnish it with doll house chairs, a small table and little candles made from battery lights.

18. Apple core pumpkin

A pumpkin carved and painted to look like a half eaten red apple core with brown seeds and a green leafSave

Credit: One Little Project

A pumpkin that looks like a bitten apple is clever and a little silly. The cream colored inside shows the pumpkin itself, so it feels carved with care.

Carve away the top and bottom to leave the narrow core in the middle, and paint the outside red. Add dark seeds with a marker and a leaf at the stem.

19. Dragons Love Tacos pumpkin

A red pumpkin turned into a dragon with cardboard arms, tail and a head holding tiny taco cutouts, next to the book Dragons Love TacosSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

Book character pumpkins are a huge hit at school and library contests. A red pumpkin with cardboard arms, a tail and tiny tacos turns the book into something you can see across a room.

Cut the dragon’s neck, tail and arms from cardboard and paint them red. Glue each to a craft stick and slide the sticks into small slits in the pumpkin, then add taco shapes cut from card stock.

20. Piggie and Elephant pumpkins

A pink pumpkin with pig ears and a gray pumpkin with elephant ears and glasses next to an open picture bookSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

Pairing two pumpkins as book friends is easy to follow and very sweet. Set them next to the open book so the judges know the story.

Paint one pumpkin pink and one gray, then add ears cut from card stock or craft foam. Draw the faces with paint markers and add a pair of cardboard glasses for the elephant.

21. Gustavo the shy ghost pumpkin

A pumpkin draped in a white cloth like a ghost with black eyes, pink cheeks and a smile next to the book Gustavo the Shy GhostSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

A pumpkin dressed as a ghost with a white cloth is the simplest book character you can make. The smiling face and pink cheeks give it personality.

Drape an old white t shirt or a square of fabric over a white pumpkin and arrange the folds. Cut the face from black felt and add pink felt cheeks, then glue them on.

22. Gold thumbtack pumpkin

A faux pumpkin covered entirely in gold thumbtacks that look like shining scalesSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

Thousands of gold thumbtacks make a pumpkin look like a gold treasure. It is dramatic and uses a supply that you already have in a drawer.

Use a faux pumpkin, because a real one would spoil and the pins would fall out. Press the tacks in rows from the bottom up, overlapping each one slightly like fish scales.

23. String art pumpkin

An orange pumpkin with a white heart made from string wrapped around small nailsSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

A string art heart is clean, graphic and different from paint. It would stand out in a table of colored pumpkins.

Draw a heart in pencil, then tap small nails along the line with a hammer, spacing them evenly. Wrap white string from nail to nail in a crisscross pattern, and tie it off at the end.

24. Gold doily pumpkin

An orange pumpkin with a gold lace doily glued over the bottom halfSave

Credit: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

A gold doily glued across the lower half makes a pumpkin look elegant. It takes almost no time, so it is a good choice for a last minute entry.

Spray a paper doily with gold paint and let it dry fully. Brush a thin layer of decoupage glue on the pumpkin, press the doily on and seal it with another light coat.

Pumpkin decorating contest ideas, how to win

  1. Pick one clear idea that people understand in a second, like a food, an animal or a book character.
  2. Choose bright, high contrast colors so your pumpkin shows from across the room.
  3. Add one surprise, such as a lit window, a moving part or a funny sign.
  4. Check the rules for size, real versus faux pumpkins and whether you may use stands or props.
  5. Seal painted pumpkins with a clear spray and keep them out of rain and direct sun.

If you are decorating your porch too, our Christmas door decorating ideas show how to carry a theme through your entry.

FAQ

Quick answers for first time contest entries.

Should I use a real or a faux pumpkin?

Real pumpkins look the most natural, but a faux pumpkin lasts and takes paint, glue and pins well. For a contest that runs a few days, either one works, and faux is safer for heavy decorations.

How do I keep a painted pumpkin from spoiling?

Wipe it clean, paint it, seal it with a clear spray and keep it cool and dry. Do not carve a pumpkin more than a day or two before the judging.

What are good no carve pumpkin contest ideas for kids?

Paint animals, use felt ears and stickers, or turn a pumpkin into a favorite book character. These need no knife and are quick enough for small hands.

More ideas you may like

Ideas Save