After the week I had, I just needed some good old-fashioned family fun. I have been itching to paint pumpkins since the first day of October. I know I live in a place where it’s Summer all year round but of all the seasons, Fall may just be my favorite. The leaves change, the air gets cooler (but not frigid), pumpkin-flavored everything hits the market and there is a major countdown to all the best holidays. My favorite part is having so many fun family activities to do.
I wish I had taken video of the kids’ faces when they realized that we were painting pumpkins. They love messy projects so the dimples were out in full force once the paint brushes came out. I have never painted or carved pumpkins, you guys, so I had no idea what I was doing but I did know that having a base would probably be helpful. We had some silver metallic spray paint (with primer) leftover from another project so we quickly gave the pumpkins one coat. To be honest, they looked really good silver and made me consider scrapping this project altogether to use them as home decor. But I’m a sucker for experiences and I knew the kiddos would have more fun with palettes and brushes. Next year, when you see metallic pumpkins on my mantle, just know where the idea started.
We grabbed our favorite tempura paints, plastic paint palettes and cheap fabric drop cloth (I don’t take chances with my table). When I first started painting with the kids, I realized how scared they were to make mistakes. It’s been fun to see them worry less about what other people think (yes, that includes me too) and just jump into creating whatever feels right. Jax is more of a planner and likes to have an idea first while Eden already has paint on her pumpkin before she knows what she’s doing. I’m learning to appreciate both approaches over time as it’s really about them learning to trust themselves.
These are the moments I live for. I’m already counting down to whatever we do next. What fun activities are you looking forward to this time of the year?
