DENVER (KDVR) — There is so much more you can use your pumpkin for other than fall decor.
Here are six ideas for pumpkin-related fun that are more than just setting it on your doorstep after you pick it from the patch.
1. Carve it
Getting the obvious ones out of the way first, pumpkin carving is one of the most popular activities to do with a pumpkin. Emptying the insides and carving out a silly or spooky face adds a personal touch to your doorstep.
2. Paint it
Another common pumpkin practice, if you want to avoid the mess, is to paint your pumpkin. Martha Stewart recommends using acrylic paint on pumpkins because it dries quicker and it’s easier to clean up than oil-based paint.
3. Cook it
Cooking parts of pumpkins is a handy way to reuse them.
Try out one of these ideas:
- Pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin pie
- Roasted pumpkin seeds
- Pumpkin stock
- Pumpkin butter
- Pumpkin bread
Southern Living lists 47 pumpkin recipes you can make, and most of them include an actual pumpkin.
4. Drink it
Sometimes the store-bought pumpkin spice flavor isn’t enough. With some fresh pumpkin puree, you can make your very own pumpkin spice latte. Ambitious Kitchen has a recipe that uses only six ingredients.
5. Plant it
There are two ways you can garden with your pumpkin.
Try using the pumpkin as a planter by cutting the top off and putting a plant inside. Home Depot provides a step-by-step instruction guide for how to make a pumpkin planter.
With a leftover pumpkin, you could also use the seeds to plant more for next year. The Old Famrer’s Almanac gives a rundown of the growing instructions.
6. Wear it
It seems odd, but it’s actually a fall trend. Many people use the insides of a pumpkin as a face mask. Confessions of an Overworked Mom has a recipe with four ingredients or less.
Pumpkins have antioxidants and vitamins A, C and E, which can help with wrinkles, according to the recipe.
Pumpkins are used to decorate houses all through fall. But if you have too many lying around or one of them starts to go bad, try out one of these pumpkin hacks as a way to reuse them and keep the fall season going.
