Our first part of my Halloween Tree are, naturally, the jack-o’-lanterns. In the story, the lanterns represent all the people living in the world and as they conclude their festivities for the Halloween evening, the light in their lantern on the Halloween tree goes out. On my Halloween tree, I’m bringing down that scale to just representing the people living in our home.

https://youtu.be/uSBzAPD2j7I

Initially, I had planned to make the lanterns completely from scratch and get really detailed with their faces, but when I discovered the perfect paper maché pumpkins at Joann’s, I decided that I didn’t need to be that crazy. I kept it simple and just cut a small hole at the top to insert the light and hook for them to hang from the tree from and painted them in orange paint. Luckily for me, the material they were made from gave each pumpkin enough of it’s own unique look that I didn’t have to get too crazy detailed at all with the paint.

Interested in making these on your own? Here’s what I used and where I found it:

Materials List

• Paper maché pumpkins
  Sold in pack of 4 at Joann’s Fabrics & Crafts (originally $6.99, got on sale for $2.49)
• Pumpkin Orange acrylic paint
  From Joann’s Fabrics & Crafts
• Glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint
  From Joann’s Fabrics & Crafts
• Balloon lights
  Purchased off Amazon for another project made 3 years ago.
• X-acto knife
• Wire or earring hooks to hang lanterns

These were very fun to make and add a little more personal touch to the tree although my hubby thought they were bought pre-made when he saw it all assembled, even though he was with me when I bought the materials. XD

I’m debating over putting the names of those who live with us on the pumpkins to make them more individualized, but I’m loving how they look right now, so I’ve just been focusing on keeping it simple. If you have any thoughts or ideas on how to individualize each pumpkin, please feel free to share in the comments below!

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What stereotypical Halloween tradition do you celebrate?