Carving pumpkins can be messy and dangerous. Here are 10 easy and safer ways to decorate a pumpkin this Halloween that’s perfect for the whole family.

1. Use color duct tape to draw a friendly or spooky skeleton on a white pumpkin.

A orange and white pumpkin surrounded by scissors and rolls of Duck Tape.

2. Cut out a circle and a witch silhouette on the front of a plastic or real pumpkin.

A orange pumpkin decorated with a which silhouette.


3. Or, create a spooky Halloween scene.

An orange pumpkin with a Haunted house decoration on it.


4. Use strips of white duct tape to make a simple mummy.

A pumpkin decorated as a mummy with white Duck Tape

5. Ducklings are perfect for younger kids to use and decorate, like making simple, colorful stripes.

A orange pumpkin with colorful Duck Tape on it.

6. Go with a classic jack-o-lantern look.

A Duck Tape jack-o-lantern

7. Like it more simple? Cover a pumpkin with a solid color and add googly eyes. You can also make a teal pumpkin for those allergy-free trick or treaters.

A pumpkin covered with purple Duck Tape with googly eyes on it.
A pumpkin covered with teal Duck Tape.

8. Metallic duct tape can create a more modern design for your pumpkin. Add confetti to a white pumpkin or a gold and white pattern to a plastic pumpkin to use year after year.

A white pumpkin decorated with gold pieces of Duck Tape in a confetti pattern

9. Decorate your porch or front steps with unique plastic pumpkins that won’t rot or attract unwanted guests.

Two plastic pumpkins decorated as a skeleton and a mummy.

10. Add wings to a smaller pumpkin to make a glow-in-the-dark bat.

A small black pumpkin decorated as a bat with black and green Duck Tape.