5 Little Pumpkins

Remember the preschooler Halloween poem Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate?

5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate
The first one says, Oh my! It’s getting late.
The second one says, There are witches in the air.
The third one says, But we don’t care.
The fourth one says, Let’s run and run and run.
The fifth one says I’m ready for some fun.
Then, whoosh went the wind, and out went the light.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

This preschool poem is the inspiration for this Halloween mantel display! The toddlers will, hopefully, love it!

(We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through this link at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website!)

You can find the book, 5 Little Pumpkins on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

The five little pumpkins are made of paper mache. The last two pumpkins were just finished this week. The shortest measures 7″ x 9″ and the tallest stands 14″ x 9.5″. Using different-sized plastic bags, you can create different sizes and shapes of the pumpkins.

Complete directions for making these unique paper mache pumpkins ◄ can be found here. This year, it is so dry, the paper mache dried out quickly overnight. You still have a month before Halloween. That is plenty of time.

**A little tip here, store the paper mache clay in the fridge!  Although it will last outside of the fridge, it may begin to smell.  I found that if you store it covered in the fridge, that smell is eliminated.

If you are not a crafter, you can shop to find alternative pumpkins. If you can find five different pumpkins, carved, paper mache, resin, or ceramic, complete with faces, that would be perfect. A more realistic alternative is to purchase pumpkins at the JOANN Fabric and Craft store and just paint faces on each of them. Choosing different shapes and sizes will make a more interesting display. Of course, you will still want these to be proportionate.

(We are a Joann affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through this link at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website.) Skip the Shipping! Buy Online & Pick Up In-Store at JOANN!

Steps For Creating 5 Little Pumpkins Display

The first step is to place the 5 little pumpkins on the mantel. I began by placing the tallest pumpkin in the middle and the smaller pumpkins on either side.

Looking at these, my thought is that I need to find a moon and something to bring to mind creepy black trees. Black twigs came to mind, or, I have seen black twig trees. Maybe a witch on a broom could be used.

5 Little Pumpkins - Halloween Mantel The Kids Will Love — 5 Little Pumpkins – Placing the pumpkins on the mantel.

Obviously, at this point, a shopping trip is needed. After perusing aisles of Halloween decor at a couple of craft stores, I ended up at JOANN’s. A search for an appropriate moon was in vain. Don’t you hate it when you can’t find what you imagine?

But, in one of the Halloween decor aisles, a black twig wreath caught my eye. It is round like the moon I envisioned and it is made of black twigs. Bonus, it has tiny fairy lights on it. This is the Maker’s Mark Halloween LED Twig Wreath-Black.

Obviously, the wreath needs to be in the center of the display. That means the pumpkins have to be repositioned.

It still needs something… Maybe a couple of crows on either end?

The addition of the crows makes a perfect triangular composition but it still needs something!

Adding Sparkle!

It needs more sparkle. Two mercury candle holders come to mind. Yes, the sparkle is a nice contrast.

What color should the candles be? I considered black but no, that seems to be too much black.

Since the pumpkins are a muted orange, a bright Halloween orange would be too much. Two pillar candles I usually use for Thanksgiving decor came to mind. (Isn’t it great to use things we already have?)

These candles have rawhide string wrapped around them with a brass leaf charm on each of them. This little touch adds interest to otherwise plain candles. It’s such an easy touch to recreate on your own candles.

The crow heads seemed to get lost in the shadows, so, I changed their positions. Now, their heads and beaks contrast against the light color of the columns.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to come up with your own Halloween 5 little pumpkins display! The toddlers will love it! I’ve ordered one of the 5 Little Pumpkins books and can’t wait until Memphis comes over…

Be Social!

Yes, join 49 k + followers on our

Pinterest Boards, where we pin our favorite creative ideas and share ours!

Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, and Facebook so you won’t miss anything! I would love for you to share this post with your friends! They need amazing ideas, too! Pin it! It only takes a second!