Pumpkin Faces with Oranges and Cloves

Did you ever make an orange studded with cloves for Christmas when you were little? We did. They’re called pomanders. Oranges and cloves might be two of my favorite smells in the world. When my boys started asking to carve our pumpkins, I kept telling them it was too early. Too many years we cut into the pumpkins, making adorably spooky faces, only to find them all moldy and gross before Halloween. So in order to have them feel like we were decorating, we made pumpkin faces with oranges and cloves.

Updated October, 2018

Cute, right?! And stupid easy. Since Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, I have a hard time spending money on decorations. These oranges studded with cloves, are a fun activity you can do each year with the kids. And not have to store them… BOOM!

Pumpkin Oranges are Awesome

You might need to help your kids push the cloves in through the tough skin of the orange. Or, have them use a toothpick to plan out their face idea and make it easier for the cloves to go in.

I love that these pumpkin faces out of oranges are a non-scary Halloween decoration and craft in one. With two boys, I’m constantly fighting for non-gory decorations.

And the kitchen smells amazing when you are done. I will let you know that when we made these when my kids were little (like 5 and 6 years old), they lasted all of 5 minutes before they were destroyed.  They have some sort of inner driving force that prompts them to take apart anything they just finished making.

Don’t want faces?  You can create any kind of pattern or polka dot look from the cloves too. Oranges and cloves are very versatile.

For some reason, I decided to google and see if anyone else had already done this craft AFTER I did it (duh). And, of course, there are others.  Check them out for more inspiration here and here.