Pumpkin lanterns

I'm rather fond of pumpkins (I think its partly their colour - I love autumnal colours). We don't celebrate halloween as a family, so we don't have a traditional 'jack 'o' lantern . However we often have a light party at our church - an alternative to halloween without all the witches and ghosts, but with lots of fun and games based on light. So I thought, why not have an alternative lantern. Here's this years lantern, partly inspired by this really cool Montessori style pumpkin by Taming the Goblin.

I had originally planned  to do a floral design but my patience (and the size of the pumpkin) meant I went for something more stylized. I used an apple corer to make the big holes and a kebab stick to do the smaller ones. It was great for talking about shapes (circles) with 'The Fairy'.

Cutting (thanks Papa!)

Scooping (perfect job for small hands)

The finished lantern. 'The Frog' was fascinated by the light and kept pointing at it. It would make a great centre piece for a harvest festival or bonfire party. Please remember not to leave any naked flames unattended as they pose a fire risk.

Now we have a cupful of pumpkin seeds to do something with.... what do you do with pumpkin seeds?