It's pumpkin decorating time!!  We certainly can't have a pumpkin decorating time without documenting it!  Halloween in St. Louis also means prepping some great jokes for trick or treating.  If you're not a local St. Louisan, you're probably totally lost right about now.  When our kiddos go trick or treating, they knock on the door of a house, someone answers, you tell them a joke (or occasionally you sing a song or recite a cute Halloween poem you learned in school), and THEN you get your candy.  Basically, you're expected to earn your candy around these parts and I feel like people really get into the spirit of decorating!

Young 4 year old boy looking at pumpkin decorating kit

Two photo collage young girl 6 year old with Halloween shirt smiling at camera and decorating pumpkin Halloween stickers We usually carve our pumpkins and I do enjoy it, but it can definitely be messy and a little questionable in the end.  Having said that, let me tell you a little story.  

Once upon a time at my Grandparent's lake house, my Dad caught this massive catfish.  It was a whole ordeal just reeling that puppy in!  There was lots of yelling from the plethora of children running around amazed at the sight.  My older brothers were grabbing nets, the fishing line was getting stuck, the fish was flopping everywhere.  It was hilarious chaos.  We finally get the fish out of the water and bring it up from the dock and into the kitchen.  The fish is doing lots of heavy breathing because it's literally a fish out of water.  It's on the cutting board sitting on the counter top and my Dad is about to stun it so we can have it for dinner.  With that, he looks up at his 8 kids standing around the counter looking at him in amazement and he says, "Ok, so if we do this, who's eating this catfish for dinner?  Raise your hand."  The room is silent and awkward glances ensue.  NO ONE raises their hand.  It wasn't until that very moment that the realization set in for all of us that this thing was about to become dinner.  None of us actually wanted to eat the dang thing, but we sure did love the excitement surrounding it.  Wanna know what happened to that catfish?  He became a classic catch and release situation just like every other blue gill, sunfish, and large mouth bass we had caught down there over the years.  

Toddler sneaking out front door of house with dad and young girl placing pumpkin on front porch Ok, back to Halloween.  I also usually have fantastic intentions of cooking our pumpkin seeds.  You know what happens to our pumpkin seeds?  They soak in a bowl for an undisclosed amount of time, they get rinsed off, they dry out on a pan for another undisclosed amount of time (ok, in the spirit of honesty, I'll just let you know this is sometimes *weeks*), and what happens after that is anybody's guess.  Sometimes they're forgotten about because they've been put out of the kid's reach.  Out of sight, out of mind!  Sometimes they even make it so far as to be salted and roasted in the oven.  After THAT, they usually make their way to the trash because just like that poor catfish we wound up tossing back in the lake, apparently no one is actually interested in eating the pumpkin seeds either.  

Three photo collage of young boy 4 year old decorating a small pumpkin for Halloween
Young 6 year old girl and young 4 year old boy decorating pumpkins for Halloween at kitchen table

Two photo collage young boy 4 year old putting decorated pumpkin on front porch for Halloween

So now you know why this was a pumpkin decorating instead of a pumpkin carving!  I will say, though, the kids totally loved it!  They had received a bunch of pumpkin decorating items and when I told them they could decorate them any way they wanted, they were ecstatic!    

While the older two decorated pumpkins, our youngest played with the Halloween window clings.  She's currently belly button obsessed so most of the time, she's super proud to show us how she's stuck the pumpkin window cling right on her belly.  The older kids find it hilarious and usually it becomes a game for all of them.

Three photo collage toddler playing with belly button under Halloween shirt sitting next to daddy
 

Young 6 year old girl hanging Halloween window cling next to orange skeleton
Young 6 year old girl, toddler girl, and young 4 year old boy playing with Halloween window clings at sliding door Toddler girl playing with Halloween window cling decor
 

The kids got to put their pumpkins outside wherever they wanted and after a quick inspection by the one year old, we were all set to go!  One of the best parts about this kind of pumpkin decorating is easy clean up not to mention, I don't have to wonder how long it will take me to just throw the damn pumpkin seeds in the trash!  

Three photo collage toddler girl standing at and crawling over front door threshold to get outside
Toddler girl on front porch holding pumpkin window cling decoration
Two photo collage decorate pumpkin and toddler girl reaching to touch Halloween decoration
Young 6 year old girl, toddler girl, and young 4 year old boy standing smiling on front porch with Halloween decor behind them
Of course documenting a session like this means no messy hands for me or any of the kids and I can stand by and let the kids just do their own thing.  I love in home documentary sessions like this because there is very little prep work, the kids get super focused on their creations, and everyone is relaxed!  Are you decorating for any of the upcoming holidays with your family?  Let's document your family traditions with a Holiday Tradition Session!