Saturday, September 3, 2016

22 Mini Pumpkin Games

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Mini Pumpkins are simply the cutest vegetable around.  I love growing my own every year. You can use them in many different ways.  My girls love to paint them.  I love to decorate the house with them.  But using them for games is the best.  (You can also substitute real pumpkins for faux pumpkins.)




Here are some fun games to use those Mini Pumpkins:

    1. Mini Pumpkin Hunt: You can hide one or many pumpkins.  It might even be fun to decorate them as a group or family.  You could even have a golden pumpkin for a grand prize.  Reminds me of an Easter Egg Hunt except with mini pumpkins instead of eggs.  Would be super fun to paint them with glow in the dark paint, and search in the dark.
    2. Write different activities on the bottom of your pumpkins.  Have each player pick a pumpkin.  Then, the group must do the activity written on the bottom of the pumpkin.
    3. Mini Pumpkin Head Balance Walk:  Have the group split into two teams.  Each player must successfully walk across the room while balancing a mini pumpkin on their head.  If the Pumpkin falls they must start over.  No hands allowed!  The first team to successfully cross the room wins.
    4. Mini Pumpkin Ring Toss:  Set out several pumpkins.  Toss a ring trying to get it around the mini pumpkin.  You could have a point system if desired or have a prize on the bottom of the pumpkin.
    5. Mini Pumpkin Bowling:  Set up water bottles, toilet paper, paper towel rolls, or cut pieces of wood in a triangle like you would bowling pins.  Decorate the pins for more fun.  Use the mini Pumpkin as the bowling ball.
    6. Tic-Tac-Toe:  You'll need 10 mini pumpkins.  Paint or decorate 5 of the mini pumpkins the same and leave the others orange to use as the games pieces.  Tape out a large Tic-Tac-Toe Board (#).  Take turns placing pumpkins in each square.  The first player to get three in a row wins.
    7. Hot Pumpkin:  Remove the stem of the mini pumpkin for safety.  Similar to Hot Potato.  Stand in a circle and PRETEND the mini pumpkin is hot.  You must pass the pumpkin or keep bouncing it in the air, because it is too hot to hold.  The first person to drop it or hold it longer than 2 seconds is out.  Play continues until one player is left and declared the winner.  *Don't really use a hot pumpkin or you might get burned.
    8. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Jack-O-Lantern: Similar to Duck, Duck, Goose.  Remove the stem of a mini pumpkin for safety.  Have all players sit in a circle.  The person who is it walks around the circle gently touches everyone's head in order calling them a pumpkin.  Until they pick a player to be the Jack-O-Lantern.  Then, they touch that picked players head and gently drop the pumpkin in their lap calling them a Jack-O-Lantern.  That person must now standup with the mini pumpkin in their hands and chase the player that was it trying to catch them and tag them with the pumpkin before they have ran around the circle.  If the person who was it gets tagged with the pumpkin before they reach the Jack-O-Lantern's seat, they must be it again.  However, if the player reached the Jack-O-Lantern's seat, the Jack-O-Lantern is now it.  I always tell my kids to pick someone who hasn't had a turn yet, to ensure everyone gets  turn.
    9. Mini Pumpkin Relay Race:  Divide the group into two teams.  Then, split the team in two, and have them stand across the room from each other.  Give each team a broom and a mini pumpkin.  They must roll the pumpkin across the room to their other teammates using only the broom.  Once they get to the other side, that team member rolls it back to the other side of team members.  The first group to have all team members cross the room wins.
    10. Pass the Mini Pumpkin:  Split the group into two teams.  Have each team stand in a straight row. Hand each team a pumpkin.  Have them race passing the pumpkin down to the end and back.  the team that gets their pumpkin all the way back first wins.
    11. Turkey Neck Mini Pumpkin Pass:  You'll need two mini pumpkins with their stems removed for safety. Divide the group into two teams.  Have each team stand in a straight row.  Place a mini pumpkin under the first person's chin.  They must pass it to the next person in line using only their neck, chin, and chest.  The next person in line must take to pumpkin under their chin using only their neck, chin, and chest.  Continue passing the pumpkin until it is passed to the end of the line.  The first team to successfully complete this wins.
    12. Bob for Mini Pumpkins:  Similar to bobbing for apples.  Remove stems from the pumpkins for safety. Fill a large tub or pool full of water, place a bunch of stemless mini pumpkins in the water.  They should float.  Optional: Tie players hands before their back.  Using only your mouth try to get the mini pumpkins in your mouth and pull them out of the water.  Time each person.  The person with the shortest time wins.  For smaller children you could use a butterfly net or tongs.
    13. Stack-O-Pumpkin:  Remove the pumpkin stems.  Place about ten or more pumpkins on a table.  Have each player see how many they can stack in one minute.  They player with the most stacked mini pumpkins in one minute wins.
    14. Truth or Pumpkin:  Similar to Truth or Dare.  Write age appropriate dares on the bottom of Mini Pumpkins. Players must submit to answering a truth question or pick a Dare Pumpkin. If a Dare Pumpkin is picked the player must now preform the dare or be out of the game.  Play continues until there is only one player left.  I always like to set age appropriate rules for questions and dares.
    15. HOT or COLD:  Have on player leave the room.  Hide the mini pumpkin.  Have the player that left the room return.  That player must now try and find the mini pumpkin.  The rest of the group must say warm, warmer, hot, hot hot, on fire when the player walks close or cold, colder, freezing when the player walks further away from the mini pumpkin.
    16. Pumpkin, Pumpkin: Similar to Button, Button Whos Got the Button. Have players sit in a circle with their hands out and their eyes closed.  The person who is it takes the mini pumpkin and goes around the circle putting the mini pumpkin in everybody else's hands one by one. In one person's hands they drop the mini pumpkin I places it quietly behind their back.  The person who is it continues to put their fist gently in the others' hands so that no one knows where the pumpkin is except for the person who is it and the person they dropped the mini pumpkin in their hands. After the person who is it makes it around the entire circle they say "Pumpkin, Pumpkin, who's got the Pumpkin?" Each child gets one guess.  They raise their hands to be called on.  If they are right they get to be it, and the game starts over.
    17. Pumpkin Pond Game:  Similar to the duck pond game.  Write different prizes on the bottom of enough mini pumpkins as prizes.  Then give each child a butterfly net.  They must catch the pumpkin in the net to get the prize.
    18. Pumpkin Memory Match: Use an even amount of ten or more mini pumpkins.  On the bottoms of the Mini Pumpkins tape, glue, use a sticker, or draw a picture, number, or letter.  You must have a matching pair for each picture, number, or letter.  Place the pumpkins on the floor or table.  Take turns turning over two pumpkins each trying to find the match.  The person with the most matches wins.
    19. Pumpkin Hopscotch:  Use the mini pumpkin to roll or toss onto squared numbers on a hopscotch rug.  Hop through the spaces skipping the space the mini pumpkin landed on.
    20. Pumpkin Distance: Split players in teams of two, remove stem of pumpkin for safety. Have the players form a line facing their partner.  Tell them all to take one step back and gently toss the pumpkin to their partner.  Any team that dropped the pumpkin is out.  Tell them to each take another step backwards and gently toss the pumpkin again.  Any team that didn't successfully catch the pumpkin is out. Continue until one team is left.
    21. Musical Pumpkins: Just like musical chairs, but you use mini pumpkins. In a circle place a mini pumpkin for each player. Remove one mini pumpkin. Start music. The players must walk around the circle until the music stops. When the music stops each player must stop next to the closest pumpkin. The player that didn't get a pumpkin is out. Remove another pumpkin and play continues. Repeat until one player is left and declared the winner.
    22. Mini Pumpkin Cards (Similar to Spoons card game or Musical Chairs):
      Count the number of player
      Place one less stemless mini pumpkin in center of circle then there are number of players
      Shuffle the deck of cards
      Deal out four cards to each player
      The Dealer places the deck of cards to his right
      The Dealer then takes the top card, places it in his hand, then chooses a card to discard.
      The Dealer discards a card quickly to the player on the left.
      The Dealers discard pile becomes the player to his/her lefts deck to draw from.
      Then, the player on the left repeats to the player on his left, and so on until all the player now have a discard pile and a draw pile. 
      Play continues until a player has four of a kind
      At this time the player grabs one of the mini pumpkins
      Once one player grabs a mini pumpkin all players quickly grab a mini pumpkin, one player will not get one and is out for the next round.
      For the next round remove one mini pumpkin and repeat the above steps until only one player remains.


      *These games are only fun if you take all safety precautions, and are gentle with the pumpkins.  You might think about purchasing faux pumpkins for repeated use and added safety.


      We'd love to hear how your Mini Pumpkin Games went or any ideas you have.


If you liked these games, you might also like:
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We'd love to here how your games went, leave us a comment!


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