25 Outdoor Pumpkin Decorations To Try This Halloween

If you love carving pumpkins, this is an outdoor pumpkin decoration you'll appreciate—especially if you have lots of time to spare ahead of Halloween. Once you're done carving your collection, swath all of the pumpkins in a fresh (and ghostly) coat of white paint.

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Did you know that there are more than 150 different varieties of pumpkins? Honestly, neither did we. So this year, skip the traditional orange ones—or Captain Jack pumpkins, if we want to get technical—and go for a few different, lesser-known ones like a round Curcubita winter squash. Get a few or stick with one and place it beside a rustic bucket of fall-fresh petals.

Even though it looks like the moss and succulents are spilling out of this pumpkin, they're actually just carefully arranged and glued on top. All you have to do is remove the stem and get artistic. Peep the full tutorial at Simple Happenstance.

This is an easy one with a high return (aesthetically, of course). Just get a few mini pumpkins, paint brushes, decoupage glue (such as Mod Podge), and your favorite fall-centric motif in paper form. Lay the paper down, then brush the decoupage glue on top. Voilà. Get the full tutorial on Cathie Filian's Homemade Happy.

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This may look like it would take a few hours, but it's shockingly easy and fast. All you have to do is hollow out the front of your pumpkin and nab a few pieces of miniature furniture (you might want to order a dining set from a dollhouse boutique). Place the furniture on the floor of the pumpkin, and attach a string of micro lights. That's it!

Get three similarly sized pumpkins from the patch (or hardware store). Next, carve mouth holes (with teeth!) and eye holes for miniature pumpkins. Finally, attach skeleton arms to the sides of the pumpkins, and cover their ears, eyes, and mouth to re-create the iconic "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" saying.

If you know your way around a palette, paint your pumpkins in charming (as opposed to scary) patterns and arrange them on your front porch. Checkered designs always work.

How could we not include these hilarious pumpkins that have both faces and hair? Full disclosure: Creating this scene takes a while, so this is not a project you'll want to save for the last minute. Start by carving the top of the pumpkin and scooping out all the seeds as you normally would. Next, paint faces on the front of the pumpkins with acrylic paint. Finally, fill the pumpkin with rocks and sand, and plant your succulents.

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If you're looking at what's perhaps the world's most beautiful pumpkin arch and thinking it's impossible to re-create, hear us out: It's made entirely of styrofoam pumpkins (34 to be exact). You'll need spray paint and a PVC pipe connector among other materials, so if you're in the mood to make this dreamy entrance, see the full tutorial at The House That Lars Built.

This is a simple one. Just get pumpkins, paper, and felt. Go the really easy route and make an animal that's naturally orange (like this fox) or go the extra mile and paint your pumpkin to create a more realistic situation. Hot glue (or super glue) the paper and felt onto the pumpkin and set it outside. We recommend keeping it in a covered area.

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Another painted option for the artistically inclined, paint your pumpkin white, cover it in a pattern, and top it off with a velvet bow. Feel free to use any motif you like best.

Another easy one? These glitter pumpkins. Paint them any color you like and, while the paint is still wet, cover them in glitter. It gives them a spooky feel that skews glamorous.

If you want to create an elegant, more sophisticated pumpkin setup on your stoop than the traditional Halloween decorations, go for something like this. Pay your local flower shop a visit and score a few pots of orange and red flowers. Arrange them on your steps and place a few pumpkins of various sizes beside them. Groups of odd numbers always look good.

This house-shaped pumpkin may be the centerpiece of a Hall0ween-themed tablescape, but it can go outside too. Cut off the top and scoop out all of the insides, then carve two windows and a door. Finally, put a candle inside to light it up.

There's no reason to leave traditional jack-o'-lanterns off the list. Get a few pumpkins and carve them into proper jack-o'-lanterns complete with a candle inside.

If you're the type of person who breaks out the pumpkins at midnight on October 1, you already know that the pumpkins you use at the beginning of the month will start to get, well, gross, by the end, but that's no reason to toss them out. Just stick them on your fence to scare the neighborhood kids instead.

You may need a stencil for this design, which looks best when it's done with attention to detail. (A power drill can help.) Once you carve the design, pop in a lit candle and enjoy the orange glow.

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These pumpkins, whose heads are carved and lit, may look like they're neatly stacked atop one another, but they're all secured on stakes. Make as many or as few as you want and arrange them by the front door or in a flower bed.

Can we even call this a scarecrow? It's doing a lot more than freaking out local birds. Pick a few clothes you don't care about, stuff them with straw, and pop on a jack-o'-lantern head. If you have a bench, let your scarecrow take a seat. Otherwise, he can lounge on the front porch or sit on the steps.

If you want to go the classic route, consider a traditional scarecrow that's stuck in the ground. Peep the tutorial on The Home Depot.