Pop the Pumpkin
This craft is an oldie but goody! I remember doing this in school as a child at our fall festivals!
Supplies:
*Large board- We used a foam board but if you have a large cork board- that would be great too! You just have to make sure that tacks will stay whatever surface you choose.
*Orange Balloons (I used twelve inch but I would have liked to find smaller balloons with the small size of my board.)
*Tacks and small ribbon for the backs.
*Green construction paper for the stem of the pumpkin.
*Small candy or even fun confetti if you don’t mind a mess to stuff in the balloons!
*Burlap to cover the board
Step 1: Cover your board with burlap. I just taped mine on the back so it would come off the board easily. I like to recycle craft items whenever I can!
Step 2: Place small pieces of candy in each balloon and blow them up to the desired size. (I used Tootsie Rolls and they fit perfectly!) You CAN put glitter or confetti in the balloons but that will leave a mess. I think I cute idea would be to add confetti to one balloon and make that the big prize balloon! Less clean up and keeps kids playing. If you have young kids I’d skip this step or else you’ll be using the tissue from the Boo Bowling game to wipe some tears!
Step 3: Use tacks to keep the balloons on the board and try to place them in somewhat of a pumpkin shape. This was a challenge on the small board that I used but it looked fine once the stem was in place.
Step 4: Tape your stem in place.
Step 5: I have 2 tacks which I tied ribbon around that the kids will use to pop the balloons. In my opinion, this step is a MUST because you don’t have to be crawling around on your hands and knees trying to make sure kids don’t step on a tack when one of them accidentally drops it!
You now have your board all ready to go! There are a couple of different way to play this game.
Game 1: One way is to do a version of pin the tail on the donkey where you blindfold one child and have them pop the balloon. NOT a good idea for young kids.
Game 2: Another variation is to just give each child a chance to pop one balloon and just let them choose which one they wish to pop.
Game 3: Another fun variation is to put a slip of paper in each balloon that the kids must collect in order to reveal a classroom message. Some examples: “Have a Happy Halloween” or “You must sit at your chairs quietly and wait for your treat.”
Game 4: If you’re feeling adventurous you could even number the pumpkins and pop them in order and each one contains a clue to a scavenger hunt location.
Game 5: You may even want to save this board for the next holiday party because I can see turning this board vertically and making a Christmas tree with green balloons!!
