How to Decorate with Mini Pumpkins

By Sara Diekelmann
Updated August 19, 2020

Don’t let big carved pumpkins have all the fall decor fun. Create easy, inexpensive autumn displays with miniature varieties.

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Setting the season

Vibrant dahlias in carved-out mini pumpkins delight at place settings. We used a candle carver-a small tool that removes candle-size chunks from fruits and veggies. Insert a votive holder as the "vase" for water and blooms.

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Fall in a jar

Create a pretty fall scene with a terrarium, bell jar or glass cake cover. Here, a bell jar on top of a shallow terra-cotta bulb dish spotlights mini pumpkins and a sprig of oak leaves on a bed of moss.

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Simple does it

Grab a few serving pieces from the kitchen to create a coffee table arrangement. Layer dishes; then top with gourds in different hues. A single candle and bittersweet tie it all together.

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Lots of pots

Place a few pumpkins in small terra-cotta pots for a casual fall arrangement. Burgundy dahlias bring rich color.

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Circle of gourds

Fashion a fall wreath using mini pumpkins, gourds and faux leaves. Start with a straw wreath form. Tap a nail into each pumpkin and gourd to create a small hole. Remove the nail and insert a toothpick into each hole; coat other end of the toothpick with hot glue and insert it into the wreath form. Fill empty spaces with hot-glued silk leaves.

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Bountiful bowl

A mix of small pumpkins, gourds and fall leaves turns a basic wooden bowl into a colorful autumnal display on these wire shelves.

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Raise your pumpkins

Elevate mini pumpkins on candleholders of different heights for an elegant tabletop arrangement. These candleholders were spray-painted black to unify the display.

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Touch of fall

Stack small gourds inside an apothecary jar for a touch-of-fall tabletop display. Add color and texture with red or green leaves. Pair with a jar of dried hydrangea blooms.

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Two's company

For a small tabletop accent, pair two pumpkins but elevate one of them in a bowl or footed compote. A sprig of bittersweet and big leaf finish the minimalistic arrangement.

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Fall filler

A few pumpkins at the bottom of a clear vase give an arrangement of branches seasonal style. (And they'll help anchor the branches.)

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Tiny pumpkin torcheres

With a handful of garden stakes and some simple hardware, you can transform palm-size pumpkins into a bouquet of magical torcheres in minutes. See our short video on how to make tiny pumpkin torcheres

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Festive place card

Instead of using traditional place cards, scrawl names on cute mini pumpkins for a festive fall dinner party. Pumpkins look rustic and chic on top of orange cloth napkins and accented with a few fall leaves.

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Fruit salad

For a nature-theme centerpiece that celebrates fall's bounty, mix pumpkins, pears and other seasonal fruits on a tray elevated by a birch log.

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Terrarium topper

Use a large or medium pumpkin, like the Cinderella variety shown here, as a terrarium container. Slice off the top of the pumpkin and scoop out seeds. Fill with soil; plant small terrarium plants. Cover exposed soil with moss. Finally, add mini pumpkins, acorns and other gathered accents.

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Light weights

Though little pumpkins don't weigh much, they will help keep an outdoor tablecloth in place. Add grommets to tablecloth corners and tie on pumpkins with string or twine.

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Container color

Add minis at the base of a fall container garden. They instantly bring seasonal color to a tall arrangement highlighted with purple fountain grass.

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Window dressing

An assortment of mini pumpkins and fresh fall leaves creates a pretty fall window swag.

Knot your fall bounty on a length of rustic twine, and swag across your panes to frame a pretty fall view.

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Nesting time

A single mini white pumpkin nestled in a faux birds' nest and surrounded by viburnum leaves and berries makes a pretty seasonal centerpiece. Accent with a tiny bird from a crafts store to complete the look.

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Light up the night

For fall ambience in the evening, make mini pumpkin lanterns. Carve out pumpkin tops so votive holders fit inside. Display each in a wire jar holder.

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Flower power

Turn a mini pumpkin into a vase. Carve a hole in the pumpkin's top to fit a votive holder. Fill with water. A tight bunch of mums looks seasonally sweet.

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Hanging around

To make a tabletop tree, place three or four sturdy sticks inside a cylinder vase. Fill the vase with birdseed to secure the sticks. To tie petite pumpkins to the tree, drill a little hole in each stem and tie on fishing line or string.

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Wire basket display

For a seasonal outdoor display, line the lower half of a wire basket with moss sheets and fill with soil. Add plants, like the clematis vine shown, for a pop of green. Top with a group of small orange pumpkins.

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Table runner trio

Creating a fall dinner table display can be quick and easy. Just weave a satin ribbon between three mini gourds and top with bittersweet. Presto, you're done!

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By Sara Diekelmann