My youngest ran home from school the other day, thrilled to announce that the neighborhood greenhouse had put pumpkins out for sale. “Where’s my cash?!”

He’s been saving money for a Halloween costume, but who needs a costume when there are pumpkins for sale?

Um, lawwwd. Me.

Jack-O-Lantern carving is one of those traditions I dread. It makes the kitchen messy. The kids start with elaborate plans, draw them, attempt to carve with dull knives, then abandon ship for episodes of Adventuretime, while I’m left digging slimy seeds out of the gut of a gourd. It’s a real blast, I tell ya.

As the son was hunting his pennies, I started brainstorming. There had to be a way to decorate pumpkins without all the muss and fuss.

The answer was in my pantry. A quick and simple approach to decorating we now call Sprinkle Pumpkins.

Start with seriously simple things:

Rainbow sprinkles
Rainbow chip sprinkles
Candy eyes
Mini pumpkins
White Chocolate Chips
Ziptop Baggie

Just microwave the white chocolate in a baggie until melted, snip a teeny tiny corner. Then gather your littles around, and invite them to create.

Pipe the melted white chocolate onto the pumpkin and use it as glue for the candy eyes & sprinkles.

You’d never guess it, but rainbow sprinkles come in a fantastic array of shapes and sizes. Some are straight. Some are long. Some are smiley. Turn the smiley’s upsidedown to make a frown. These tiny little toppings inspire a million simple little faces.

Sitting around the table with tiny bowls of sprinkles, combing through them to find the most inspiring smile or eyelash elevated this activity to art therapy. It’s thoughtful and fun. Simple enough to ignite creativity, because you’re so limited in medium of expression.

And just so you don’t think I’m waxing overly poetic, here’s a peek at just a few of the combos ma kids conjured….