Every year one of my favorite things to do is fill up one of our fireplaces with pumpkins! It’s become quite the tradition! I try and mix it up a little each time and being creative on this project really scratches that re-decorating itch! You can see, many things stay the same- but adding in different little pumpkins makes this a fun and creative project. There’s really not much “how to” to it! I just start! But I have written out a few steps for those of you that really love directions! If you try it, I would love to see!
Step 1- WASH ALL OF YOUR PUMPKINS WITH SOAP AND WATER AND LET DRY. You must do this. Getting the dirt off, where bacteria breeds, is what helps keep the pumpkins from rotting once inside. The years I did not do this, in the very beginning, I always had rotten pumpkins. In the years since, I have had great luck! I’ve made it from September to Halloween every year!
Step 2- Line your fireplace with a black trash bag. Believe me- DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. If you have a pumpkin rot on you, it will be caught in the bag. I have had to clean up a soupy pumpkin from the bottom of my fireplace before and it is NOT FUN. Don’t be like me before I knew better.
Step 3- I add a cardboard box to the back of the fireplace to give height to those back pumpkins and to create a “row” of sorts so I don’t have to have more pumpkins to fill a space you will never see. I think in all of these photos but 1, I have the cardboard box- it really just helps take up volume so you can stack, stack, stack!
Step 4- Add in all of your large pumpkins. This year, almost all 12 of my large pumpkins were very similar in size. It may look boring after this step, but trust the process! Try mixing directions of the stems and turn some sideways for interest.
Step 5- Add in little fake pumpkins or fake larger pumpkins or smaller pie pumpkins. You can find these anywhere! This year, a lot of mine came from the Target One(or $5, as it is now, hmmmph) Spot. I get little ones from Hobby Lobby as well. If you start looking, they are everywhere! Let them “spill” a little bit for an organic look, almost as if the pumpkins “fell” down and out of the chimney.
Step 6- Enjoy! Decorate the rest of you mantle and fall/Halloween holiday decor. It will be a fun topic of conversation all season!
Here’s a look at all of the fireplaces I have made since we moved in! I missed one year- 2019. We hosted a baby shower in October that year and I didn’t want our house too decorated in orange. But otherwise, it is a favorite tradition! Enjoy!
The first year! And the year many rotten and were soupy in the bottom of my fireplace! Yikes!
