This is such a fun way to display treats for a party or if you can’t answer the door on Halloween. We used tootsie pops (our favourites!), but you can easily use another type of lollipop or even suckers!
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How many lollipops do I need?
The number of lollipops you use is completely up to you! For our smaller pie pumpkins we used between 12 and 15 lollipops per pumpkin. On our large pumpkin we used 30 tootsie pops. Feel free to add more or less!
How far in advance can I make them?
You can paint your pumpkin a week in advance. But you can only drill the holes in the pumpkin and add the lollipops 1 to 2 days in advance. The longer the pumpkin sits, the more the holes in the pumpkin swell, (which makes it difficult to pull out the lollipops). After a week, we could see mold growing on some of the lollipop sticks, so we recommend pulling out the leftover lollipops as soon as you can.
Do I have to wrap the lollipop sticks in tape?
That’s totally up to you. It’s great if you’re leaving the lollipops in there for longer than a day, since it prevents the lollipop sticks from getting soggy. If you have lollipops with plastic sticks or if you’re going to put the lollipops in right before the pumpkin is “served” I wouldn’t bother with the tape.
What size drill bit should I use?
We used a 9/64 drill bit (3.57 mm diameter) to make the holes on our pumpkin, but this will depend on the size of your lollipop sticks (our tootsie pop sticks had a 3mm diameter). You will need to measure the sticks of your lollipops to find the right bit size. If you don’t have the right size, you can use a slightly larger drill bit and wrap more tape around the stick. And if you don’t have a drill, you can push a large nail or screw into the pumpkin to make holes.
These lollipop hair pumpkins make such a cute little family! I love how these fun “treat bowls” look displayed together. For a mess free decoration you can use year after year, try making a lollipop pumpkin on a styrofoam pumpkin!
Here’s a few pumpkin decorating craft ideas:
Painted Unicorn Pumpkin
Splatter Paint Pumpkins
Glow in the Dark Pumpkins
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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