These Milk Jug Pumpkins are an easy Halloween craft made with empty milk or water jugs, a black marker, and flameless lights. Kids can create their own jack-o’-lantern faces, then add an orange light inside to make the pumpkins glow!
This is also a fun way to reuse empty plastic containers for Halloween decorations. Make several milk jug pumpkins with different faces and display them together indoors or outside in a covered area.
For another Halloween craft using empty jugs, check out these Milk Jug Ghosts.
Why You’ll Love This Milk Jug Pumpkin Craft
- Easy to make: This Halloween craft uses just a few simple supplies.
- Reuses empty containers: Save clean milk or water jugs and turn them into Halloween decorations.
- Kids can get creative: Make silly, spooky, or traditional jack-o’-lantern faces on each jug.
- They glow: Orange flameless lights give the milk jug pumpkins a fun glow when displayed at night.
Supplies for Milk Jug Pumpkins
You only need a few supplies to make this easy Halloween craft:
- Empty, clean milk or water jugs
- Black permanent marker
- Orange LED flameless tea lights
- Craft knife — for adult use only
How to Make Milk Jug Pumpkins
1. Clean and Dry the Jug
Wash out an empty milk or water jug and allow it to dry completely before starting.
2. Draw a Pumpkin Face
Use a black permanent marker to draw a jack-o’-lantern face on the front of the jug. Kids can create silly, spooky, happy, or traditional pumpkin faces.
Need inspiration? Check out these 100+ Pumpkin Face Ideas for plenty of faces to choose from.
3. Make an Opening for the Light
Adult step: Carefully use a craft knife to cut a small opening near the bottom of the back of the jug. The opening should be large enough to place the flameless light inside.
4. Add the Flameless Light
Place an orange LED flameless tea light inside the jug. Do not use a real candle or open flame.
5. Display Your Milk Jug Pumpkin
Turn on the flameless light and enjoy your glowing milk jug pumpkin! Make several with different faces to create a group of jack-o’-lanterns for your Halloween decorations.
Milk Jug Halloween Face Ideas
Try making several milk jug pumpkins and give each one a different expression. A few ideas include:
- Traditional triangle eyes and a jack-o’-lantern smile
- Silly faces with big eyes and funny mouths
- Spooky faces with sharp teeth
- Happy pumpkin faces
- Surprised faces with round eyes and mouths
- Simple faces that are easy for younger kids to draw
Kids can sketch their ideas on paper first or draw the faces directly onto the jug with a black permanent marker.
Check out more pumpkin face ideas.
Save this pumpkin milk jug craft for later:
Tips for Making Halloween Crafts with Milk Jugs
- Make sure the jugs are completely clean and dry before decorating.
- Leave the labels off so the light can shine through the plastic.
- Use different pumpkin faces if you’re making several jugs.
- Stick with flameless LED lights instead of real candles.
- Let kids handle the decorating while an adult takes care of any cutting.
- Store the jugs without the lights inside so you can reuse your milk jug Halloween decorations next year.
More Halloween Crafts for Kids
Looking for more Halloween activities to make with the kids? Try these ideas next:
- Milk Jug Ghosts – Make another Halloween decoration using clean, empty milk or water jugs.
- Halloween Q-Tip Painting Templates – A simple painting activity with Halloween-themed designs.
- Spooky Spider Craft – Create a fun spider decoration for Halloween.
- Pumpkin Crafts for Kids – Find even more pumpkin-themed craft ideas and activities.
These milk jug pumpkins are a simple way to turn empty jugs into glowing Halloween decorations. Make one or create several with different jack-o’-lantern faces to display together for Halloween.
Save your empty jugs and try this easy milk jug pumpkin craft with the kids this Halloween!