Eat them

If you’re trying to figure out what to do with pumpkins you’ve used as decorations or carved into jack-o-lanterns, consider making a pumpkin pie, crostini, chili, or any other number of dishes (you can find more than 60 pumpkin recipes at Country Living). Just make sure you scrape out the flesh as you carve your jack-o’-lantern. You don’t want to use them after they’ve been exposed to a candle flame for a few hours. Also make sure your decorative pumpkins are still hard and unblemished.

Make a bird feeder

Share the seasonal fun with the birds by creating this cute bird feeder. All you need are a few bamboo skewers or dowels, some twine, a knife, a spoon, and some birdseed. In just minutes, you’ll have a beautiful (albeit temporary) bird feeder that might inspire you to take up bird watching as a hobby.

Use it to display seasonal flowers

If you want to create a unique display of potted plants at your door or create a lovely centerpiece, plant ivy, chrysanthemums, and decorative kale in hollowed-out pumpkins. Just remember that these are temporary and will only last for about a month before they’ll be ready for the compost bin. (You can transplant perennials into regular pots at that point.)

Have a spa day

Pumpkin is actually an amazing beauty treatment, thanks to its high content of Vitamins A, C, and E, as well as minerals that combat redness, and enzymes that exfoliate dead skin cells. Cut up one of your pumpkins, scrape out the seeds, cut up the flesh and remove the skin, cook it in boiling water as if you are making mashed potatoes, and when they are soft, blend it into a puree. You can freeze this puree in batches and use it over the winter to make masks, moisturizers, and foot treatments.

For more life hacks be sure to check out our Olympus Harbour Island blog.