Travel felt boards are a great activity for kids stuck on a plane or waiting in a restaurant. With this “Silly Jack-o-lantern” Halloween felt board, kids can design their own pumpkin face over and over again!
Fall hit us with a vengeance last week here in Utah. I’m sad to say goodbye to summer, but I’m also excited to get out the pumpkin decor (and pumpkin food) and get busy working on Halloween costumes. I figure if it’s going to get cold, I’m going to be festive about it.
With that mindset, last weekend I made up a new pumpkin-themed play set for our beloved travel felt board.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me bring you up to speed.
One of my popular posts here on The Many Little Joys is a fun DIY felt board that’s perfect for traveling with kids (or for restaurants, church, and any other time that you need your kiddos to be occupied and quiet).
It took me less than an hour to make, costs next to nothing, and has entertained my kids (and the kids of friends who have borrowed it during church) for countless hours over the last six months since I made it.
(Update 2/3/2021: We still use this handy quiet activity over four years later!)
If you don’t have your own yet, you can get all the details about the basic travel felt board here, or you can get the “Under the sea” themed set here.
Now, back to our Halloween felt board set. Last year, Little Man got really excited about the idea of carving pumpkins. He and I pored over images of jack-o-lanterns online until he decided that he wanted a “crying pumpkin” for his jack-o-lantern face. Ooooo-kay. So that’s what we made, and it actually turned out really fun.
It also got me thinking…how fun would it be if he didn’t have to choose just one design? So, this year I made a felt pumpkin with interchangeable face pieces for him to be able to create funny expressions over and over again throughout the Halloween season.
We took it to church on Sunday as a quiet activity, and both of my boys had so much fun with it! They especially loved making super silly faces that had multiple sets of eyes and mouths. Three mouths is a little unorthodox, but who am I to limit their creativity?
The set includes a pumpkin, stem, leaf, and various sets of eyes, noses, mouths, and even eyebrows. It took me less than a half hour to cut everything out, so it really was a quick project to do.
If you are interested in making your own “Silly Jack-o-lantern” Halloween felt board set, simply click on the picture or link below and print. Cut the pieces out of your choice of felt colors, and play away!
For more instructions see my original travel felt board post.
Like this Halloween felt board? Try ALL the sets for more fun!
- Travel felt board set: one-hour tutorial + templates
- Travel felt board: “Under the Sea” play set
- Travel Felt Board: “Birthday Wishes” cupcake play set
- Felt Christmas tree for kids
Super cute! My kiddos always loved playing with felt boards. I think they are underused today. maybe you can bring them back!!
I’m trying, Rebecca! I have 4 different templates for the felt board I have, and my boys love them. I just love that it’s quiet, creative, open-ended play for them. The possibilities are endless. Thanks for reading. 🙂
I agree, so incredibly underused!
Love love love!!! This is perfect for my 2 year old.. He loves making faces
The sillier the faces, the better, right. Maybe we should turn it into a game where we make the face on the pumpkin and then we have to go to the mirror and try to imitate it ourselves. That would get some laughs, for sure. 🙂
This is such a great idea! I know my daughter will love making one.
I hope she does, Melissa. My boys have really enjoyed playing with ours so far. And I love that it didn’t take me long to put together for them.
I had forgotten about these! Had one for my now-grown kids when they were kids–so fun.
Some of the best toys are ones that have been around for decades, right? Brio…Lego…felt. You can’t go wrong.
So cute! I love this, and thank you so much for sharing!!! Totally need to do this.
This is absolutely adorable and perfect for little ones! I hope you will share it at The Crafty Corner link party with us this week.
It’s amazing what we can do with a little bit of felt! I’m so excited to try this with my little…just have to keep the cute pieces organized and out of his reach haha Also, I’m LOVING this cooler weather and everything that comes with it. Good riddance, summer! lol
I need the story to this felt can you please sent