Creative Mum Reveals How She Made Giant Halloween Pumpkins For Under £5
- Wahida Ager, 36, threw her son a Halloween birthday party
- After not being able to find any giant pumpkins in the store, she decided to make her own
- Wahida’s £5 pumpkins are simple to make: you just need paper, paint and a bin bag
Halloween will certainly look a little different this year thanks to Covid-19, but one mum was determined not to let that spoil her fun.
Wahida Ager, a 36-year-old mum-of-two from Southampton, threw her son a Halloween birthday party - and brought the spooky spirit to the party with her genius giant pumpkins.
The decorative pumpkins cost Wahida just £5 to make, and were fun for the whole family to create together.
Wahida told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I made this for my son's Halloween birthday party. I’m a mum of two and having free time to make anything has been challenging.
"I’ve always been creative and I’m always up for a messy job especially with the kids.
"I was determined to make my son's Halloween birthday party amazing.
"I had a look around and shopped online to see if I could find any large or giant pumpkins but unfortunately there’s no market for that and I suppose if there were, it would cost a fortune to buy one.
“Instead, I had the idea to make a pumpkin out of papier-mâché, and thought of what materials would be the best to put the pumpkin together.
"I did a bit of research and looked around on YouTube and other sites but there were not a lot of examples.
"I finally came across one video from America. A woman made a little pumpkin from tin foil and papier-mâché. This is when I thought 'why not try to make a large one?’
"Of course, I needed to make sure this was lightweight and easy to dispose of.
“Creating this was very fun and easy! I used a simple bin bag stuffed with old wrapping papers, old bills and newspapers that I had lying around.
“I would definitely not recommend using materials like clothing or plastics to fill the bag as you will not be able to mould the perfect pumpkin shape or you might find it slightly heavier to move it about.
“You can use any strong large bag depending on how big you would like the pumpkin to be.
"Stuff the bag with lots of papers, wrapping paper, shredded papers, newspaper: any recyclable papers will do.
"Squash as many paper balls as you can to fill the bag. When you’re happy with the size of your pumpkin, then secure tightly with tape.
“Once it is secured tightly, go round with tape making the shape of a pumpkin.
"Use the tip of the bag and tape it using foil - this will help you mould it into a pumpkin stem.
"Mix PVA glue with tissue paper and fully cover your pumpkin all around. Keep it in a warm and dry place allowing it time to dry.
“Then use any chosen colour paint or spray can. Once the paint is dry, you can finish the pumpkin with your choice of decorative materials.
“The project cost me under £5 for the paint and brush, and the rest was recycled materials I found in the house.”
Wahida had lots of fun creating the pumpkins with her family, and says you can finish the look with anything you like, whether glitter or scary spiders.
“The papier-mâché was messy but so much fun when doing this with the family,” she adds.
“Using simple PVA glue with tissue paper or toilet roll is an easy option. Bear in mind this might take up to two days to dry all around, then follow up with normal art and crafts paint or a spray can.
“Finishing the pumpkin is entirely up to you! You could create this with your own desired ideas with bright colours, glitters, ribbons, gemstones or even stick-on spiders for a creepy finish.
"I was amazed at how realistic it turned out to look - my son loved every part of it!
"He has been waking up every morning before school to check up on the pumpkin progress!"
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “The lockdown forced many of us to be more creative than usual due to spending so much time at home!
“Wahida’s fabulous pumpkin idea isn’t just a wallet-friendly way to get your home looking spooky for Halloween, but is also a fantastic way to get the whole family involved in creating decorations for the festive season together.”
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I will try in future very nice 
