Pumpkin Oranges without Celery

How to make pumpkins from oranges- without using celery. This super easy project is perfect for a healthy Halloween snack.

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Usually I’m not “the Pinterest mom”… I’m definitely a Pinterest person, but I try to keep it bare minimum for school stuff. Ie. A bag of treats is just as good as a Pinterest-perfect snack. But I made an exception today because this was too easy.

I saw this idea floating around on Pinterest, but my GOSH… so many bloggers were using celery. Yikes. I winced. I don’t love raw celery and I feel like the taste bleeds into other foods when they’re mixed.

Somehow I doubt that the kids at school would love it either… and I didn’t want there to be a ton of food waste.

Also, y’all pumpkins don’t have green stems… (yes, I know, the vine is green initially but by the time you pick them, they’re brown).

Supplies

Pretzel sticks: Get the good kind with the thicker sticks
Easy peel oranges like Cuties
A sharp knife

How to Make Pumpkin Oranges

Option 1: Peel & Use a Pretzel Stick

This option is good for younger classes who might not be able to peel the oranges. I REALLY wanted to do Option 2 per my friend’s suggestion, but I didn’t want my son’s kindergarten teacher to have to peel 18 oranges during their class party.

I made a quick slice with a knife in the peel, then peeled the orange as quick as possible. Forty oranges peeled in the 30 minutes before my kids left for school. Yikes.

Then I just popped a pretzel in. I could have made the stem shorter but it’s fine as is!

Oranges with a pretzel stick in the top to act as a "stem"

Option 2: Decorate the Peel

I liked this option best because there’s no “hands on” the actual inside fruit. Also, I wouldn’t have had to peel 40 oranges.

My friend used a black marker to decorate the peel like a pumpkin. I’d probably want to pick up something that would be food safe or kid safe, although the peel should provide enough protection.

You could also use a Cricut to cut the face pieces (y’all that’s a lot of pumpkins) with vinyl, then stick them on.

How to pack them for school

Option 2 is no problem to pack for school. They can go inside a zippered bag.

But I didn’t want the pretzel sticks to break. Here’s how I packed them. The kindergartner had a covered container and I gave the 2nd grader a container with a reusable bowl cover because I didn’t have enough covered container that was large enough.

I put in a few peeled oranges without any pretzel in case a child didn’t like pretzel sticks.

Initially, I lay the oranges on the bottom, stem up. Then I tucked oranges in between side ways. Then I put a few loose oranges inside to add extra cushion. Hopefully this will keep them from jostling around too much on the way to school.