With Halloween rapidly approaching, choosing and decorating a pumpkin with your nieces and nephews is a great way to spend time, have fun and create meaningful holiday memories.

Picking Your Best Pumpkin

Taking the kids to a pumpkin patch to choose their very own pumpkin is a wonderful experience (don't forget your camera!).  Most pumpkin farms are designed with kids in mind and offer hot chocolate, cider and pumpkins in small sizes for the little ones to pick for themselves. Your visit can also be an opportunity for your nieces and nephews to connect with nature and learn about how pumpkins are grown. But even if you don’t have the time you can have a great time picking the perfect pumpkin at your local supermarket.

Some things to keep in mind while selecting a pumpkin:

•    Tall, thin shapes are ideal for funny faces and cute expressions.
•    Round shapes are great for happy faces -- and scary ones, too.
•    Oddly shaped pumpkins are perfect for creating unique characters.

Since carving a pumpkin can be dangerous and messy a Savvy Auntie may choose to simply decorate the outside of the pumpkins instead. Here are some ideas for creative pumpkin decorating.