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How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Want to make a pumpkin topiary for your Halloween decor? This tutorial uses plastic pumpkin candy bowls to make this lighted yard decor. It’s a super simple tutorial and really inexpensive to make using plastic pumpkin candy buckets. You gotta check it out!

I just love Halloween. It is the very most fun holiday to decorate for.

It’s an excuse to be silly, and over the top, and to have spiderwebs in and around your home!

I wanted to add some light up decor to our yard this year, but didn’t want to buy any large inflatables. So, I decided to make my own light up pumpkin topiaries.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

We made a set of two stacked pumpkin topiaries, but you could make one (maybe in a pot?) or as many as you want! These would look great scattered throughout your yard.

We left ours orange and black for a super Halloween look, but you could do solid orange or even white or gold for more of a chic Fall look.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Check out how we used plastic pumpkin buckets to make concrete pumpkins!

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

To make these topiaries you will need plastic pumpkin candy bowls.

The cheapest place that I found them was at Target. They also sell them at the Dollar Store and online.

I went for orange plastic jack-o-lantern style buckets. They also came in black and solid white so you could get a lot of different looks!

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

For each pumpkin stack topiary I used five small pumpkins and one large pumpkin.

You will also need 1″ PVC pipe and a 1″ spade bit for your drill.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Drill two large holes in the bottom of each pumpkin. One hole should be centered and one towards the back.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

The pumpkins were honestly horrible to drill into. They spun really easily from the drill.

It helps to have a second person who can hold the pumpkin in place while you drill. Maybe have some candy since you’re trying to get into the Halloween spirit.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Stick the PVC pipe in the dirt or ground about a foot deep.

Next you want to turn this into a lighted pumpkin topiary with string lights or Christmas lights.

String your lights through the bottom pumpkin out the back hole. Then slide the pumpkin onto the PVC pipe through the centered hole.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Repeat this, stringing and stacking all of the pumpkins.

Make sure to bunch up some lights in each small pumpkin and bunch all excess lights in the big pumpkin on top.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Use a hammer or mallet to push the pipe down at the end to be sure it’s secure and not showing out the top of the pumpkin.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

I really love how these turned out! They are simple but make a big impact on our yard. We placed one on either side of the garage door!

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

They would also make a big impact on your front porch on either side of the door in a pot or bucket.

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

Love Halloween? Download our FREE printable Halloween greeting cards!

How to Make a DIY Plastic Pumpkin Topiary

I love how this project turned out and really hope that the Trick or Treaters love them, too!

Any questions about how to make a Halloween topiary?

Yield: 1 topiary

How to make a plastic pumpkin light up topiary

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $10-50

Want to make a pumpkin topiary for your Halloween decor? This tutorial uses plastic pumpkin candy bowls to make this lighted yard decor. It's a super simple tutorial and really inexpensive to make. You gotta check it out!

Materials

  • 5 small plastic pumpkin candy bowls
  • 1 large plastic pumpkin candy bowl
  • Christmas lights
  • 5' PVC pipe - 1" diameter

Tools

  • 1" drill bit
  • Drill
  • Mallet or hammer

Instructions

  1. Drill 2 holes in the bottom of each pumpkin - one centered, the other towards the back.
  2. Use hammer or mallet to knock PVC pipe into the ground where you want it to go.
  3. String the lights into the first pumpkin through the back hole. Place center hole of pumpkin onto PVC pipe and push down.
  4. Repeat with other pumpkins, ending with large pumpkin.
  5. Add excess lights to large pumpkin.
  6. Use hammer or mallet to knock PVC pipe into ground far enough it doesn't show.

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