Pumpkin Flower Arrangements: 13 Thanksgiving Ideas That Look Like a Florist Made Them

Pumpkin flower arrangements are the easiest way to make your Thanksgiving table look like a florist styled it, and you can make one in under an hour. A pumpkin becomes the vase, a jar of water hides inside, and a handful of grocery store flowers does the rest. These are all over Facebook right now, with one reel of a single pumpkin arrangement collecting about 29,600 reactions and 1,500 shares. People love them because they feel abundant, seasonal and personal, and they cost a fraction of a store bought centerpiece. Below are thirteen of our favorite ideas, from white pumpkins with roses to tiny bud vases and a big porch display. Grab a pumpkin and a bunch of flowers and let us get started..

Pumpkin Flower Arrangements Down the Thanksgiving Table

A whole row of pumpkin vases down the middle of the table is the look everyone saves. Mix colors and sizes, like a big orange pumpkin, a pale green heirloom and a small white one, so it feels collected and natural. Fill each with rust mums, peach roses, dahlias and a few stalks of wheat, then tuck small gourds and leaves between them. Keep the flowers low enough that guests can see each other across the table. It looks like a florist came over, but you did it all yourself with grocery store bunches..

You will need: Three pumpkins in mixed sizes, a sharp knife and spoon (adult use), glass jars or plastic cups, water, mums, roses, dahlias, wheat, eucalyptus, small gourds.

How to make it: 1. Have an adult cut the top off each pumpkin and scoop it clean. 2. Set a jar of water inside. 3. Add greenery first, then big blooms, then small fillers and wheat. 4. Line them down a table runner and scatter gourds around them.

White Pumpkin With Garden Roses

Of all the pumpkin flower arrangements here, this is the softest. If your style is elegant, a white pumpkin with blush and cream roses is for you. The pale pumpkin lets the roses glow, and trailing eucalyptus and dusty miller add that loose, garden gathered look. Grocery store roses work perfectly here; just open them up gently with your fingers so they look fuller. Set it on an entry table or a buffet with two tiny white pumpkins beside it. It is pretty enough for a Friendsgiving or even a fall bridal shower. Would you choose blush, cream or a mix?

You will need: A large white pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a jar or soaked floral foam, blush and cream roses, spray roses, dusty miller, eucalyptus.

How to make it: 1. Cut the top off and scoop the pumpkin clean (adult). 2. Set in a jar of water or a block of wet floral foam. 3. Build a low dome of roses. 4. Fill gaps with dusty miller and let eucalyptus trail over the edge.

Mini Pumpkin Flower Arrangements as Bud Vases

Tiny pumpkins make the cutest bud vases, and they are so cheap. Cut a small hole by the stem, slip in a little water tube or a piece of wet floral foam, and add one or two stems. A single ranunculus, a sprig of waxflower or a mini sunflower is all each one needs. Line them up on a windowsill, scatter them down the table or set one at every place. They also make sweet little hostess gifts. How many mini pumpkins do you have sitting on your counter right now?

You will need: Mini pumpkins in mixed colors, a small knife or apple corer (adult use), florist water tubes or floral foam, single stems of small flowers.

How to make it: 1. Have an adult cut a small hole near the stem. 2. Scoop out a little of the inside. 3. Push in a water tube or a plug of wet floral foam. 4. Add one or two short stems.

Dried Wheat and Eucalyptus Pumpkin

Want pumpkin flower arrangements that last the whole season? Skip fresh flowers and use dried ones. Golden wheat, silver dollar eucalyptus, bunny tail grass and dried strawflowers look rustic and cozy in a tan heirloom pumpkin. Because there is no water, you do not need to hollow the pumpkin deeply; a block of dry foam in a shallow hole is enough. Put it on a bench by the front door or on a kitchen hutch and it will look good until the last slice of pie is gone. Do you prefer dried or fresh flowers?

You will need: A tan or white pumpkin, a knife (adult use), a block of dry floral foam, dried wheat, dried eucalyptus, bunny tail grass, strawflowers.

How to make it: 1. Have an adult cut a shallow opening in the top. 2. Press in a block of dry foam. 3. Add wheat and eucalyptus first for height. 4. Fill in with bunny tails and strawflowers.

Green Pumpkin Flower Arrangements With Sunflowers

A dark green pumpkin makes sunflowers look even brighter. This one mixes sunflowers with orange zinnias, yellow solidago and little green berries for a happy, sunny arrangement that feels like a farm stand. It is perfect for a kitchen island where everyone gathers before dinner. Sunflowers drink a lot, so use a big jar and top it up every day. A few striped gourds around the base finish the look. Is there any flower that says harvest more than a sunflower?

You will need: A dark green pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a large jar, sunflowers, zinnias, solidago, green hypericum berries, small gourds.

How to make it: 1. Cut and clean the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a big jar of water inside. 3. Place three or five sunflowers first. 4. Fill around them with zinnias, solidago and berries.

Classic Orange Pumpkin Bouquet

Sometimes the classic is all you need, and this is the simplest of all pumpkin flower arrangements. A round orange pumpkin filled with a bright mix of mums, roses, berries and fall leaves is cheerful from every angle. Photographed on a simple dark table, it shows how a pumpkin vase can stand on its own without anything else around it. Use any flowers you find on sale this week. Buy one bunch of big blooms, one bunch of small fillers and one bunch of greenery, and you have everything you need. Which colors are you seeing at your grocery store?

You will need: A round orange pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a jar, one bunch each of large flowers, filler flowers and greenery.

How to make it: 1. Cut the top off and scoop the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a jar of water inside. 3. Start with greenery around the edge. 4. Add big blooms in a dome and fill gaps with smaller flowers and berries.

Succulent Topped Pumpkins

Succulent pumpkins are the pumpkin flower arrangements that just keep going. You do not cut the pumpkin at all. Instead you glue a layer of moss on top and then glue small succulent cuttings into it, with string of pearls trailing down the sides. Because the pumpkin stays whole, it can last for weeks, and afterward you can plant the succulents. White and pale blue pumpkins look modern and fresh. Use low temp glue and ask an adult to help with the hot glue gun. Would you keep the succulents after the season?

You will need: A white or pale blue pumpkin, sheet moss, small succulent cuttings, string of pearls, a low temp glue gun (adult help), spray bottle.

How to make it: 1. Glue a layer of moss around the stem. 2. Glue the largest succulents first. 3. Add smaller rosettes and tuck in trailing pieces. 4. Mist lightly once a week.

Hydrangea Pumpkin Flower Arrangements

Hydrangeas fill a pumpkin fast, so this is a great one when you want big impact for little money. Look for the antique colored ones in fall, dusty pink, faded green and burgundy. Three or four heads can fill a medium pumpkin all by themselves. Add a few oak leaf sprigs for that cozy autumn feel. Cut the stems at an angle and give them plenty of water, because hydrangeas get thirsty. It is a lovely centerpiece for a round table. How many heads do you think it takes?

You will need: A medium orange pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a jar, 3 to 5 hydrangea heads, oak leaf branches, garden clippers.

How to make it: 1. Cut and clean the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a jar of water inside. 3. Place hydrangea heads so they rest on the rim. 4. Tuck oak leaves between the blooms.

Faux Pumpkins With Faux Flowers That Last

If you want pumpkin flower arrangements you can make once and be done with, use craft store foam pumpkins and faux flowers. Today the faux peonies and ranunculus look so real that guests will lean in to smell them. Cut an opening in the foam pumpkin, push in a block of dry foam, and arrange the stems the same way you would real ones. Cream, terracotta and sage pumpkins on a white mantel look high end. Best of all, you can pack them away and use them again next year. Would anyone guess they are faux?

You will need: Foam craft pumpkins, a serrated knife (adult use), dry floral foam, faux peonies, faux ranunculus, faux berries, faux eucalyptus, wire cutters.

How to make it: 1. Have an adult cut an opening in the top of each pumpkin. 2. Press in dry foam. 3. Cut faux stems with wire cutters and insert big blooms first. 4. Add berries and eucalyptus to soften the edges.

Tall Pumpkin Flower Arrangements for the Buffet

A buffet is the one place you can go tall and dramatic, because nobody needs to see over it. Use a big pumpkin as the base and add tall berry branches, hanging burgundy amaranthus, rust mums and a few pampas plumes. Set it at the back of the sideboard with the rolls and pie in front. Put a heavy jar inside so the tall stems do not tip. Everyone who walks up for seconds will notice it. Is your sideboard ready for something this bold?

You will need: A large pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a heavy jar, tall berry branches, amaranthus, mums, pampas grass.

How to make it: 1. Cut and clean the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a heavy jar of water inside. 3. Place tall branches and pampas first. 4. Add mums at the base and let amaranthus hang over the sides.

Berries and Greenery Pumpkin

As Thanksgiving gets closer, pumpkin flower arrangements can shift to deeper colors, since deep reds and evergreen start to feel just right. This pumpkin is packed with cedar, magnolia leaves with their brown undersides, red berries, rose hips and a few burgundy mini roses. It bridges fall and the start of the Christmas season, so you can leave it out a little longer. A plaid wool runner underneath makes it feel extra cozy. Many of these greens can come from your own yard. Want our full list of budget table ideas? See our Thanksgiving centerpieces for more. What is growing in your yard right now?

You will need: A medium orange pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a jar, cedar, magnolia leaves, red berries, rose hips, mini roses.

How to make it: 1. Cut and clean the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a jar of water inside. 3. Build a base of cedar and magnolia. 4. Add berries in clusters and finish with roses.

Pumpkin Flower Arrangements for the Porch Steps

Your porch can have a pumpkin arrangement too. Use the biggest pumpkin you can find as the vase and fill it with potted mums popped out of their pots, orange celosia and tall ornamental grass. Surround it with smaller pumpkins and a basket of gourds on the steps. Outdoors in cool weather it can last a week or more. Make sure nothing blocks the walkway so the steps stay safe for guests. It is the kind of welcome that makes the whole street smile. How big a pumpkin can you carry?

You will need: One extra large pumpkin, a knife and spoon (adult use), a bucket or large pot liner, potted mums, celosia, ornamental grass, small pumpkins, a basket of gourds.

How to make it: 1. Cut a wide opening and scoop the pumpkin (adult). 2. Set a bucket or pot liner inside. 3. Pop the mums out of their pots and set them in with soil. 4. Add celosia and grass, then group small pumpkins around it.

Pumpkin Place Card Bud Vases

Here is a sweet finishing touch for every seat. A white mini pumpkin holds one spray rose and a sprig of waxflower, and a little kraft place card tucks right in beside the stem. Guests know where to sit, and many will take theirs home as a keepsake. You can write names by hand or leave them plain if you seat people at random. They take just a few minutes each and look so thoughtful. With all of these pumpkin flower arrangements, your table will look florist styled this Thanksgiving. Which one will you try first?

You will need: White mini pumpkins, a small knife (adult use), florist water tubes, spray roses, waxflower, kraft card stock, scissors.

How to make it: 1. Have an adult cut a tiny hole and a thin slit beside the stem. 2. Insert a water tube with the rose and waxflower. 3. Cut small kraft cards and write each name. 4. Slide a card into the slit and set one above each plate.