Castle Hill Farm
25 Sugar Lane
Newtown, CT
4 acre pumpkin patch featuring PYO pumpkins, guards, and squash. $5 hayrides and $10 corn maze are also available.
Blue Jay Orchards
125 Plumtrees Road
Bethel, CT
Check website for details on the 2019 season.
Harris Hill Farm
106 Ridge Road
New Milford, CT
PYO is open weekends in October. Visit the website for more information.
Jones Family Farm
Pumpkinseed Hill Farm
125 Beardsley Road
Shelton, CT
Pick pumpkins, gourds, and squash during October. Preview weekend is the last weekend in September. Call the farm for the latest information before you go.
Jesse Lee Pumpkin Patch
207 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT
Pick out a pumpkin & give back! This annual Ridgefield tradition supports the sale of pumpkins grown on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. Proceeds go back to the reservation, as well as support the ministry of Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church.
Harvest Moon Farms
130 Hardscrabble Road
North Salem, NY
Fall Festival weekends begin the weekend after Labor Day. Pick out a pumpkin and enjoy a bunch of other activities like hayrides, bounce castles, pony rides, face painting, and more.
Stew Leonards
99 Federal Road
Danbury, CT
Tons of pumpkins, squash, & gourds available in the garden center, sourced from throughout the state.
Hollandia Nursery
103 Old Hawleyville Road
Bethel, CT
This nursery has a second location right around the corner on Stony Hill Road. The pumpkins are displayed beautifully and its a great spot to also pick up some mums & other seasonal outdoor decorations.
In our house, my husband, the more artistic one, handles carving the pumpkins and I handle any sort of (easy) painting/toddler craft things with Isabelle.
For carving, we generally just buy a kit at the store to use for the season. There are also tons of places online where you can download and print templates. If you have a steady hand and some artistic ability (I do not!), you can even draw your own design on the pumpkin with pencil and then carve it out. Click here & here for two options from Pinterest.
Letting Isabelle pick out her own gourds and then paint them on her own was one of our favorite activities from last fall. It was pretty simple and kept her occupied for a decent amount of time. Besides painting for fun, we also paint a few pumpkins teal for the Teal Pumpkin Project. Although we don’t get many trick or treaters (I mean everyone’s on Main Street!), we do make sure our treats are allergy-friendly and work for all.
Some additional ideas courtesy of Pinterest:
5 Toddler Friendly Ways to Decorate a Pumpkin
31 Days of Pumpkin Activities
Exploring Pumpkin Guts
No Carve Monster Pumpkins