HALLOWEEN CAN MEAN only one thing.

Well, forget about the costumes for a minute. That’s right: pumpkin time.

Like all the best of seasons, Halloween is made a lot more magic with children involved.

And magic is certainly what grandfather Eugene Murray and his grandson Sebastian (2 ¾) from Greystones, County Wicklow created. They strapped their pumpkin, named Patches, to an apparatus to launch it into the stratosphere. Check out the video below.

Want to know how it was done?

The launch required 3.5 cubic metres of Helium in a balloon attached to a holding platform for Patches, with a mounted camera to record the journey. On release, Patches accelerated at 5 metres a second up into the sky. The pumpkin ultimately travelled some 30-32km into the stratosphere – encountering temperatures as low as -20.  His journey was tracked all the way by a GPS chip embedded in the platform.

Of course, not all of us have the technical know-how to send our Halloween pumpkins into space. Helium aside, there’s still something to be said for making this year’s pumpkin something special. Check out these fun ideas suitable for kids below.

It’s a me, Mario

Everyone’s favourite plumber, Mario, looks just as good on a pumpkin as he does on Mario Kart.

Source: Imgur

Playing dress-up

Kids love dressing up the friendly snowman at Christmastime – so why not do the same at Halloween?

Source: NetGeek

Just like in the movies

Why not get creative and carve a pumpkin in homage to your child’s favourite film? This pumpkin is based on the Pixar movie Up – and the balloons are made from smaller pumpkins!

Source: Flavorinfusion

And if you’re looking for an easy way to have fun with the kids over the spookiest of seasons, TOP Fruit is here to help.  Still stuck for pumpkin inspiration?  There’s plenty more on the TOP Fruit Hub Smartphone App – available to download from the App Store or Android Market.

Will you be carving a pumpkin with the kids this Halloween? Let us know in the comments if you’ve got any more child-friendly ideas.