"Pumpkin picking" WTF

It’s harmless fun for families with small children so why not? Should this be banned as well as fireworks, Christmas etc? Is no one all allowed any fun at all?

Yes it’s been a thing for years. We went 3 years ago, but I can’t justify spending £30 on some pumpkins when I can get the same amount in Morrisons for £5

And you haven't posted a single picture? Not sure I believe that!! 🤣

I didn’t say there was anything wrong with getting the perfect photo. I’m just saying that’s why people do it 😂. I’m one of them. My kids didn’t particularly enjoy pumpkin picking and were bored pretty quickly, but I’m glad I got my family photo for the wall.

Not calling people at all. It’s just that I know why people do it and photos are one of the biggest reasons. At least I own it. 😄

It cost us about 100 for 2 adults, 1 child and baby. It's just a fun day out. We enjoyed it too.

Hilarious, i didnt know this was a thing these days! ( my DCs are 35 and 25 )

Can kids these days not just go for a walk and a bit of fresh air with their parents, or does there always have to be some materialistic reason?

One farm where I live has done it for years and after day 3 they have ran out of pumpkins 🎃, this year many more have appeared, and yes pumpkins 🎃 are grown where the pumpkin patch is!
first time this year I’ve ever been and it was great, went with the grandchildren and I came home muddier than them 🤣 had wheelbarrow races and pumpkins ranged from £2-£5 which was a good price

We went and had a lovely time. The kids (7-18) had a laugh getting muddy, pushing the wheelbarrows, and helping each other to find their pumpkins. At this farm many of the pumpkins were still attached to a vine (we have the prickled hands to prove it). It was lovely seeing the huge array of colours, shapes and sizes. It was even lovelier seeing the pumpkins that little animals had made into a home.

They had farm animals to see, warm homemade refreshments, tractor rides and a maze that kept us busy for ages. By the time we got home we had built up quite an appetite, running around in the fresh air.

All in all it was way cheaper that a usual day out for 6, and we supported a local farmer to boot. Yes we took some photos, but we don’t post on SM so they are just for our own memories sakes.

See that sounds fine to me. It's just the random scattering of pumpkins in a muddy field that sounds mad (to me).

We've been going to various local pumpkin patches for the past 4-5 years. All of them are farms who grow them on the farm & usually you puck in the field they've been grown in - you can see the remains of the vines & unripe pumpkins.
It's a fun, outdoor activity that the kids love as they get to pick their own pumpkin, & it puts the money directly into local farming businesses who are really struggling.
Plus many of them will put on extra activities, shows, refreshments etc which makes it more of an experience.

We go to pumpkin fields in Kent where you really do pick your own - I struggled to pull the pumpkin that my daughter wanted from its stalk! Took some colourful photos to send to family up north where pumpkins don't grow - just a nice thing to do in the October holidays. I love Hallowe'en as I'm Scottish and it's an ancient Celtic festival - I don't think about the American aspect at all.

I went and got out pumpkin from our local farm shop. It seems you could either buy one from the shop shelf, or pay quadruple for ones that they scattered around a massive field that you have to go and fetch yourself. Fair play to the farmers for diversifying in this way - they’ve been f*ed over by brexit and climate change.

Shockingly some children actually ask to 'pick' the pumpkins. Mine do. Why not? Who is it harming?

We went and had a lovely time. The kids (7-18) had a laugh getting muddy, pushing the wheelbarrows, and helping each other to find their pumpkins. At this farm many of the pumpkins were still attached to a vine (we have the prickled hands to prove it). It was lovely seeing the huge array of colours, shapes and sizes. It was even lovelier seeing the pumpkins that little animals had made into a home.

They had farm animals to see, warm homemade refreshments, tractor rides and a maze that kept us busy for ages. By the time we got home we had built up quite an appetite, running around in the fresh air.

All in all it was way cheaper that a usual day out for 6, and we supported a local farmer to boot. Yes we took some photos, but we don’t post on SM so they are just for our own memories sakes.

Bit harsh! We don't put or mention DC on social media a d still enjoyed one. To be honest I had thought that they were grown there and was a little bit shocked. But my DC is young enough not to question it and enjoyed choosing his own, loading in a wheelbarrow and running around in the mud. Next year I think I'll just buy some from Aldi and plonk them in the field behind our house!

It’s ridiculous. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Why does it matter if some people want that perfect photo? I love to see happy family pictures online, most other people's are more polished than anything I take so I like to see them.

If it's annoying or insulting or whatever to see people show pictures of these things on social media then stay off social media because that's the nature of the beast (or unfollow those who post these things you don't like).

It helps support local businesses, it's a relatively cheap couple of hours out and an hour stomping in the mud is something to do.

On our Halloween trail tomorrow I'm going to try and take the most instagram perfect family picture and post it on all my social media pages just in case any of you are my friends

My thoughts exactly.

People seem to enjoy it and it's bringing much needed business to local places that wouldn't normally have been profitable at this time of year but I can't help but think it's all a tad daft!

The one near me grows the pumpkins themselves.

Then they pack all around and under, and along the rows with straw so its not slippy and horrible and is more insta-friendly, as they cut all the ripe ones off (and they leave the smaller ones on and you're told NOT to try to pull or cut them off!)...

It must be a fuckton more work than driving round a muddy field dropping pumpkins every few feet off the back of a trailer. But then it also costs more. Theres all the usual straw stacks and face painting and so on, its very popular.

I can see why those who aren't growing pumpkins would want in on the action and like all these seasonal attractions, some will put in the effort and do a great job and some will not!

It’s really naff just picking a pumpkin that’s been plonked in a field. All for the photos & likes sadly.

So much sneering about sharing photos on social media. I'm not even on Instagram and I don't share many photos on social media. But come on, parenting is a hard slog (it is for us anyway, DC1 is ND and DC2 is a screamy 3yo atm) and it's really mean-spirited to begrudge people sharing photos of the (often rare) good bits. Saying people only do it for the photos is just pushing the nastiness too far. We do it for the fun and sometimes take photos. So fucking what.

It's just a fun activity that gets people outside, I see no harm in it.

Obviously you're not 'picking' a pumpkin from a patch, but you're still wandering the field and choosing one you like.

As for it being am Instagram experience, so is going to the toilet for half of the people on there these days so I pay no attention to that.

Our local one does grow the pumpkins on site and they post pictures of them growing through the year. They have a wide range of interesting varieties of pumpkins too. The pumpkins aren't expensive against supermarket prices and it doesn't cost anything unless you want to do some of the extras like a maze, hot chocolate, games etc.

That sounds dire, OP.

I assume they’re trying to emulate the American tradition, but on the cheap. In the US when we’ve done pumpkin picking it’s been an hours long trip with plenty to do for kids from toddlers to 8-9ish yrs old. Bouncy castles, “tractor” rides, maybe a goat or two to pet, bales of hay to climb, sit on, etc. If it’s on a farm then likely a maize maze, somewhere selling coffee and hot (non-alcoholic) apple cider, etc. Kids run a bit wild with the other kids, parents smile indulgently from behind their coffee before joining the kids and picking an over priced pumpkin to carve later.

It’s an expensive way to get a pumpkin, but a fun diversion for youngsters when they’re climbing the walls at home.

We went pumpkin picking last weekend but we didn't post any pictures on social media. Perhaps it never happened at all...?

Or perhaps we could not sneer at a fairly innocuous activity that provides a small additional income stream for farmers and allows families an hour or two in the fresh air. This time of year is absolutely endless for the MN fucking miseries. Strap in until January, folks.

Dd10 and I usually go but gave it a miss this year.Most times we've gone over the last few years to different farms,most of the pumpkins were rotting and we trudged through mud just to get a rotting pumpkin and paid way above what Supermarkets charge.So this year we agreed not to go and she's quite happy with this,she's had 6 so far from Asda or Aldi and has loved carving and displaying them.