TV "entertainment" has gotten so bad that NCIS, NCIS NewOrleans and Dr. Who are about the only entertainment shows we watch regularly. Mostly its Science Channel, National Geo, History Channel, Fox News and NetFlix movies.
We have a tablespoon sized ice cream scoop we use to dole the pumpkin onto a silicon baking mat on a half sheet pan and then toss that into the freezer.
We take the canned pure pumpkin (check that it isn't the sweetened pie filling) and put it in tablespoon sized portions on a sheet tray and freeze them. When frozen throw them in a zip;ock bag. Then they are ready as a frozen treat, or 25 seconds in a microwave will thaw them out.
When I make my toys I use clear lacquer over stain. I found paint chips. I tried shellac but found it doesn't wear anywhere near as well as lacquer. I've tried polyurethane but the drying time is a great deal longer than lacquer, and not having a paint booth the quicker drying time of lacquer means less contamination of the surface. Just my humble opinion.