HOLIDAYS
Don’t think you have the skills to pull off an epic jack-o’-lantern that’ll have the whole neighborhood talking? Think again! With our six pumpkin carving tips, you’ll have every front-door visitor oohing, ahhing, and shrieking with delight this spooky season.
1. Scavenge Your Kitchen for Spooktacular Tools
Store-bought pumpkin-carving kits offer the basics, but there are many other tools you may already have around your house. Wide metal spoons, for example, are ideal for scooping pumpkin pulp and seeds. A paring knife also works well for intricate cutouts, and an ice pick helps poke holes to guide your design. Other tools like lemon zesters, potato peelers, and cookie cutters can also be used to achieve scary-good shapes and features.
2. Cut the Back, Not the Top
It may seem like common sense to cut the top of a pumpkin to scoop out the seeds and innards. However, if you want your jack-o’-lantern to last as long as possible, you’re better off cutting a hole through the back or bottom of the pumpkin. It’s not just a bunch of hocus pocus—doing this will keep the stem intact, which is responsible for providing the pumpkin with the nutrients and moisture it needs to retain its structural integrity.
3. Transfer Paper Does the Trick
You can find many pumpkin-carving templates online, but transferring those templates to your pumpkin can be difficult. One trick for this is to use sewing paper to transfer the design from your template directly onto your pumpkin. You can find this paper in any arts-and-crafts store, and it’s very simple to use. Just tape the transfer paper between your template and your pumpkin, then trace over the design with a ballpoint pen. From there, you’ll have an ideal tracing of your pumpkin design that will make the carving job much easier.
4. Raid Your Craft Closet
Boo-tify and jazz up your jack-o-lantern with craft supplies you already have on hand. Think paint, glitter, stickers, pom poms, beads, pipe cleaners, ribbon, and cardboard just to name a few. Acrylic and tempera paints tend to be the longest-lasting on pumpkins, but any paint will do. Bonus: You can get the kids involved in the search for kooky accessories—and the entire decoration process.
5. The Gnarlier, the Better
Whether it’s an unsightly dent in your pumpkin or a mistake in your carving, remember that imperfections are at the heart of Halloween. Don’t throw away your pumpkin if you accidentally carved an extra eye instead of a nose, just change your design to accommodate the mistake. Challenge your family to see who can pick out the most unique pumpkin at the patch and have a skele-ton of fun decorating them together.
6. Just Say No to Fire
The heat from candles can cause the inside of a jack-o’-lantern to break down and rot quickly. Instead, use a flameless votive inside your pumpkin that won’t give off heat. Many of these also come with automatic timers, so you won’t have to manually turn on the lights each night. To get extra thrills and chills from your pumpkin lighting, consider using multi-colored holiday lights or twinkling fairy lights.
Keep the Family Out All Season Long
In addition to carving pumpkins, there are plenty of opportunities for outings, new adventures, and exciting discoveries this fall. If you’re looking for activities to do, check out “Your Ultimate Fall Bucket List” for a fresh spin on traditional, season-right excursions.