How to Carve a Halloween Pumpkin

Halloween is not the same without a pumpkin just like Christmas is not the same without the tree. You can buy a carved one but if you want to do it yourself, here is how you do it.

You first have to go to the supermarket and get a pumpkin. You can make this a family activity with your kids by letting them choose it. Once this is brought home, both of you can decide what kind of face the pumpkin will have. It can be happy, angry or something funny that your neighbors will find entertaining.

With a pen, they can outline the face so once everything inside the pumpkin is removed, you can easily cut holes for the eyes, nose and mouth.

But before you do that, put the pumpkin on a flat surface that is already covered with newspaper. Get a long serrated knife and then cut out a circle around the stem of the pumpkin and place this on top of the newspaper.

With the pumpkin open, it will be easy for you and your kids to put your hands inside and get the contents out. Since these are still edible put them in a container so you can use this later on to make a salad or a pumpkin pie. There will probably be a few things left inside so use a large spoon to get the remaining stuff.

Don't forget to clean the lid of the pumpkin too. You should also put holes here so heat can escape when you this is placed back on top with a candle inside.

Now it is time to cut the marked areas for the face of the pumpkin. For this, you will once again use the serrated knife by cutting around the edges so you can easily push this out with your hand. After you done this, put a candle inside or a small electric light so people will be able to see your wonderful creation at night.

If you decide to use a candle, monitor it regularly since the wind could blow out the light. If you don't want to do this, choose a small electric light instead since the light will only go out when you switch it off or unplug this from the socket.

Your experience in carving one pumpkin will make it easier to make a few more so you can put one outside and maybe a couple of them indoors. Since an open pumpkin does not that long, you have to prepare these the night before.

But there are ways to preserve the pumpkin so this will not rot overnight. Your first option will be to place it inside a bathtub of cold water and pouring in some picking powder which keeps keep the pumpkin from drying out and fresh. You can also preserve this by putting it inside the refrigerator when it is not being displayed.

Halloween happens once a year so a lot of people make the most of it by decorating the house and preparing the decorations. Some people recycle what they used last year while others buy new ones and one of them is the pumpkin. For the family to be able to help out in carving the pumpkin, the first thing you have to do is get it from the grocery, cut it open using a serrated knife, taking the contents out and then putting a candle or small light.