Helpful information
Timing: Late October
Where to do it: Indoors
Garden space: Large garden, small garden, balcony, indoor space, no garden
Timing: Late October
Where to do it: Indoors
Garden space: Large garden, small garden, balcony, indoor space, no garden
Carving faces and shapes into pumpkins is a tradition that began many years ago (more than 200!) in Ireland. It connects to the legend of Jack of the Lantern, who's ghost was left to wander for eternity with only a burning piece of coal in a turnip to light his way.
These days, pumpkins are by far the most popular root vegetable to carve at Halloween! Their large size and head-like shape are perfect for spooky faces, or any other design.
Where to get your pumpkin
There are plenty of options for you to find a suitable pumpkin:
You don't even have to use a pumpkin. Any sort of squash will do - although some may be more fiddly to carve than others.
Essential items
Optional items
Follow these steps to design and carve your pumpkin with ease.
Step 1: Gather everything you need
Get all the items you will be using together. Find a comfortable place to work. This is a good activity to do inside, seated at a table.
If you are sitting down to do this, have your elbows and shoulders at right angles. This avoids pressure on tendons and joints.
Step 2: Cut off the crown
Use your knife to carefully cut off the top of your pumpkin. You may find it helpful to put the pumpkin on a chopping board, so it doesn't slip.
Once you have cut the crown off, keep it to one side as you will put it back on later.
Preparing and cutting the design in a pumpkin involves quite a bit of strength and dexterity. You could choose a no carve pumpkin design instead, avoiding the need for knives and other equipment. We have some no carve inspiration at the end of this article.
Step 3: Take out the insides
Use a large spoon to scoop out the insides of the pumpkin. Remove as much flesh and seeds as possible.
You should be left with a pumpkin that is smooth on the inside, with walls a few centimetres thick.
If you separate the pumpkin seeds from the flesh, you could then roast the seeds if you wanted to.
Step 4: Draw your design
Use a marker pen to draw your design on your pumpkin. This will be your guide for cutting around. The bigger and simpler the shapes, the easier it will be to cut out.
Step 5: Cut out your design
Use your knife to carve around the lines you drew. Work slowly and keep the knife pointing away from you to be safe. You can find special serrated pumpkin knives in shops, although a small kitchen knife should work just as well.
Continue until you have cut out all the shapes you marked out with a pen.
Children may need supervision with this task. Or, you can do it for them, depending on what is appropriate.
Step 6: Add tea lights and admire
Put a tea light or two inside your pumpkin. When you are ready to view the design in its spooky lit-up state, light the candles, put the crown back on and turn the lights off.
Be careful not to burn your fingers when lighting candles. You could use battery-powered tea lights instead. Or, use long matches or a long BBQ lighter to light.
In many places, having a lit pumpkin outside or in the window on Halloween evening is a sign that you are happy for trick or treaters to knock at the door.
Carving a pumpkin may be traditional, but there are lots of creative alternatives that don't require carving.
1. Paint your pumpkin
Use marker pens or acrylic / poster paint to create your design. You could do a simple face, or turn your pumpkin a new colour.
2. Add leaves and flowers
Stick dried flowers and leaves on your pumpkin to make decorative patterns.
3. Use ghost pumpkins
Ghost pumpkins are unusual pale grey varieties. They are naturally spooky and unusual, so you may decide no decorating is needed!
4. Create a mixed gourd display
There are lots of wonderful varieties of gourd available at this year. You could make an arrangement of squashes and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes for a lovely seasonal display.
There are many things you can do with leftover pumpkins. In this guide, we look at how you can use a pumpkin as a decorative planter.
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