1. Pumpkin Carving
Who could escape the Halloween festivities without at least attempting to butcher a pumpkin for the trick-or-treaters to enjoy?
I admit, I am not the most skillful carver. I tend to opt for less intricate designs when I am actually carving pumpkins. I know that there are kits
or this one at Walmart for $6.98
that you can buy, but I always use just a regular kitchen knife when carving. In my thinking, I use that tool more often than the rinky-dink orange knife and it is safer. Also, I may or may not have broken more than one of the pumpkin adorned knives in the past.
The best trick that I have ever learned was to resist what I did as a kid and cut around the stem at the top to scoop out the “guts.” It is easier and more aesthetically pleasing to cut the hole out of the bottom. Then you can just cut off the root of the guts and remove it to see what you actually have to scrape out, you can detach it at the core.
When carving, there are millions of ideas out there. You can peruse Pinterest for hours. From clever to eerie, you can find what suits you and your little goblins the best.
I like to search out sites like freestencilgallery.com where you can print templates to design them. Of course, you can buy books too that will give you those! This one from Colleen Dorsey claims to make it easy and includes instructions with the design templates. You can get it for just $4.99 at Barnes and Noble.
Not a talented carver, as I previously stated, I also hacked some templates that are SVG files. If you have a Cricut or Siser, or other cutting machine, you can print the templates on vinyl to put on the pumpkins. I encourage you to use removable vinyl, so you can easily remove it and then compost the pumpkins rather than throw them out. A great place to search for this type of file is, of course, on Pinterest or at DomesticHeights.com I added a little headband to mine to add a little more flair.
You can even buy glow-in-the dark vinyl to get the effect of a lit pumpkin. Cricut makes a roll you can get at Michael’s for $11.24 and Target for $4.19.
The other hack is to paint the pumpkins. I have restrained from this lately because of what I mentioned about composting the pumpkins, but we did it at the high school and kids were really into it!
You could get kids involved in a much safer version of pumpkin decorating with painting, letting them let their artistic flag fly or you can take it as an art itself, as some of these very talented artists have done on these.
Not feeling the pumpkin decorating yourself? Nowhere to display them? Admire the crafts of others at events around your town. The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota. The Jack O’Lantern Spectacular does an amazing walk-through experience to see hundreds of carved pumpkins. The cost is steep, and tickets range from $18-26 for adults and $14-22 for children. Parking is included and there is a cheaper ticket available if you are a zoo member.
New in 2024, the aforementioned Pinehaven Pumpkin Patch in Wyoming, Minnesota is also offering the drive through experience for the family friendly night time version of their spooky offerings with a Jack O’Lantern experience with The Pumpkin Trail for an option on the other side of the Twin Cities area. Tickets run from $17-$26 depending on how you purchase and when you go.
Another easy way to add some pumpkin flair to your house, if you don’t want the muss and fuss, is to buy some of the funky, bumpy pumpkins along with just a regular gourd and create a tableau. I have even stolen a hack from our floriculture class and purchased a Mum that I place inside an old school orange pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket for a cute entryway greeting.
Whatever I do this year I always have one tradition...I watch “Scooby Doo and Ghoul School”! It was a TV special when I was young, and I have loved it ever since. A silly tradition I may never let go.
What do you enjoy for fall? I have my favorites, but I want to hear yours! Leave a message and help me to create more Fall Fun memories.
