Halloween Pumpkin Carving Parties

                           

Pumpkin Carving Parties

Halloween Display
Vampire Bat

About Pumpkin Carving Parties

‘Tis the season for Halloween pumpkin carving parties. Gather a group of family or friends. Grab a pumpkin and your favorite carving knives, stencils, and patterns, and let’s have some fun! And, don’t forget to roast the pumpkin seeds.

Everyone loves carving pumpkins. It is one of the biggest traditions of Halloween. Pumpkin carving is the most fun when it is done with a gang of family or friends. Halloween pumpkin parties are usually capped off with a bowl of hot, crisp pumpkin seeds fresh out of the oven.

A little pre-planning will help to make your party a glowing success. Make sure to have plenty of carving supplies: carving patterns and stencils, carving knives, and even pumpkin decorating paints. Got impatient little ones? Try “Pumpkin Parts”, which you just stick on the pumpkin to make neat faces. You may want to have a battery-operated pumpkin carver handy. Often the little ones, get tired of carving, leaving the finishing touches to mom and dad. The battery-operated pumpkin carver makes quick work of an unfinished masterpiece.

Frankenstein Friday
Candy Corn

Pumpkin Carving Parties - Preparing the Pumpkin

Jack O'Lantern

When selecting pumpkins for carving, lighter-colored ones carve easier, as they are softer. The downside is they do not last as long.

Pick a pumpkin with a nice stem and a carvable face.

Clean the pumpkins off outside by washing them off with plain water and a sponge. Allow it to dry.

Keep the pumpkin outside, or in a cool place, until you are ready to carve it.

Cut open the top of the pumpkin and clean out the inside seeds and guts (many of us call them “Pumpkin Brains”). Be careful not to pull hard on the stem as it breaks easily.

Tip: When cleaning the inside of your Jack O’Lantern, scrape the inside wall to an inch thick. This will make carving a lot easier.

Set the seed aside for cooking pumpkin seed snacks or for saving seed for next year.

 

Pumpkin Carving Safety Tips

Jak O'Lantern Flashing

Here are some simple tips which will help to make your pumpkin carving party a safe one:

Choose a pumpkin carving kit appropriate for your child’s age and skill level.

Do not let a young child use a knife.

Always point knives away from you.

Keep your free hand away from the direction of the knife.

Use slicing motions and never force the knife.

When using candles to light your Jack O’Lantern, do not leave them unattended.

Play it safe…For indoor lighting, we recommend battery-operated pumpkin lights.

How to Carve Pumpkins

Pumpkin Carving Kits

Select your design. Have the kids draw a picture of what they want their pumpkin to look like. Even a toddler can draw a pumpkin. Amazingly, the carved pumpkin always comes out just the way he or she wanted it.

Pumpkin patterns and stencils are easy to find. There are friendly patterns and spooky ones to choose from. Pumpkin stencils have different skill levels, from beginners to experts.

For younger children, keep the design simple The fewer curves, angles, and cuts, the better the result.

Once you have mastered carving a pumpkin, you can graduate to a pumpkin carving design, or create your own. There are a wide variety of designs and are limited only by your imagination. To use a design,

  • Buy or make your own.

  • Pick one that is sized for your pumpkin. Enlarge or shrink it on a copier if need be.

  • Transfer the design to the pumpkin. You can trace it with a small knife, a nail, a marker, or a pencil.

  • Slowly begin to cut out the pattern.

  • Slow is the operative word, as a mistake in carving can alter or ruin the outcome.

Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas and Tips

Got little Tykes!? Pumpkin decorating is perfect for kids who are too little or do not have the patience, to carve pumpkins. You can paint them, add pre-made face parts, or light them up with pumpkin lighting kits.

  •  Use an ice cream scoop to clean out your pumpkin instead of bending your kitchen spoons.
  • For a unique jack-O’Lantern, add a little glow paint, or fake blood.
  • Insert a bowl into a carved pumpkin and add dry ice and warm water to create an extra spooky, smoke-filled jack-o’-lantern.

Making Your Pumpkin Last

Apply a light coating of petroleum jelly on the cuts. It will seal the wound and the pumpkin will last longer. After carving, place the pumpkin in a cool, dark place. It will spoil quickly if left at room temperature and will attract fruit flies.

Did you know? You can usually revive shriveled pumpkins by soaking them in a bucket of water.

Enjoy Our Other Halloween Pages

More of Our Halloween Celebration Pages

Pumpkin Nook The Internet’s authority on pumpkins knows how to celebrate and enjoy Halloween. Check out the “Halloween Central” section.

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Halloween Parties – tips and ideas

Pumpkin Carving and Pumpkin Carving Parties

Halloween Party Recipes – snacks and munchies galore

About Spider Webs – They’ll give you the creeps

Even More October Fun

 If you love October, and you love Halloween, you will love Pumpkin Nook!

Pumpkin Picking Tips – How to pick the perfect Halloween pumpkin

Scarecrows – History, trivia, how to make them.

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Did You Know? There are literally thousands of holidays, special events, and observances, more than one for every day of the year. Many new holidays are being created on a very frequent basis. Consequently, at Holiday Insights we strive to thoroughly research and report details of each one as accurately as possible.  

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