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How to Carve a Halloween Pumpkin

Halloween is almost upon us—and that means pumpkins. Unlike the other eleven months of the year, the thirty days surrounding Halloween are filled with pumpkins: pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds, and, most importantly, pumpkin carving. But making an exciting, scary design isn’t easy, and you need to make sure the pumpkin doesn’t rot or fall apart. Here are some tips for carving and maintaining your Halloween pumpkins.

• First off, make sure you get a good pumpkin. Whether it’s from a pumpkin patch or the supermarket, you want one that fits the shape of whatever design you’re trying to carve, has skin that’s relatively free of dents and deep pockmarks, and a stem that is two inches or so long. Also, pull on the stem—if it comes off, the pumpkin has started to rot, so find another one.
• Cut out the lid by drawing a circle around the stem. Cut with the knife pointed in toward the stem so the lid doesn’t fall in the pumpkin.
• Spoon out the pulp inside with a spoon or ice cream scoop, and scrape the bottom so it’s flat.
• Draw the design you’d like to cut on the front of the pumpkin with a dry-erase marker or grease pencil so you can erase any mistakes. If you’d like to create a more elaborate design, use a stencil—outline the stencil’s design on a piece of paper, tape that paper to the front of the pumpkin, and poke holes along the lines of the design with a stylus or other sharp object. That way, you can cut along the holes to make the design.
• To do the actual carving, take a paring knife and cut along the outlines you’ve drawn on the pumpkin—or, if you used a stencil, the holes you poked with the stylus—and, once you’ve done the cutting, push the pieces in with your finger, then pick them out through the lid you cut in the top.
• In order to preserve the pumpkin once you’ve done your carving, apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to wherever you made cuts to keep it from drying out. If it does start to dry, soak it in cold water, and keep it in the refrigerator during the day.
• You can use whatever sort of light source you’d like inside the pumpkin: candles are good, but if you’d rather not use a flame, electric lights also work fine.
• The lifespan of a carved pumpkin can be anywhere from a day to a week if untreated, but petroleum jelly and soaking in cold water will help keep the pumpkin from rotting or growing mold. You should try and carve the pumpkins a day or two before Halloween to ensure that they’re in good condition for the actual holiday, and if you have the space to refrigerate them when they’re not on display, you should.

If you’re carving multiple pumpkins, experiment with the designs—you can show a surprising amount of creativity right on your own front porch. And there are few better holiday activities to enjoy with the entire family. Just make sure to help and supervise children, and do the actual carving for them: they’re free to draw the designs!

We’d love to see your pumpkin carving pictures—head over to Facebook and post a picture of your pumpkin carved for Halloween on our wall and receive a $20 credit from Crest Cleaners! It’s our way of getting in the spooky spirit and thanking you for being a fan. And if you get pumpkin stains on that brand new Halloween costume, bring it in, and we can handle it here at Crest.