Pumpkin Carving Tips From The Pros

Mother and son carving pumpkin for Halloween holiday.

When fall finally rolls around, there are probably some activities you can’t wait to try. For example, you might go apple picking or take a hike on a gorgeous afternoon to look at the leaves. But whatever you like doing this time of year, there’s one activity that you absolutely can’t miss out on — pumpkin carving. Sure, you can probably do some basic carving. But if the pumpkin looks like more of a mess than a masterpiece, then you need to get the scoop on how to make your jack-o-lantern look incredible. Here are some easy-to-follow tips you should read up on!

Don’t Buy Fancy Tools

You may see expensive pumpkin carving kits out there, but you don’t need that stuff. An inexpensive kit (or even some knives you already have in your kitchen) will probably work as well as you need it to. Why waste your money on unnecessary tools when you could have what you need for less cost?

Open Your Pumpkin From the Bottom

Most of us are used to opening a pumpkin from the top, but did you know that’s a messier way of doing it? If you want to keep things as clean as possible, you should open it from the bottom instead. This can also make it easier to put a candle inside when you’re finally ready to light it.

Make Sure You Scoop Enough

Scooping out your pumpkin is probably the least appealing part of the job, but it’s an important step that you don’t want to skip out on. If you do, you could be wasting a lot of time when you finally get to the cutting part. Therefore, make sure you scoop out enough at the beginning that the walls aren’t too thick to work with.

Trace Your Design

Think you can do it all by eyeing it? If you’re an incredible artist, that might be the case. But for the rest of us, tracing your design is generally a good idea. That way, you know exactly where you’re cutting when you’re finally ready to go in with that knife.

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Don’t Rush

It probably goes without saying, but rushing is not a good idea if you want your jack-o-lantern to turn out looking good. Take your time, and your masterpiece will come together in no time at all. And isn’t it about enjoying the process, after all?

Now that you have these helpful tips under your belt, you can be confident that you can make the best jack-o-lantern around!

Disclaimer: The stock image is being used for illustrative purposes only, and it is not a direct representation of the business, recipe, or activity listed. Any person depicted in the stock image is a model.