🎃 How to Carve and Hollow Out a Pumpkin For Halloween
Halloween night just would not be the same without the great pumpkin carvings and creations that people create and place in and outside their homes. Jack-o-Lanterns are really great to look at, but how it is done?
First and foremost, any pumpkin carving should only be carried out by a capable and responsible adult. Children can join in with the hollowing out process, but the rest must be done by an adult.
🎃 How to choose a pumpkin to carve for Halloween
When choosing your pumpkin be select one that is firm and not soft or on the turn, try and get it as big as possible, but not too big to carry. Bigger pumpkins just look better when they glow by having a candle or tea light light placed in them. It is always a good idea to get a couple of extra small ones as well to practice your pumpkin carving on.
Once you have the pumpkin of choice you might want to give it a bit of a clean, taking care not to damage it. You will clean it again once it has been carved out.
Pumpkin face design is next. You can use books or even look on the internet for inspiration. (See video below for some ideas on face designs for your pumpkin)
Once you have a face design for your pumpkin draw it onto a piece of paper or print it out.
🔪 Adult and a Sharp Knife to cut the Pumpkin
Now this is where the adult part comes in, using a very sharp knife or modelling knife carefully slice the top of the pumpkin off (making sure it is enough so that you will be able to easily fit your hand inside it once it has been hollowed out), but do not throw the top away.
The children can now help to hollow out the pumpkin either by the use of their hands or a spoon. There are many uses for the seeds etc so there is no need to throw them away. The pumpkins interior is extremely good as it contains zinc, protein, as well as other vitamins, it is even said that it can lower cholesterol.
Have a look on the internet for recipes’ such as roast pumpkin or pumpkin pie. The seeds are also a great source of magnesium and phosphorus.
🎃 Choose a Halloween face to sketch on your pumpkin
Wipe the pumpkin down again once the entire contents have been removed. By using a felt tip pen sketch the chosen Halloween face on by copying it from your sketch, drawing or print-out.
With a sharp knife slowly cut out the shapes that make up the face. Once you have completely cut out the face and are happy with your design, wipe down again. At this point you can now place the pumpkin where you intend it to stand.
Lift the lid off and place a tea-light type candle inside and light it. Place the top back on and dim the lights. You should now have a perfect professional looking Halloween jack-o-lantern that you should be proud of.
