What would Halloween be without the infamous carved jack-o-lantern?  To me it epitomizes everything Halloween.  Of course there are other important aspects of the holiday; costumes, decorations, candy, haunted houses and of course trick-or-treating, but did you know that the most visual sign of Halloween is the pumpkin? 

Many centuries ago, October 31st was a magical night when glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set on porches and in windows to not only welcome deceased loved ones, but also to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles.  Soon after, it was the Irish who decided it was much easier to use pumpkins since they were much larger and easier to carve.  I personally would like to thank the Irish for that insight, since I’m pretty sure carving a turnip would not be nearly as fun!

Pumpkin carving is a Halloween tradition, but first you need a pumpkin – hence, a trip to the ever popular Halloween pumpkin patch!  To many finding that one perfect pumpkin in a field of hundreds becomes a mission in itself.  Taking the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, everyone is civil and friendly, but as soon as the tractor stops and everyone politely steps down, then it’s every man for themselves.  You have adults and children running in every direction trying to get to their ideal pumpkin before someone else does.   Finding that perfect pumpkin is the easy part, it’s the deciding between the 10 perfect pumpkins that you’ve found that’s the hard part.

Here’s a little pumpkin 101 tip: Never carry a pumpkin by its stem, it may break. If it does break-off you can use toothpicks as a basic patch. If you find a pumpkin that you want but it’s missing its stem, have no fear, you can still use it. Just carve the bottom out for the opening the same way you would do the top. Then, just sit your light source on the cleaned bottom piece and sit the pumpkin over it. This works great and you don’t need the stem for a lid handle.

Today there are many different ways to decorate a pumpkin. When I was young we would just wing-it and carve out two triangle eyes, an upside down triangle nose and a big open smiling mouth with a couple teeth here and there. Now there are some really elaborate stencils you can use to trace just about face onto your pumpkin from scary and evil to funny and playful. And it’s not just faces, but designs as well. Spiders, witches, sports teams, whatever you want I’m sure there’s a stencil out there for it. Between the pumpkin carving stencils and tools it’s as simple as trace and carve! There are also extreme carving techniques that you can find online for the more advanced pumpkin carver. Candles have been the age old way of illuminating jack-o-lanterns, but today battery lights and led lights are available as a safer means of lighting up your carved pumpkins. Just make sure that if you’re using a candle to illuminate your jack-o-lantern, be sure to place the pumpkin in a safe place before dressing the kids in their favorite kids costumes and heading out for trick-or-treating.

In my opinion the best part of carving a pumpkin (at least in our house) is the traditional eating of the pumpkin seeds.   It’s simple and they make a great snack.  First clean the seeds, then mix in a little olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and spread them on a cookie sheet.  Next broil them in the oven until they’re browned.  It’s that simple and they are healthy and delicious!

Now if you’re really not into all that mush and gush of cleaning out a pumpkin for carving, don’t worry there are other great ways to decorate without all the mess.  Painting is always a great and easy way to decorate your pumpkin!  Children love this (and even those adults who don’t want to grow up)!  It’s fun and simple and they can let their imagination run wild.  Accessories are always an important part if you’re painting a pumpkin.  A simple ball hat can turn your pumpkin into one of your favorite baseball players; a cowboy hat into a rugged cowboy; an Indian headdress instantly turns your pumpkin into a fearsome warrior.  By painting eyes on your pumpkin and then wrapping it in white gauze it turns your pumpkin into a mummy right before your eyes. 

No matter how you decide to decorate your pumpkin this Halloween, just have fun with it! Remember there is no right way or wrong way – just your way!