Carving a Pumpkin: Varieties & Ideas for Halloween

It's Halloween again on October 31 - time for the pumpkin: Here you will find instructions, ideas and the best varieties for your Halloween pumpkin.

Autumn time is pumpkin time: But the delicious pumpkin is not only used on the plate in autumn - it is also in great demand as a decoration. Especially around Halloween, the pumpkin is a must in many households and is not only used for soup, but also for eerily beautiful pumpkin lanterns. But how do you make such a lantern and which pumpkins are suitable for it? We'll show you what you need to know about pumpkin carving.

Halloween Pumpkin Carving: Tools and Materials

You need the following materials and tools so that you can start carving the pumpkin right away:

1. pumpkin
2. Sharp Knife
3. Large Spoon or Ice Cream Scoop
4. Water Soluble Stick
5. Alternative: needle, cookie cutter, gouge, drill

Halloween Pumpkin Carving Instructions

Choosing the right pumpkin is the be-all and end-all for a successful carving. In order for the pumpkin to be easy to process, it should already be ripe - this is the only way to remove the flesh easily. The size also plays a decisive role: not only do large jack-o'-lanterns look more decorative, they are also the best for separating the pulp from and the outer shell is easier to work with. On the other hand, pumpkins with injuries are usually unsuitable for carving, as they start to rot faster.

Once you have found a suitable pumpkin, you can use a large, sharp knife to cut the top out of the pumpkin. It is best to make the cut diagonally in the direction of the middle, because the enlarged surface reduces the risk of the lid slipping inwards or falling into the pumpkin. You can leave the pumpkin stalk on the lid, after all it is not only extremely decorative, but can also later be used as a handle to open the lid. Protruding pulp shouldbe removed.

Now it's time to hollow out: This work works best with an ice cream scoop or with the classic, large spoon. Remove the flesh and seeds until there is only a rim about 2 cm thick at the end. With squash from the supermarket, you can now process the pulp into a delicious dish and don't have to throw it away. However, you should be careful with ornamental pumpkins or pumpkins from your own cultivation, because they can contain toxic bitter substances. That's why you should never continue to eat pumpkins that taste bitter, but dispose of them as a precaution. You can read more about this in our article on poisonous pumpkins.

Now we finally get to the exciting part and start carving. It's best not to just carve wildly, but to draw the desired pattern with a water-soluble pen. If the lines fit, you can simply trace them with a sharp knife or cutter. However, the skin of some pumpkins is so thick and hard that it is difficult to cut a straight line with a knife. A simple trick can help here: First poke holes in the bowl along the lines with a needle before you cut out the parts, and cutting will be much easier. But not only a knife is ideal as a carving tool: Creativity can be given free rein when carving pumpkins. With metal cookie cutters, for example, you can create atmospheric pumpkin lights with a pattern. A gouge is best for carving a pattern into the pumpkin without severing the skin, but small dots can easily be carved into the pumpkin with a drill and a bit of delicacy.

Now all you have to do is place your pumpkin in the desired location and equip it with a candle and the Halloween decoration is ready. If you prefer not to use a candle because of the risk of fire, you can of course still make your pumpkin glow: there are now LED candles that even imitate the flickering of real fire and thus still provide an authentic ambience. But a chain of lights inside the pumpkin provides the necessary light and gives the pumpkin a completely new, almost magical expression.

Halloween pumpkin carving: quick instructionsa look

1. Cut the top out of the pumpkin with a sharp knife. Start the cut diagonally towards the middle.
2. Remove excess flesh from top, but do not cut stem.
3. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop out the pumpkin, leaving a 2cm rim.
4. Draw a motif onto the pumpkin with a water-soluble pen.
5. Cut out the contours with a sharp knife or cutter.
6. Equip the pumpkin with a candle or chain of lights and place it in the desired location - done.

Halloween Pumpkin Carving: Preserve Jack-O-Lanterns

Jack-o-lanterns are beautiful and magical every fall. Unfortunately, however, they are a very short-lived pleasure - mold in particular often makes life difficult for the lanterns and causes them to spoil after a few weeks. A whole series of tips and tricks are circulating on the Internet, which should make the pretty lanterns more durable. Hairspray in particular is considered a silver bullet against mold, but its use is generally not recommended: Not only is the effect of this household remedy extremely controversial, but hairspray is also highly flammable and can set the pumpkin on fire if used incorrectly (e.g. drying time too short). Drying is the only thing that keeps the pumpkin from becoming moldy. However, only slow drying in a warm, dry room (preferably a few weeks before carving) leads to the desired result: If you are impatient and want to dry your pumpkin in the oven, you will only get a shriveled pumpkin as a result. But even without extra processing, the squash will keep for a long time if it is displayed in a cool but dry place.

Top Pumpkin Carving Types for Halloween: Overview

Here are the best types of pumpkins that are ideal for carving your Halloween decorations:

Big Max: This is a giant pumpkin with hard-skinned orange fruits. These are ideal for carving lanterns. Even small children can help out with handicrafts, for example scooping out the pulp.

Harvest Princess F1: This strain can be described as a classic Halloween pumpkin, but in miniature. This variety should be emphasized in combination with a large pumpkin or for smaller areas, such as a side table.

Jack O'Lantern: That kind toois one of the classic Halloween pumpkins. It can be easily hollowed out and offers enough space for larger carvings. An extra plus: Also tastes great as a soup!

St. Martin's Lantern Pumpkin: As the name suggests, this is the ideal Halloween lantern-hollowing variety. The fruits are oval in shape and bright orange in colour. This pumpkin also tastes extremely delicious and convinces with its firmer pulp.

Gourd mix: This mix consists of small ornamental gourds that are ideal for decoration. Carving is not an option due to its size, but this variety is ideal for painting faces or spider webs. This is also a great way for young children to get involved in Halloween decorations.

Tom Fox: Tom Fox is probably the most classic Halloween pumpkin. The fruits grow in many different shapes and can weigh as much as 8 kg! Particularly large and spooky faces can be easily carved into the pumpkin.

If you would like to see a larger overview of the pumpkin varieties, click here for the variety article.

Carving Halloween pumpkins: Beautiful and unusual ideas

We all know the typical Halloween pumpkin with the triangles for eyes and nose and the gaping mouth. But how about a few more unusual ideas: try giving your pumpkin a different facial expression, for example. For example, how about a crying pumpkin or a scared pumpkin? Funny grimaces are also currently in trend when carving pumpkins and make the jack-o'-lanterns no longer look horrible, but terribly funny. Just experiment with different facial expressions and create your very own Halloween grimace.

To take the grimaces even further, try combining the pumpkin with other materials. Wire can be used wonderfully as glasses or braces, for example. Black pipe cleaners become spooky spider legs. With the right decoration, the pumpkin becomes a real eye-catcher. It gets particularly spooky when you combine two pumpkin carvings: carve a large pumpkin with a gaping mouth and a small one that screams. Now you are stuckput the little pumpkin in the mouth of the big one: the creepy pumpkin monster is done with his victim.

If you've had enough of grimaces but still want a pumpkin as a Halloween decoration, you can also try a completely different motif. It doesn't matter whether it's a spider, witch or cat: With a template from the Internet, almost any motif can be transferred to a pumpkin and carved out. But also patterns that are not quite as scary, such as owls or a fairy, look great on a pumpkin. What is particularly nice about these motifs is that you can leave them in the garden even after Halloween without looking kitschy.

But there is also something for fans of classic elegance when carving pumpkins: How about patterns and flowers instead of grimaces and motifs? A beautiful lantern can also be easily made from a pumpkin, which with a tendril pattern or polka dot look no longer looks like Halloween at all, but like a noble autumn decoration. Or you can skip the carving and use some color to give your pumpkins that certain something - the possibilities are endless. Just experiment a bit and let your creativity run free.

See our Pinterest page for more inspiration:
Halloween: Pumpkin Carving