Pumpkin Carving with Kids Can Be Fun

We’re a bit Halloween obsessed—all about spiders, webs, skeletons, and anything cutesy creepy. Truth be told, I think the rest of my family is into straight up terrifying, but I can’t handle that one bit. My Halloween must have an edge of adorable.

What I do love (apart from a homemade pumpkin spice latte) is a good ‘ole afternoon of pumpkin carving. We love pumpkins of all colors, warts, smooth, big, small—if it’s at all gourd-ish or the very least bit carvable, we’ll have at it.

Some years we use stencils for more intricate designs, other times we go straight up classic.

My hot tip here is: if you have some form of plastic tablecloth, use it. A drop cloth is another great table topper.

Tip #2: angle your knife at a 45 degree angle when cutting the top, and ensure it’s large enough for your hand holding a strong large spoon for scraping out the innards. If you cut straight up and down, the top may just fall into your pumpkin.

Here’s a full how-to carve a pumpkin—and don’t forget to roast the seeds with salt and oil. Delicious.