Carving a pumpkin in 10 easy steps

So you want to carve a pumpkin (a.k.a. Jack-o'-lantern) for Halloween do you? Hopefully this guide to pumpkin carving will help you. Bear in mind that this was my first pumpkin carving and that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Step#1 - Get a Pumpkin

You need one of them large, orange things. Real big one. You can get them here in the store before Halloween but you shouldn't wait until the last moment as I've heard of some stores which ran out of them on the day before Halloween.

Step#2 - Get a Knife

Get yourself a couple of nice, sharp, pointy knifes. Not only are they good for self defence they will also prove quite useful in steps 5 and 7.


Step#3 - Get a Spoon

Apparently you can do more with a spoon than just eat soup - step 6 will show you exactly what else a spoon is good for.

Step#4 - Get a Cat

More on this later.

Step#5 - Cut the Top Out

Cutting the top of the pumpkin out sounds simple enough but you need to make sure that the piece you cut out can be placed back as a lid once you're done. Just think of yourself as a brain surgeon when you're carving the pumpkin - in order to successfully finish the surgery you need to be able to close the top, even if the patient is dead.


Step#6 - Get the Crap Out

Stick your hand into the pumpkin and take the insides out. Once you're done get a spoon and dig the rest of it out.


Step#7 - Carve Away

Now just carve the face/image you want out of the front of the pumpkin. Be as scary as you can (preferably more than I was).


Step#8 - Have a Cat Bless It

Cats have always been thought to have mystical powers and were many times regarded as witches' familiars. It is true that I'm no witch but I tend not to take unnecessary risks - so I just grabbed the nearest cat and had it rub some of its mystical energies on the pumpkin.


Step#9 - Light a Candle

Light a little candle and put it in the pumpkin. Close the pumpkin top.

Step#10 - Display the Pumpkin

Find a prominent place for the pumpkin to be displayed - your kitchen, your yard, or your neighbourhood elementary school could be such places.


That's it - you're done!