The tradition of picking out pumpkins in my family has always stopped at painting. I grew up without carving a pumpkin as it was deemed too messy or too much of a hassle. However, just like that TikTok sound, being an adult, I have access to my own money and can buy a pumpkin and carving supplies. Well, this year, I carved a pumpkin at my boyfriend’s house. His mom was kind enough to give me the supplies. We personally made a day of it, picking apples and pumpkins, drinking apple cider and watching “Hocus Pocus.” Don’t be afraid to do more than just carving pumpkins, but this article is just focusing on making jack-o-lanterns.

Obviously, the first thing you want to do is pick up a pumpkin. There’s some farm stands outside of Elizabethtown that are selling pumpkins. Next thing are the tools. You can find these at Giant or the Dollar Store. I would not go to Amazon, unless you are planning to carve your pumpkin after Halloween. Anyway, make sure you have enough supplies if you’re doing this with a roommate or with a partner. I would also get trash bags to cover either the floor or the table you’re working on. You may want to take it outside too as it’s going to get messy.

Carving a pumpkin is pretty straight forward. You want to start by washing your pumpkin. Rinse it under the sink for a little bit and dry it off. Make sure you get all the sides. You then want to cut a circle around the top of the stem, making the hole big enough to stick your hand in and get a spoon in as well. Once the top is off, take the knife and trim any seeds or pulp hanging from the top.

Now comes the fun part. You can use a spoon, but I found it best to use your hands. Scoop all of the pulp out of the pumpkin until it’s empty. If you like pumpkin seeds, I would put as much as the seeds as possible to the side and wash them later. If you have an extra set of hands, you can have someone scoop the pulp and the other gather the seeds from the pulp. The seeds can be easily baked for a later snack. Back to the pumpkin, once the gourd is hollow, you want to scrape the inside until it’s white. This makes sure that there’s no more pulp and it makes it easier to carve.

After giving yourself an arm workout and moisturizing your hands with pumpkin pulp, you want to figure out your design. You can use a washable marker or a sharpie to trace your design. Then you simply cut out the design. As soon as you’re done, put the stem back on and place the jack-o-lantern wherever you want! I would also steer clear of using actual candles, instead use battery candles. That’s it really; have fun carving! And be careful with those sharp tools!