Connect with Neighbors at a Pumpkin Carving Party
Recently, our good friends and neighbors, Patrick and Becky, hosted a pumpkin carving party for friends and neighbors. What a great idea! I was thrilled, especially since I had never carved a pumpkin before. But if I was thrilled, Ethan took it to a whole new level. He spent the days and weeks prior secretly planning the perfect pumpkin, although he was careful to not share any ideas with me for fear that I would not be on his team and steal his ideas.
Plan a Pumpkin Carving Party
With the invitation, Becky sent an outline for how the event would progress:
Step One: RSVP by _______ so that teams can be made.
Step Two: Coordinate with your team on a design you would like to carve into the pumpkin(s).
Step Three: Show up and carve (Please note that the Official Rules state that stencils are NOT allowed. You can free-hand a drawing, but no tracing! Violators will be subject to having a beer and thinking about what they have done.) Each team will have one hour to complete their design.
Step Four: Everyone will judge the contest for First, Second and Third place. The team with the most total votes wins the contest and will be forever immortalized in photos
Step Five: Enjoy yourself…it should be a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Carving Tools
Patrick and Becky provided basic pumpkin carving tools that can be purchased at any local grocery store or dollar store. Here is a great set of pumpkin carving tools from Amazon. Ethan, of course, brought along a power drill, knives, and a wealth of enthusiasm. Other teams brought Christmas lights, gourds, and other inferior items (wink, wink).
The Pumpkin
On our team, Ethan and Becky really drove the creative process, while me and another team member executed their vision. As you will see below, our pumpkin was masterful, although we did not win first place. Here is our pumpkin.
Tips for Carving Your Pumpkin
1. Bigger is not always better. While big pumpkins provide a larger creative slab, they take longer to scoop out and carve.
2. Buy the pumpkin carving tools! It is way easier than using a big kitchen knife. The power drill also really helped to make large holes, such as in the back for the candle.
3. Get creative and think outside the box. We used flour, lipstick, and shoe-polish to accent the design.
4. Preserve your pumpkin. After scooping it out, wipe down the pumpkin with a 10% bleach solution (cut with water) to help your pumpkin live longer. I also think the local vermin stay away from the bleach.
5. Have FUN! This is a great way to get to know your neighbors. Also, once you have carved it and put it on your porch, it creates a homey, welcoming feel in the neighborhood.
What do you think? Any carving tips or secrets? Ever hosted a carving party?
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October 30th, 2008 3:04 pm
I wish I had known the bleach tip last weekend! One of our four pumpkins has already bit the dust thanks to the rancid smell of rot on our front porch.
October 31st, 2008 1:17 am
I have a friend who hosts a carving party every year. We always look forward to it, even though I’m not a very creative carver. But I’ve never learned the bleach trick. Great hint! I just had to throw out my jack from last Sat. He got very moldy very quickly. Happy Haunting!
October 31st, 2008 10:29 am
The bleach trick we learned about when we went to pick our own pumpkin this year. I brought the bleach solution to the party to share, but some forgot to use it. Throughout the following week, we saw the pumpkins, and those that used bleach were still good and those without bleach began to mold within a day or two. We did have to throw our pumpkin away a few days ago because our angry, evicted squirrels were eating it, but it remained mold-free!