To share a Halloween tip!

[Teflondreams]

Ok, so pumpkin carving can be a stressful activity for kids and adults alike I’ve found. So this year I bought my friends children pumpkin sticker sets instead of us having the stress of the carving. They turned into cats, bats, monsters and pirates. Brilliant!

Kids loved them, pumpkins looked great, no knives, no children wailing because they want to do the sharp knife bit, no mess or rotting pumpkins and if you want you can have a nice pumpkin soup after Halloween is done.

AIBU to highly recommend pumpkin stickers in future as a better alternative to carving?

that sounds ideal where did u get the kits from? x

Is there a way of lighting up the pumpkin?
We get the kids to draw the designs then dh carves and they can scoop etc

@MrsMercury

that sounds ideal where did u get the kits from? x

I got them from a little local craft shop but this is a similar thing I’ve found on a google search. www.bakerross.co.uk/pumpkin-funny-face-decoration-kits-3?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI68iv6bXs8wIVRe7tCh0u2wVkEAQYASABEgIVQ_D_BwE

@Karwomannghia

Is there a way of lighting up the pumpkin? We get the kids to draw the designs then dh carves and they can scoop etc

No you can’t light them up traditionally you can hold torches up to them for pictures or drape fairy lights or candles around the pile of pumpkins though.

You can't light them. I've seen these stickers but don't see the point as the pumpkin is meant to be lit.

Yabu.No pain no gain and stickers miss out the joy the youngsters get when it's finally lit. Mine used to moan sonetimes until one time we'd left it a bit late and all we could get was a swede. Now that did take some carving.

@Rugsofhonour

Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose? They’re meant to be lanterns that you put outside in the dark.

Totally agree with this. The whole point is that they are lit internally with the face design shining through in the darkness.

It’s really not that difficult to cut a couple of triangles and a wonky mouth out.

And carving pumpkin soup is the work of the devil [boak]

Also the carving occupies more time!

Sounds an awfully lazy idea. Why not go one step further and drop the stickers and just give the kids a sharpie to draw on the pumpkin??

Half the fun is in the carving and putting a candle inside. Otherwise what's the point.

If your children enjoy doing the stickers that’s great. But for us the main pleasure of the pumpkin is turning it into a lantern for the front step.

Oh I didn’t know the whole purpose was to light them! I thought it was just a fun activity to make the house decorated for Halloween.
Last year my friend and I struggled to carve the pumpkins into the shapes her children had designed and it was all a bit stressful and messy.

Maybe I did the wrong thing bringing this. I’ll ask my friend next year what activity she wants me to bring!

You'd be better off just cutting out circles of orange paper and painting them to save on the plastic waste of stickers. But I agree, the lighting is the whole point.

They're supposed to be lanterns though.

@RedHelenB

Yabu.No pain no gain and stickers miss out the joy the youngsters get when it's finally lit. Mine used to moan sonetimes until one time we'd left it a bit late and all we could get was a swede. Now that did take some carving.

We always had swedes as kids! I think it was more traditional (at least in the north of England). The smell of burnt swede is Halloween for me.

If I could add a tip of my own that we discovered last year...battery-powered fairy lights are better and safer than candles to light them up and if you use the ones that change colour and flicker it looks really cool and spooky!

You were trying to be kind OP. Sometimes though these activities that are a pain you will look back at fondly. The smell of the pumpkin flesh brings back memories of my hands getting red raw from carving out too many pumpkins!

It’s absolutely fine if it works for you and your kids!

@chocolateorangeinhaler

Sounds an awfully lazy idea. Why not go one step further and drop the stickers and just give the kids a sharpie to draw on the pumpkin??

Half the fun is in the carving and putting a candle inside. Otherwise what's the point.

Only on mumsnet is doing a half term treat afternoon for your friends kids an awful lazy idea . The poor deprived children had baking, dressing up, sweets, and even choosing their pumpkin at a farm as well as the awful pumpkin stickers.

I was just sharing something that worked well and stopped any crying children!

The whole point is the time spent together planning the designs, carving, putting a tea light in the centre to light up.

Stickers are completely and utterly pointless.

I love carving them. My dc love picking their pumpkin design.

To make it easier to light, cut the bottom of the pumpkin rather than the top. The base of the pumpkin acts as a tea light holder too.

Use cookie cutters. I've Halloween ones, but I've used stars in the past too. Makes for an easy guide when carving.

You could paint/glitter the outside of the pumpkin rather than stickers.

To carve I use a steak knife. Easiest thing I've found to use. Skewers or chopsticks are also good to have handy to poke out any detailed pieces

Last year my eldest did a funny one, made us all giggle because it's so un-halloweeny. I've seen it online since so not just original idea but we weren't expecting it

Whacking a few stickers on can't take more than five minutes, tops?

Carving pumpkins takes all afternoon and it's a brilliant way to create memories while occupying the kids. My DD mentioned yesterday how much she enjoys doing them every year - she's autistic so over the years we haven't always managed to do as much as other families, due to her and her twin brother's difficulties (he's also autistic). Hearing her talk excitedly about the pumpkin carving gave me such a lovely feeling inside. It was wonderful to hear her say how much she enjoys it every year. Her brother messaged me tonight with a picture of the (very simple) design he wants to do. I just love it.

I just bought our pumpkins tonight. Can't wait to carve them - even though it's bloody hard work!! And yes, they are supposed to be lit up - we use the LED candles so nice and safe. They look amazing 😊

You've all got it wrong!
You use the stickers early on in October so you get the cream of the crop pumpkins and they last all month.
Then you carve THE OTHER SIDE just before Hallowe'en for lanterns and turn it round!!

Don't waste the pumpkin innards though. You can roast and eat the seeds. You can use the middle for sweet or savoury items - doesn't just have to be soup.
As for carving - start off with a drill and it'll be much easier. Or just make all your patterns based around dots/circles and drill the while thing.

Never done it, lots of wasted pumpkins I imagine too