by Vince Capece

Created on: October 29, 2008

Halloween is fun for the kids who like to get dressed up and beg for candy door to door. Of course, few can argue against the eating of the candy after trick-or-treating. But for those of us who never enjoyed the whole dressing up thing, decorating can be quite enjoyable. And the Jack-o-Lantern is key.

Children love to see the faces emerge from the large piece of fruit and watch the eyes light up from the candle burning inside. But there are a few tricks to make it less work and more fun for the adults involved.

Choosing a large, fairly symmetrical pumpkin is a key ingredient. A stem provides a good look for the pumpkin. A flat side or damage to the outside can be worked into the look or hidden by carving the opposite side. But first and foremost is the design.

You don't have to be a great artist to carve a great pumpkin and you don't need elaborate tools. Sketch a design on the outside of the pumpkin (or on paper for practice). Using simple triangles, circles/ovals, and squares, nearly any type of face can be created. Point triangle eyes inward for a menacing face or open them up for a happier look. Two curves connecting at the ends make the mouth. Noses are entirely optional, but can be made again with a small triangle or two.

There are a few things that will be necessary to successfully carve your pumpkin. Aside from a good pumpkin, you'll need a carving utensil which can be anything from a "pumpkin carving kit" to a simple steak knife to a power jigsaw (my personal favorite). And then you'll need a light source such as tealights (available in bulk at a dollar store), small decorative candles, "glow sticks", or custom wicks, which can be spectacular as well as spectacularly dangerous.

Please note that the skin on a pumpkin makes carving dangerous so keep kids away from the tools and take extreme caution for yourself. Also, any power tools will make the job much quicker but they are quite messy to clean up afterwards.

Start by opening up the pumpkin. Traditionally, the top is cut in a large circle but this makes reaching in to light the candle difficult and, as the pumpkin rots, the top will shrink and fall into the Jack-o-Lantern shortening the attractive shelf life of the design. Cutting a circle into the bottom keeps the integrity of the top while providing a flat and stationary surface for the candle to be mounted.

Empty out the seeds and some of the innards. This is where small children come in handy. They enjoy getting dirty and pulling out all of the "spaghetti."

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