Pumpkin Carving with Kids

Pumpkin Carving with kids can either 

be a messy extravaganza of holiday fun

oooor

a messy apocalypse of frustration.

This is a quick tutorial with tricks and tips 

to keep it clean, fun and silly.

 I like to cover my space with garbage bags instead of newspaper.

I always seem to have pumpkin guts seep through the newspaper.

Garbage bags make it a little more secure.

Whenever working with kids,

I highly recommend drawing out the design

with permanent marker.

**Oops!  My mouth didn't look the way I wanted!**

Easily fixed.

If your child is old enough to cut on their own,

use the large saw from a pumpkin carving tool kit.

The saw is a lot safer than a knife and easier for little hands. 

Mmm... looks yummy inside!

Once you've cut off the top, scrape - don't cut - off the guts

using a scooper with teeth.  This is an easy and fun step for kids.

Here's My Favorite Tip!!!

We all know that scooping out the guts is the most 

fun part of pumpkin carving.

To make this faster and less messy,

give the kids a hand.

Prep the pumpkin for their little hands by pushing all the guts DOWN

to the base of the pumpkin.  To do this, flip your scooper around and

push it along the inside edge.  Work around the pumpkin until all the guts

are at the bottom.  Then let the little hands to the work!

This step only takes a few minutes and will save you 

tons of time and fuss.  

{You're welcome, moms!}

**Save the guts for seeds!**

 Now to the cutting!!!

Continue to use the large saw

and cut out the pieces.

**NEVER STICK HANDS IN THE PUMPKIN WHILE CUTTING!**

Argh... Pirate!

If the mouth is big and you want to be sure

it isn't ruined during cutting,

consider breaking it into pieces.

I cut the mouth in half and approached the pieces

one-by-one.

Empty out the brains!

Easy clean up!

Push everything to the middle and wrap it up!

Isn't it cute?!