Jack-o'-challenged
OK, I need help.(Of course, if you have been reading my blog, you already know that.)
My son just turned two and is coming to an age where he is going to start remembering things. So I have to be extra nice to him now.
He is also almost to the age where he is becoming impressed by -- for my lack of a better brain -- things. You know, things.
One of the things coming up is Halloween.
And I am scared.
Not because of Halloween, but because I don't really know what to do for Halloween.
Mainly, I have no clue how to carve a pumpkin and turn it into a jack-o'-lantern. I never did that. my sister did it once when we were kids, but I don't remember much about it other than it was messy and raw pumpkin tastes bad.
Someone out there has to be a pumpkin-carving master who can provide some tips. I know it's early, but I figure it will take me some time to get up to speed. I'm slow.
(And if you have ways of keeping toddlers out of Christmas trees, I'll take those tips, too.)
I figure if I can learn how to make a jack-o-'lantern, then my son will think I'm cool and he'll remember having a fun Halloween and doing fun stuff with his mom instead of growing up to tell his college friends, "All my mom ever did for Halloween was sit with me at the computer to make virtual faces on pumpkins." And maybe then his roommates will lead him around the neighborhood smashing everyone's jack-o-'lanterns because he never had one and it will be a cathartic experience for him and cheaper than therapy. Except he could go to jail for vandalism and need to see a counselor for part of his punishment anyway.
And I know you don't want to see that happen.
So, please, any great Halloween tips?
Labels: Hollydays, Man-cub, the mom crazies
posted by Holly at 6:49 AM
18 Comments:
Number one rule of pumpkin carving... don't carve it too early. After you cut that sucker open you've only got a few days at best in the Florida heat and humidity before it turns into a nasty moldy mess. So good news you've got weeks to prepare. Go and get a little kits with the modern tools at Target or Walmart and you'll be set. They'll also have overlays for fancy faces but with a two year old you can keep it simple and let time bring you the "carve a power ranger face mommy" requests in the years to come.
And when you've carved that pumpkin, put a votive candle in the and light it to dry it out. The drier you get it the longer it will last.
What I've done the last couple of years is just paint the outside of the pumpkin and not carve it. I've figured Max wouldn't know the difference.
I actually like carving pumpkins, but haven't wanted to deal with the mess. Max is 3 for this Halloween, and I'm still debating - to carve, or to paint?
My oldest is 4 and we've yet to carve a pumpkin at our house. We don't even really go trick-or-treating. We go see the aunts and uncles and grandparents to trick-or-treat and call it good. So, um, yea. Good luck with that! :)
We are pumkin carvers and although it can make a mess nothing is more fun for kids then to dig in a rip all the insides out. I do the drawing, my husband does the carving, and Braydon cleans out the guts. Just lay some newspaper down on the porch and carve away. But definitely do it the day or two before Halloween, because they do rot fast. Last year I also bought one of those mini pumkins and let my son go to town with markers. He was very proud of his masterpiece.
It is one of those tasks that seems like it will be harder than it actually is. Just buy the cheapy little kit from any store. They have all the instructions. :)
I really don't have any tips. I stink at halloween decor. I did see on another blog where she spray painted the pumkin white and then painted silly faces on it. IT WAS SOOOOO CUTE! I would give you the link, but I can't remember where it was.
~melody~
I think Halloween might be my favorite holiday. I love carving jack-o-lanterns. I'm not great at the execution of pumpkin carving, though, so no real tips. Sorry! I do like the painting idea.
All I know is (a) get a pumpkin stencil to carve jack (they're downloadable free all over the interwebplace and (b) don't cut your arm off.
Oh and be sure to have LOTS of M&M's on hand. :)
Get a carving kit. One with the little knives. It seriously makes a HUGE difference. When I was a kid we just used steak knives and not only is it much more dangerous, it's a lot harder.
When my kids are too little to do their own Jack, I give them a pumpkin and a sharpie. I let them draw all over the pumplin, and then wherever I can, I cut out the shapes they draw. Its a fun way to include little ones and they get SO proud of themselves!
When my son was 2, all I did was use scraps from my crafts to make a face on the outside of the pumpkin. He is almost 4 and this is the 1st year he knows what Halloween is so I will be carving. My plan is just to make a very simple face with a carving kit from the supermarket. As far as Christmas goes what I did was giftwrap a bunch of X-large empty boxes. Then put the tree in a corner and use the boxes like a baby gate in front of it. You can weigh the boxes down with paint cans or something so he can't push them around. Hope that helps!
In response to your comment about dinner on Wednesday ... COME ON OVER! :-)
~melody~
My son will be 2 in November. Last year we painted a pumpkin at playgroup. Of course, you can imagine how well that went since he wasn't even 1 yet! I still couldn't bear to part with my son's "creation" so that pumpkin sat on our doorstep until early 2008. Since it wasn't carved and it was fairly cold, it kept quite nicely...even if the UPS man did have to look at a paint-smeared pumpkin in February every time he delivered us something!
We also carved a pumpkin that lasted through Halloween but not much longer after that. Just cut a circle around the top of the pumpkin, empty the seeds and take a pencil to draw a face on the front of your pumpkin. Then cut along the pencil lines and you have a carved pumpkin.
We used to get really into pumpkin carving when I was younger. We would put yarn on the pumpkin for hair (probably considered a fire hazard if you're using a real candle on the inside of your pumpkin!) and we would also take markers and give our pumpkins freckles or makeup.
Have fun with it and take lots of pictures!
We let the kids paint a pumpkin or two then we have them watch as we carve. My husband allowed our then three year old to carve a little last year. I think the key is to supervise and relax. Have fun with it. Your kids rarely expect perfection from us.
Wow, I don't know what's up with Bloglines and your feed but I JUST got 13 posts in my reader. I wondered why you hadn't been posting! I guess you were.
Start easy. Do the triangle eyes and nose and call it good. I learned if you cut the bottom off instead of the top it's easier to put a candle inside without burning yourself. This year I bought little strobe lights to put inside instead. We'll see how those work!
Here's our pumpkins from 2006: http://coolzebras.blogspot.com/2006/10/halloween-previewthe-pumpkins-are-done.html
When Q-ster was 2, we decorated a little pumpkin with a permanent marker, drawing the eyes and smile. Less messy and then he could carry it around and hug it.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home