These pro tips will have your gourds looking and smelling good the entire trick-or-treating season.
1. Choose a pumpkin that is fresh, with a sturdy stem, no bruises, and a flat bottom so it won't roll while you carve.
2. Cut out the lid on an angle, not straight up-and-down so the lid won't drop inside the pumpkin when you replace it. A boning knife works best for this.
3. Scoop out all the pulp, and then some. Thin the inner wall of the "face" area to 1 ¼-inch thick so it will be easier to pierce the shell.
4. Hold the pumpkin in your lap. It's easier to carve features when the face is gazing up at you. And don't cut on a slant — clean up-and-down slices look best. To make intricate designs, try using a small saw.
5. Use your scraps creatively. Make a tongue, pipe, or hair accessories out of a discarded piece of pumpkin shell, for example.
6. Spread petroleum jelly on the cut edges to seal in moisture. If your pumpkin still shrivels a few days later, you can revive it with a facedown soak in cold water for up to eight hours.
7. Create a chimney. First, leave the lid on for a few minutes while the candle burns. Then make a small hole where the lid has blackened. Or, save yourself the stress and go with battery-operated votives instead.
8. Sprinkle a little cinnamon inside the lid. When you light the candle, your jack-o'-lantern will smell like a pumpkin pie. Yum.
