Home Topics Holidays Halloween
Alexa EricksonUpdated: Oct. 31, 2023
Get out those power tools and carving kits! It's time to create your best Halloween pumpkin ever.
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Man Smoking a Pipe
This is one impressive carved pumpkin. We absolutely love how realistic the lips, eyes, cheeks and chin look, and we’re equally impressed with the idea to carve the stem of another pumpkin into a creepy hand, while another small fruit is used as the pipe. This realistic carving would look perfect in a haunted house.
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Use the Stem in Your Pumpkin Design
Here’s another pumpkin with carving that doesn’t go all the way through. And this one incorporates the pumpkin’s stem into the carving design. Flip the pumpkin on its side and work around the stem to carve a face, with the stem serving as a large, crazy nose of a funny-looking monster!
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Floral Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Is this not the most beautiful pumpkin carving you’ve ever seen? Skip the scary stuff and choose a more romantic route by carving your pumpkin into a beautiful display of flowers.Or go for an easier option and paint your pumpkin with a floral pattern.
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Enchanted Fairy Pumpkin House
For the family that prefers something sweet over scary, this is a great addition to your pumpkin carving ideas! Transform a pumpkin into a quaint abode fit for a fairy. You could even glue some fall leaves to your pumpkin for a festive fall look!
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Realistic Pumpkin Carving
While it’s common practice to cut completely through the pumpkin to create a design, we love this unique technique, which could be your favorite new pumpkin carving idea. The carver removed just the skin to create a 3-D Jack-o-Lantern facethat’s scary and impressive!
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VW Volkswagen Pumpkin
Who says you have to carve a creature? We love the creativity of this Halloween pumpkin carving idea. Add some glitter to really make this pumpkin shine, and save the seeds. You can either plant them or use them in your decor.
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Carved Out Pumpkin Costume
If you have a small child, this pumpkin carving idea might be perfect for you this year. Find yourself a big enough pumpkin to comfortably place your little one in and carve out holes near the bottom for their legs. Then, take lots of pictures!
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Pumpkin Carving Ideas with Multiple Pumpkins
At first glance, each of these pumpkins offers a simple design. But together, they create a fun scene! We love that a tiny pumpkin was turned into monster food.Use a pumpkin stencil or create your own clever design.
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Ribboned Pumpkin
How beautiful is this ribboned design? It’s a unique pumpkin carving idea, and we’re all about the floral look. Set it next to a fall wreath for a gorgeous floral theme.
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Minion Pumpkin Carving
Minions are an adorable addition to your pumpkin carving ideas. This one is simple enough for the kids to do. Fall pumpkins are fun for the whole family, so work with your little ones to create a fun Halloween pumpkin scene.
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Welcome Pumpkin
Keep it simple by welcoming guests with a festive flickering welcome sign. You can be as friendly or scary as you want with your lettering. Just make sure to pick a fresh pumpkin so that the sign lasts well into the season.
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Jail Cell Pumpkin
We love that mini carved pumpkins were incorporated to make the scene of a person inside a jail cell, with parts of the larger pumpkin carved to appear like the person is holding onto the bars! While this pumpkin itself isn’t too scary, it will still fit in with your other truly creepy Halloween decorations.
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Owl Pumpkin Carving
Celebrate autumn — when wildlife like owls hoot the loudest — by trying your hand at a pumpkin carved to look like an owl! You can make it as simple or detailed as you wish.
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Night Sky Pumpkin
Considering your pumpkins will be lit up in the evening, why not create a night sky carving like this one? We love how the crescent was gently carved out of the top layer of the pumpkin’s skin, while the stars were cut all the way through, in different sizes.
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Pumpkin Sunflower Field
Light up the night with a sunflower field made of lit-up carved pumpkins! You can create the entirety of a sunflower, carving the design of a stem with its leaves on the bottom two, and finding a perfectly round Jack-O’-Lantern to top it all off to carve out the head.
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Pumpkin Carving Phrase Ideas
Who says pumpkins have to be super detailed or super scary? We love this trio that offers a positive approach to Halloween.Experienced carvers, novice crafters and those in between can all enjoy some Jack-o’-lantern inspiration.
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Carriage Pumpkin
Recreate one of the most iconic Disney movies by staging a doll horse and a doll Cinderella alongside this carriage pumpkin. This is a cute and recognizable way to decorate your yard for Halloween, especially if you have kids who are a little too young to enjoy the scary decorations.
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Star Wars Carving
If you’re a Star Wars fan, then this pumpkin carving idea is for you. May the force be with you! If you’re feeling ambitious, have a party and carve pumpkins into the whole cast!
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Cat and Crescent Pumpkin
You can’t go wrong with a black cat on Halloween and the crescent moon makes it super-spooky. If your cat will tolerate a Halloween costume, try to get some photos of the cat and the pumpkin together.
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Baby Vampire Pumpkin Carving Idea
If you’ve only got little pumpkins, you can still make them scary. All you need are some fangs and you’ll have a yard full of vampire pumpkins!
Originally Published: September 30, 2019
Alexa Erickson
Alexa Erickson is an experienced lifestyle writer who has contributed to Family Handyman, Reader's Digest, Martha Stewart, Bob Vila and Thrillist. She’s written more than 50 articles for Family Handyman on a range of topics, including home design, DIY home improvement projects, and storage and organization. Additionally, she runs her own website, Living by Lex, where she writes about home decor, travel, tech and more.
