Everything You Need to Carve Pumpkins Like a Pro

This tool is pretty advanced, but if you’re into getting that glowy, three-dimensional look, you’re going to need one of these. A scooper like this makes it easy to create depth by scraping away the skin and flesh little by little. This one is great for achieving that sculpted look that you see on professionally carved pumpkins.

For Parents: This one is also fairly safe for kids to use with supervision. Stencil out the area you want to target, and kids have a good time scraping out the flesh. It’s definitely a safer option than handing over a knife, and it’s a great way to introduce kids to sculpting.

When it’s time to get carving, nothing quite beats a good old-fashioned serrated paring knife. A decent pumpkin-carving knife isn’t very expensive but it makes a world of difference when you’re carving out intricate stenciled shapes or want to make nice clean lines. This one is also a good addition to any kitchen, and one of my personal faves.

For Parents: This works for kids old enough to handle kitchen knives. It’s less dangerous than something like a chef's knife, but it's still super sharp and tough to handle for kids under high school or upper middle school age. Even so, always keep an eye on kids when they're handling knives. For very young children, a good alternative is a butter knife. Let them scrape out the shapes they want you to carve with the real knife and they still feel included without having to handle dangerous sharp objects.

If plain-old knives and scoopers aren’t going to cut it for you, consider getting a Dremel tool. These little things make short work of just about any pumpkin. It's super easy to carve out intricate shapes of varying depths. Be warned though, it will shoot a fine mist of pumpkin bits all over the place so you might want to use it in the garage, or outside.

For Parents: Save this one for older teens. If they’re old enough for wood shop, they’re likely old enough to handle a Dremel tool. When I was a moody teenager, the addition of power tools brought me back to pumpkin carving, but your mileage may vary.

Any time you carve a pumpkin you're going to end up with a lot of guts. Don't throw them away! My grandmother would haunt me forever if I didn't advise you to roast up those pumpkin seeds and put 'em to use. There's so much you can do with the goopy, seedy mess you scrape out of a pumpkin.

First you'll wanna put them in a colander and rinse them in the sink, separating all the goopy bits from the seeds. Next toss the seeds in some olive oil with salt and pepper, then spread them on a baking sheet and oven-roast them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Better yet, check out these recipes from Bon Appétit. There is no end to what you can do with those seeds. Eat 'em up!