As the creepy, scary, and goopy holiday of Halloween creeps in around the corner, fall festivities such as pumpkin carving come into mind.

Although visiting haunted houses and going to haunted attractions are very popular, some people enjoy the more down to earth, traditional Halloween activities.  Pumpkin carving comes in as one of the top favorite at home Halloween activities to pursue.

These beautiful Jack o’ Lanterns of the season range anywhere from scary to popular phenomenon to old fashioned Jack o’ Lantern’s.

Many people have trouble carving pumpkins but here are some tricks, tips, and helpful hints to help get your pumpkin carving on.

1. Whenever purchasing your pumpkin look for one’s with a stem. The stem shows that the pumpkin was most likely handled better for it to be able to keep it’s stem which means it will last longer in the end.
2. Before carving your pumpkin, it is good to have a plan in mind and trace it onto the pumpkin. Free-handing most often leads to mistakes and you can not travel back in time to fix that.
3. Try keeping a water bottle around because the main reason pumpkins rot is because they are losing moisture. You do not want to water your pumpkin like a plant but you want to keep it moist to help it last longer.
4. It is understandable that it is hard to get absolutely everything out of the pumpkin. All that goop tends to stick and fight back to leaving its home but getting it out helps prevent quicker rotting.
5. Use an electric candle because it puts off a more vibrant light, does not blow out and you should keep your pumpkin as cool as possible.

Need some design ideas?  Check out this slideshow at Southern Living magazine.

Pumpkin carving is not about skill but about having fun. It is a good activity for those cool October nights and when hanging around with friends.