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Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving Traditions

Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving Traditions

Most families who participate in Halloween decide to carve pumpkins and showcase them on October 31st. My husband takes it to the next level – simple jack-o-lantern faces won’t do for him. Around 2007, he brought up the idea of using Halloween pumpkin carving stencils (you can find them online or create your own) to do our pumpkins.

Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving TraditionsPin
Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving Traditions

Instructions

How it works: Wash and dry your hollowed-out pumpkin. You need to print the stencils in a size appropriate to your pumpkin (this might take some trial and error). Tape the stencil to your pumpkin and then use a tool to poke holes in all the lines of your stencil (a reverse connect-the-dots).  You can then take off the stencil and rub flour or baby powder onto your pumpkin to highlight the holes you’ve created.  From here, you start carving!  My husband and I have found that traditional pumpkin carving tools that you can buy at the stores are typically inefficient. We’ve used small carving saws and even electric knives for the bigger pieces.

Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving TraditionsPin
2007 – When it all began…

My husband is a creative “project person”, so it didn’t surprise me that he wanted to try something a bit more elaborate.  We’ve been pumpkin carving enthusiasts ever since – my husband starts asking weeks before Halloween when we are going to start our pumpkins. My daughter is still too young to participate, but her time will come!

Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving TraditionsPin
Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving Traditions

We have a lot of fun with this family tradition and the friendly competition that ensues as we get feedback from friends and neighbours about which pumpkin they like best.

What do you look forward to most about Halloween?  Any special traditions in your home?

Halloween Family Pumpkin Carving TraditionsPin
2012 – Having a little baby of almost a year didn’t slow us down…

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Lyne Proulx
Lyne Proulxhttps://ottawamommyclub.ca/
Lyne Proulx is a Certified Professional Wedding Consultant and experienced Event Planner with a strong background in community engagement and large-scale event coordination. For eight years, she led the Annual Infant Information Day/Early Years Expo for the City of Ottawa. From 2013 to 2016, she was the driving force behind the BConnected Conference, Canada’s premier digital influencer and social media conference, held in Ottawa and Toronto. Lyne also served as co-chair of the Navan for Kraft Hockeyville committee from 2009 to 2011, organizing five major community events in just six months. Her leadership helped Navan become one of the top 10 finalists in the national competition. In recognition of her exceptional volunteerism and dedication to community building, she was honored with the City of Ottawa Mayor's City Builder Award in April 2011. In 2025, Lyne brought her passion for weddings and event planning to a new level by organizing the inaugural Tucker House Bridal Fair, showcasing local vendors and creating a unique experience for engaged couples.

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Comments

  1. Those are neat pumpkins! We don’t have any traditions for Halloween, really, although we do try to have a pumpkin carving night every year.

  2. I love halloween! I even dress the dog up! I used to match the dog and my oldest but now my older is very set on what he wants so the younger is now my target! Last year the dog and my younger son were bees! Cutest thing ever! This year I really need to step up my game for the pumpkins though. Those are awesome!

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