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carve a scary pumpkin

Make sure it's a Halloween to remember by gathering a gang of terrifying pumpkins to guard your house. We take no responsibility for any complaints from your neighbours that they’re too scary. 

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Step 1

Make sure you find the perfect pumpkin for carving first. Look for one that is quite smooth (you don’t want a bubbly, knobbly one), not too heavy (this means it could be quite thick to cut through) and without soft bits or knicks and cuts (these could mean your pumpkin might rot). 

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Step 2

Once you’re happy with your big orange lump, cut (this one’s a job for an adult) a deep circle about 5cm from the stalk on each side. Wiggle it around a bit until you can pull out a ‘plug’ with the stalk on the end.

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Step 3

Use a spoon to scoop out the gooey insides of the pumpkin so that you get a nice hollow pumpkin (leave the sides about 2/3cm thick)

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Step 4

Practice some scary (or not scary, up to you) face designs on a piece of paper.  

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Step 5

Copy your favourite design onto the pumpkin with a black marker pen. 

Step 6

Get some adult hands to do the work, and cut around your design using a knife, making sure you go all the way through to the inside. 

Step 7

Once your design is done, pop a candle inside using the hole in the top, and stick your stalk plug back in.

Step 6

Put your monstrous creation in the window or on the porch, and scare away any goblins that might be lurking about. 

Top tip: use the leftover insides to make a pumpkin soup.

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stuff to do this autumn

Autumn is the chilly opposite of spring, so get your sweaters on standby and have a go at some of these hand-picked activities.

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