... do you carve your own pumpkins, or do you buy plastic? And if you do get real pumpkins, how do you save money on 'em? I still carve occasionally, but because I live in a basement apartment we don't currently have anywhere to display 'em. Only do it when I happen to be visiting my parents 'round Halloween and they have a spare or two on hand. They always buy extras, for some reason...
Funny you say your parents buy extras. My mom does that too. She waits until the stores are either giving them away with a minimum grocery purchase, or until they are on a real good sale and then she buys like two or three of them. She does that because her, myself and my daughter all like pickled pumpkin, which my mother makes. Its good for you, not too much sugar (I guess you could make it sweeter if you liked but mom is always trying to stay healthy) and its cheap to make. If anyone is interested I will ask her for the recipe. And yes, I buy mine and then carve it rather than a plastic one, and the way you save money is like I said, look for stores that are offering them as a bonus for a minimum grocery purchase. And then, so that you don't ruin the insides for eating, just put a Christmas bulb inside it rather than a candle and you won't ruin it by burning it. Then when Halloween is over you can eat it. Also, you can dry the pumpkin seeds and eat them too.
I don't carve pumpkins for Halloween but I really like them to eat - both the seeds and to make homemade canned pumpkin. I typically wait until the last possible minute when they go on sale. If you're willing to carve the day before Halloween or the day of, you can get great deals. You could also check your local farmers markets or road side stands. I have found them to be cheaper there.
Yes, we still carve them for Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I look at it this way - I don't blow much money on Christmas decor, so I can afford to get some nice pumpkins for Halloween. However I don't carve them until a couple hours before the Trick or Treater's start coming around. I don't really see much of a point in doing them any further in advance since they will only start to shrivel up and look bad before the big day. I know that these newer battery powered LED lights are much safer and easier to use, but I'm a bit stubborn and old school about continuing to use candles. They not only light the pumpkin, but they also warm it, giving off a signature fall scent, along with fall leaves, buckeyes, houses burning fireplaces, etc... I love eating pumpkin as well, but I would prefer to buy separate pumpkins for that as opposed to trying to eat the ones I used for Halloween.
Carving is such a great way to stand out a bit from all the other houses. An intricately carved pumpkin brings much more interest than a hackneyed Jack-o-lantern design. It's also a great way for me to bond with my little sisters, so I always look forward to pumpkin carving.
We have no Halloween here although there are trick-or-treating in some places. Yesterday the neighborhood kids had hinted that they are awaiting Halloween for the trick-or-treat. Now we are thinking if we would be putting up a decoration because the trick-or-treaters is just one group. But we have to prepare some treats, candies and chocolates plus coins will do. Our housemaid suggested that we just light a candle by the gate so the kids will know that they are welcome.
Yes, I like to carve pumpkins. I was too busy this year to do so, but I generally like to carve them and use candles. I think the battery operated lights are cheaper though. Candles need to be replaced so frequently. Buying real pumpkins are usually cheapest right before and right after holidays as garden center's stores etc. are trying to get rid of them. I once bought a whole wagon full of pumpkins for 5.00...the week before Halloween.
Every Halloween we always buy 4 pumpkins, one for each member of the family. We find stencils on the internet and tape them onto the pumpkins and my husband will do most of the carving. Our 12 year old will carve his own pumpkin today with some guidance. My 6 year old will help scoop out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin. We use tea lights on Halloween night to keep them lit. Right now there is a surplus of pumpkins where we live and they are selling a medium sized pumpkin at the grocery store for $2-4 dollars. We went to pumpkin farm and got a 31 pound pumpkin for $8.
I do like to see the carved pumpkins lite up on Halloween night on the front of the houses that have candy for the kids. We no longer have kids that go out looking for candy, I stay home and help the kids hand out the candy now. I miss seeing the decorations.
I carve because I usually get my pumpkins for free. I have an uncle who goes to a pumpkin patch every year and brings back more than he needs. He gives them out to us and my other cousins. It's sort of like his way of giving us Christmas gifts. He saves me at least $40 a year.
I often buy one large pumpkin for out front, but I don't carve it. I like to keep it out there through Thanksgiving, rather than carving it and relegating it to Halloween only. I usually also buy a few smaller sugar pumpkins for pie making and seeds, as well as some colorful gourds for decorating the table and bar area.
I'm thinking of starting on the plastic or other alternatives. I find it horribly wasteful to grow food just to carve it up and throw it away. I just decided that this second though lol.. we have a couple pumpkins here we just carved, but they're my last. Only for cooking from now on.
I never carved a pumpkin before... I want to though so badly! It looks like SO much fun. I know I would just mess up the design on it. I am also clumsy with knives so it may not go well. But still it is worth a try. I wanted to get a plastic one, but I always forget before Halloween to get one. I think a real one would be more fun though. I want to join the carving party!
Carving pumpkins is a family tradition around Halloween. It is a great activity for the entire family to be involved in. I have found that the least expensive way to buy pumpkins is from local roadside stands selling home-grown pumpkins. The average price of the home-grown pumpkins near me is about $3. A couple of weeks ago while shopping at Aldi, I noticed that their pumpkins were priced at just $2, so that is where we bought ours this year. The least expensive way is to grow your own pumpkins! A package of seeds can be bought for less than $1 in the spring at most hardware stores as well as the Dollar Tree. Or, to save even more money, you can keep the seeds from this year's pumpkins, allow them to dry out, store them in a cool, dark place, and plant them in the spring! We have done this in the past with moderate success. Next year we plan on growing our own pumpkins!
