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1. A small disposable tarp to help you feel free to get as messy as you want (there will be pumpkin guts!) while working on your masterpiece.
2. If you're feeling super confident, a foam pumpkin made for carving to help you keep your masterpiece around for years. Plus, this one costs about as much as you'd pay for the real deal at a farm stand (perhaps even less).
3. A book of 60 carving patterns in case your creative well is running a bit dry or you'd like to rely on someone else's creativity.
4. Or a customized downloadable PDF pattern tailored to your name (or perhaps a message like "Marry Me") for a curbside creation personal to you.
5. OR a book about carving some realistic face pumpkins if you're going for extra credit. Truly, they're so creepy!
6. A KitchenIQ sharpener that'll handle dull kitchen knives (I can speak from personal experience) and get them in shape for some pumpkin carving in case you've been foiled too many times in the past by pumpkin-carving tools.
7. A time-saving hand drill attachment for hollowing out your pumpkin and getting it ready for the *actual* carving. Hands down, this is probably the most annoying part of carving. Or at least IMO.
8. A 10-piece pumpkin-carving kit (that comes with a carrying case) to help you make your ghoulish creation come to life — even if you're totally new to the whole jack-o'-lantern game.
9. Or if you wanna go knife-less, a hammer-carving kit that's safe (and fun!) for kids to use. You simply place the cookie-cutter-like forms on the pumpkin, hammer them with the wooden hammer, and then pop out the molds and pieces of pumpkin. Where was this when I was a kid?!
10. An overnight water bath or sleepover in the fridge to help keep your newly carved visage hydrated and put off mold and decay. No more having to wait around to carve one that'll last 'til Halloween.
11. Some battery-operated votives that are so cheap, it'll be NBD if they're kaput once you bring out your turkey decor. Here's to avoiding a fire hazard and making your jack perfectly ~glow~.
12. A pumpkin fogger kit you can hook up to a fog machine to make everything that much creepier.
13. A set of pumpkin "fangs" to really level up your frightful creation.
14. Some bat wings and a stand with feet you can add to your carved jack-o'-lantern or just a plain pumpkin if you're not really feeling like putting in much effort.
15. Or posable pumpkin limbs for a subtler scary effect. Stuff of my literal childhood nightmares. And maybe the stuff of the neighborhood kids' too!
16. A custom-carved foam pumpkin in the visage of Jack Skellington in case you're still a bit "meh" on carving yourself. (There's Etsy for that!)
17. Or a less realistic custom "carved" pumpkin your family can treasure for years to come.
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Happy carving!
