32 Of Our Favorite Jack O’ Lantern Ideas For This Fall Season
It seems that newer, more creative pumpkin carving ideas are introduced with each Halloween. This is one of the best times of the year to express yourself in new and exciting ways, and whether you’re a kid who wants to be the envy of everyone else on the block or a parent who wants the house to stand out like no other, pumpkin carving is a great way to achieve your goal. Here are a few of our favorite jack o’ lantern ideas you could try out this Halloween!
Keep It Simple!
1. You don’t need to carve a character or face into your jack o’ lantern. Draw a fun design, pattern, or shape on a piece of paper. When you find something you like, go to task on the pumpkin!
2. It’s easy to carve a simple pattern into a pumpkin, but if that isn’t enough for you then try painting after you’re done. Most pumpkins are orange, so why follow everyone else’s stale old routine?
3. Sometimes everyday objects make the most amusing pumpkins, and you don’t even have to carve them. A little paint can make your miniature pumpkins into donuts!
4. If you don’t want to scare the kids, then maybe it’s time to try something cuter. We learn to draw cat and dog faces when we’re young, so the kids won’t have too much trouble helping you with the design.
5. If you’re the political type, then the neighbors won’t be too surprised when you carve out a presidential pumpkin. Bush? Clinton? Bush again? Obama? ...Trump?
6. If you’ve got a lot of time and the right amount of skill, carve multiple pumpkins for a movie-themed night to remember. Each pumpkin can represent a character from a movie. One of our favorites is The Nightmare Before Christmas. TV shows work too. How about the kids from Stranger Things? And the monster, of course.
7. One of the funniest we’ve seen is a simple pair of Harry Potter glasses with a lightning scar just above!
8. If you’re not in the mood to spend hours carving the perfect pumpkin, then something simpler isn’t so hard to achieve. Why not carve your house number?
Be Creative!
9. Who says you have to carve only pumpkins to find the right creative outlet? There are other vegetables out there for the harvest season, and you can make use of any of them. One of the best we’ve seen is this Alice in Wonderland character-themed stack made of miniature pumpkins and carved squash. Add a couple of sticks and you have everything you need!
10. Most jack o’ lanterns are carved straight through to the pumpkin interior, but you don’t always need to do what everyone else does. The exterior “skin” of the pumpkin can be carved and peeled away as well, and it’s easier to carve out a more complex picture if you stick to the soft material just underneath. After you’re done, you can even seal and paint over it to make something that is truly unique.
11. For those with a more gruesome taste of Halloween in mind, you can try your (hopefully professional) hand at carving a horror movie character. This takes hard work and perseverance to get just right, and it’s not for the faint of heart--especially if you put it out on the steps for all the neighborhood to admire, full well knowing that it might be smashed when the special day arrives! Our favorite so far is Hannibal Lector.
12. We see a lot of skeleton faces each Halloween, but sometimes going the extra mile can bring out the best. Why not carve away the entire exterior half of the pumpkin--leaving only a small section of the interior part of the skin--and then carve out a skeleton brain? Or a character’s brain. There’s nothing quite like terrorizing small children with the innards of their favorite TV or cartoon characters! It’s called double-layer carving if you can get it just right. If not, it’s called failure.
13. You can also use the same double-layer carving technique to make some cool designs on the top of the pumpkin. Use the stem for a creepy-looking nose, and then go to town with your own designs. Put it on its side when you’re done.
14. Sometimes using other objects after you’ve carved a more traditional pumpkin can add a bit of spice to your silly creation. One of our favorites uses sea glass in place of teeth.
15. Why carve one face when you can carve two? Or three? A pumpkin possessed isn’t a design that just anyone can pull off, but it’s worth the try.
16. Carving out parts of human anatomy can be an exercise in patience, but when you get it right it’s extremely gratifying. We’re talking hearts and rib cages, here. Get your mind out of the gutter, and don’t get arrested on Halloween. Not that police cars aren’t a common sight anyway. What would Halloween be without them?
Try Something Different!
17. If you’re a fan of screaming skulls, then try the butternut squash. The circular part of the squash lends itself to the shape of a cranium, while the longer part lends itself to the shape of a gaping mouth. Why not add some fake dripping blood while you’re at it?
18. Another of our very favorites uses a massive pumpkin with a carved-out face to show cannibalism at its finest. Sketch out an elongated mouth about the size of a miniature pumpkin already on hand, and make sure you carve out a terrified face on the tinier morsel. Pop that sucker in the elongated mouth and you’ve got a fearsome delight!
19. Another of our favorite cannibal-oriented jack o’ lanterns has a smaller pumpkin using a fork and knife with his carrot arms to eat up the pulpy insides of his giant cousin. This one doesn’t take too much skill, but still looks amazing in scope.
20, The movie It is still fresh in our minds, and so is that dastardly clown Pennywise. If you can bring him to life in pumpkin form, then you might just keep more kids away from your property than you draw in. More candy for you?
21. A Game of Thrones pumpkin is hard to master, but the kids might refrain from smashing it. Try carving out the title screen design.
22. Are you a Star Wars fan? One of the best designs we’ve seen brings the Death Star to life with another double-layer creation. The trick lies in carving in just the right places to light up the exterior with the interior flame. It’s not easy.
23. One of the coolest ideas we’ve seen in use is a skeleton unzipping the pumpkin to set himself free. Use a little paint for a more realistic zipper
24. One of the funniest we’ve seen (and they’re becoming more common) is using the inner pulp in the design. Carve a distorted pumpkin face, then lay out the inner pulp in front of it to signify a pumpkin that just puked up its guts--literally.
Some Other Favorites
25. Try drawing a haunted forest on the exterior of the pumpkin, and then carving it away. Drill holes for stars, or keep the top off completely to signify the center of the scary woods. You can carve in animals, people, or haunted homes as well.
26. Another of the best pumpkins we’ve seen is a basic skeleton face, but uses cold water and dry ice to make mist spill forth from the mouth.
27. We like pumpkins that shine in a different way. Try finding candle holders that change the color of the light. A lit candle through green, black, or blue glass--or all three--can create an eerie scene indeed.
28. We usually place jack o’ lanterns on our doorsteps, but sometimes the best creations achieve fame because they’re so out of place. Try carving a small animal, then place the lit up pumpkin somewhere to the side of your yard.
29. If you’re a fan of pokemon, then you’re not alone. Some of the creatures are so simple in design that the kids might have no trouble making a few of their favorites. Squirtle and charmander are ours.
30. A fallen angel design might peeve some of your more religious-minded neighbors, but Halloween is all about fun. Sprinkle in a demon here and there, and you have a scene that anyone might enjoy.
31. One of the most terrifying we’ve seen is a creepy eye painted to look very realistic. Add a few of those to your doorstep--all pointing to the door, of course--and you’ll give them a night to remember.
32. Neon paint can light up a pumpkin without the need for a candle, and it looks neat too.
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