HALLOWEEN HELP! Pumpkin Pointers To Keep Your Jack-o’-Lantern To Last Longer
It's hard to believe that Halloween is two weeks away from Sunday, October 17th. If you are like my daughter, Tara, you've gone to the different pumpkin farms in the Southern Tier and found the right pumpkin to make your jack-o'-lantern look its "best."
Now that you have the perfect pumpkin for carving, what do you do to help it to look its best? Janet Sobesky from Woman's Day has some Halloween help for you.
Halloween Help For Your Pumpkin
Before you even put the knife into your pumpkin, put several layers of newspaper under it. If you are one of the many people that doesn't get a newspaper anymore, try using an old pizza delivery box. It'll keep the carnage off the floor and all in one place, making it easier to dispose of when your down.
When it's time to carve your pumpkin, try your best to avoid cutting mouths that are too big or too long. The large open space will make the pumpkin weak on the bottom and could collapse.
One of the things that we worry about is that our carved pumpkin won't make it until Halloween night. You can prolong its life by lathering up the inside and the cut areas with petroleum jelly.
Do you have young kids that want to make a jack-o'-lantern too? Let them make a face by putting candy, fruit, or vegetables with toothpicks instead of cutting it open. You can use cucumber slices for the eyes, a green bean for the nose, and candy corn for the teeth.