If you and your child carve your pumpkin a few weeks before Halloween the old jack-o’-lantern will age so quickly he will be shriveled and old before that great night arrives. However, there are some ways to keep your pumpkin fresh so he looks young and youthful for Halloween night.

Try to hold off carving your pumpkin until two or three days before Halloween. If you choose to carve earlier than this then most likely you will have one shriveled pumpkin sitting on the doorstep ready to collapse.

You can help prolong the life of your carved pumpkin by using petroleum jelly. Simply place the jelly on each cut edge. For example, move your petroleum-jellied-finger and move it all around the pumpkin’s eye until the entire cut area has been covered.

Aside from shriveling your pumpkin will have a tendency to grow a little mold or even house some insects. This problem can be alleviated by spraying the pumpkin with water mixed with bleach.

If your friendly jack-o’-lantern starts to show its’ age, by shriveling, put it in a tub of water and let it soak for several hours. Once you remove the pumpkin dry the inside with paper towels. You will be surprised how this procedure will cause your pumpkin to look young and youthful once again. If you like surprises, we invite you to visit our website, CarvingForKids where you will find templates and a number of creative Halloween ideas.

Halloween outfits have become big sales items – they can be rented for a fee or they can be purchased in a store. Or, they can be made at home. What fun for a child to participate in the making of his/her own costume. Just like assisting your child making a candy bag this is great one-on-one time helping your child to make his/her Halloween outfit.

First, your child needs to decide if s/he wants to be a hobo, an angel, a clown, or one of the presently famous cartoon characters. This can be a lengthy procedure with your child changing his/her minds several times.

Once your child has decided on the outfit it’s time to put it together. Since there is such a variation of outfits you will need to decide on the material or foundation to use. This might be an old sweatshirt, a skirt, cardboard, capes, and so forth.

Your child will be able to assist more with the “add-ons” that really make the outfit. We suggest you be prepared to find ways to make this process a little easier and avoid the difficulties of complexities. Here are some ideas for you to consider: staples where they can be used where they cannot poke or scratch a child; cardboard boxes to build a robot or other exotic outfit; knit caps, sweatshirts, t-shirts, old shirts, sweaters, hats, and all apparel that can be used one last time to adorn a costume; sticks covered in tinfoil to create a sword, foam sheets to cut out all kinds of complimentary accents, or main parts of the costume using a glue gun. There are literally hundreds of items that can be used to create a unique outfit. The secret is to search your house for the items – or, if you foolishly think you don’t have anything in your home then visit a thrift store. Also, please take the time to visit our website, http://CarvingForKids for more unique ideas.

When we open the door to “trick-or-treaters” sometimes it gives us satisfaction to see just how much we can frighten the children. While this can be fun and exciting we must also realize that some of the children can be scarred for life. As parents we need to be aware of this and try to prepare our child before s/he goes out on that frightful, haunting night.
To prepare our child we need to remember a few things that follow.

If your child has gone through a traumatic experience during the year (a divorce, a death, or an accident) it may be wise to forget trick-or-treating. Instead, take your child to a church Halloween party, or find another alternative.

Talk to your child, when s/he is old enough to understand that Halloween is to be fun and it is a fantasy. Hopefully, when s/he sees the “dead” mummy pop out from nowhere s/he will remember your discussion.

In the period before Halloween, take your young one to different stores. Let him/her see and touch the variety of masks and other Halloween paraphernalia. The first visit your child may be a bit timid. Continue your visits until your child feels comfortable touching the various items – hopefully s/he will eventually try on a mask. We need to remember it is difficult for a child sometimes to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

While visiting the stores maybe you will want to pick up another pumpkin to take home, carve, and put on the front door step. Before you do this, be sure to visit CarvingForKids to get your free templates. You will find our website full of ideas, fun and exciting.

Pumpkin seeds are not only delicious but they are also nutritious. In tomorrow’s daily tip we will offer some recipes. So, aside from eating the pumpkin seeds do they have any other use? Of course!!!

Put your seeds in a sunny location to dry them. Once they are dried they can be used for a variety of art projects. One idea is to glue the seeds to a sheet of paper in the shape of a pumpkin. Your child can then paint the pumpkin. Once the picture is completed it can be hung in the window. The seeds can also be glued on the paper in an abstract way, and then painted. Another idea is to use a variety of seeds, including the pumpkin, such as apple, sunflower, and any other seeds your child chooses. The seeds can then be glued to a paper to make a beautiful mosaic.

You can also use the seeds for a math lesson. Have your children and their friend’s guess how many seeds are in the pumpkin. After the guesses are recorded the seeds can be counted one by one. The winner earns a small prize. You can also do this at a Halloween party where the guests give their estimate of the number of seeds.

Here is another great way to use the seeds: first, put them in your window to dry. Then the seeds can be placed outside for the birds and squirrels to enjoy. The seeds will be a great treat for your friends.

Your child will most likely ask if you can plant the seeds. This can lead to a great lesson. You will need to learn how to prepare the seeds, if you can plant them later. When should the seeds be planted? What kind of soil will they need? Do they need a lot of sunlight? How long does it take for them to germinate? How long does it take for them to grow? And, if you reach this point, can you imagine the smile on your child’s face the day the pumpkin plant first pokes through the ground?

Be creative! Come up with your own ideas. In the meantime, please visit CarvingForKids to see all of the templates we have to offer along with some exciting and unique ideas.

Now the fun begins! You may first want to wash your pumpkin. Next, use a marking pen to indicate the pumpkin lid. It is better to use a hexagonal cut opposed to a circular cut as this will prevent the “lid” from falling into the pumpkin once it begins to dry out and shrink.

Once the “lid” can be removed it is time to attack the “guts” of the pumpkin. Take a large metal spoon (or the utensil supplied in the commercial pack) to begin removing the seeds. Continue removing the seeds until they are all gone. However, remember to sit the seeds aside because we have a tip for their use in a few days. Now gently scrape down the sides until the pumpkin is smooth. Your pumpkin wall will be about one inch thick when it is clean and ready to carve.

We start the carving by attaching the stencil you have from CarvingForKids. We will attach the stencil in our next tip. Stay tuned.