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It’s that time of year again! Time to head down to your local Puyallup pumpkin patch or farm to pick up a pumpkin for Halloween decorations. We have some great pumpkin patches in the area like Spooner Farms and Picha’s Pumpkin Patch so check them out.

Carving pumpkins is one of the best parts of celebrating Halloween and every October people all over the U.S. adorn their homes, front porches and doorsteps with carved jack-o’-lanterns. Puyallup is usually lite up with pumpkins during October. The art of carving or decorating pumpkins goes back centuries and originates from Ireland based off the classic folktale of Stingy Jack. The story tells of a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack” who managed to cleverly trick the devil twice into not being able to claim his soul. Finally, when Jack died, God did not want him in heaven because he was an unsavory character and the Devil was still upset about the trick that was pulled on him so Jack wasn’t allowed into hell either. The Devil sent Jack away with only a burning coal to light his way which he then put into a carved out turnip. Jack has been roaming the earth ever since and the Irish referred to his ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern.” When people from Ireland and Scotland began to immigrant to the United Stated they brought the idea of carving potatoes or turnips with their own interpretations of Jack’s lantern and putting them on their doorsteps to warn of Jack and a host of other wandering evil ghouls, ghosts and spirits.

There are many fun and creative ways to use pumpkins around your house to set the Halloween holiday mood. Here are a few creative ways to utilize pumpkins to decorate your Puyallup home in a truly unique way!

Although carving pumpkins can be fun, for some people it can be a huge mess or the patterns are too complicated and take a lot of time. There are a lot of options outside of carving a pumpkin that are beautiful and unique ways to carve a pumpkin. Using pieces of lace or a doily and some liquid starch, you “glue” the lace patterns onto the pumpkin.

Another option if you wish to not carve a pumpkin is to paint your pumpkin with black, white or silver paint and then use Washi tape running vertical on the pumpkins to give it a gothic style. Washi tape is a decorative masking tape from Japan that comes in all different kinds of patterns and colors.

Another option, instead of Washi Tape, use a sequin ribbon for a little bit of glamour. Sometimes, keeping it simple can be the most striking. Glitter pumpkins are easy to make and look glamorous in any home. Use a smaller paintbrush to coat white glue over the surface of a small pumpkin. Hold the pumpkin over a plate and then sprinkle glitter powder all over the pumpkin.

Pumpkins can also provide for practical decorations around the house. You can cut a large pumpkin in half and dig out all the guts, put some ice and some drink into it and you have a pumpkin ice bucket.

You can use pumpkins to help light a walkway. Use oversize heirlooms pumpkins in a variety of autumnal shades to line a front path with hurricanes in a carved out space in the middle of the pumpkin. You can also use dug out pumpkins as flower vases inside or flowerpots outside. You can use flowers like succulents or brightly colored asters to add some color. Dig out the inside of a pumpkin and make sure to make the hole large enough to accommodate for a vase or a flowerpot.

Carving a pumpkin well can be quite a skill. You can download any number of complex patterns online to challenge your skills that can only be completed if you have the patience and the essential tools. Some people just buy the cheap tools at the super market that just end of breaking after one use. Thinking outside the box when it comes to pumpkin carving tools can help to create a pumpkin carving work of art. A linoleum cutter can be used to carve with greater accuracy and detail. You can also buy miniature saws that are small yet sturdy. You can use these blades to carve irregular shapes that require more precision. Using a keyhole saw can slice through the tough shell of the pumpkin with ease. It is great for carving the lid of the pumpkin or for carving curved shapes on the pumpkin. A very useful tool for carving pumpkin is a power drill. This is a pretty common tool that most people have around them homes and it makes creating allover patterns or small holes easy. Another common household tool that helps with pumpkin carving are cookie cutters. You can hold the cookie cutter up to the pumpkin and tap it with a rubber mallet or hammer until it slices through the skin. All these tools will help to create an intricately, well carved pumpkin that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

Halloween is such an enjoyable time of year and decorating for it can be fun and creative. Not everyone likes the mess and hassle of carving a pumpkin but since pumpkins are such an integral part of the Halloween experience it is good to know other options are available. Give your house the Halloween treatment that it deserves with these decorating tips and enjoy your Halloween!