Pumpkin Carving

Carving a pumpkin is a fun, easy, and traditional decoration for Halloween. In addition to lighting up the night with an eerie Jack O'Lantern, you can even bake the seeds to make a healthy snack! The main supplies you'll need to carve a pumpkin are easy to get: some newspaper, to protect your carving surface, a sturdy knife  with a long blade or a pumpkin carving knife ,paper  and a pen  or pencil  to draw a stencil , a large nail , and of course, a pumpkin. Simply cut a hole around the stem that is large enough to put your hand or a spoon through and remove everything until you have scraped it down to a 1 inch wall. When cutting the hole, angle the knife so that you create a ledge for the top to sit on. Once the pumpkin is cleaned out draw a design with big, easy-to-see features for the face on a piece of paper. Once you are happy with the design, either copy the design to the pumpkin or line up the paper on the pumpkin where there is a good surface and use the nail to make holes that trace the design outline. Then you can take your carving knife and cut along the holes and punch out the pieces you don't want. Carve on an angle so that it will be easy to pop out the pieces from the inside. Finish the Jack O'Lantern with a votive candle inside and put the top on. Voilà! Now you can enjoy the rest of the festivities.  For more help, check out our guide on How to Carve a Pumpkin.

Note that a safe alternative to carving, which is a great activity for kids is painting a pumpkin. Washable poster paint  will work for this project. Simply clean off the pumpkin(s), set up a work space covered in newspapers, deck the kids in some smocks, give them the paint, some brushes , and let their imaginations run wild! You don't have to paint a face on the pumpkin if you don't want to. Instead you can draw other Halloween scenes such as a haunted house, a witch, ghost, bat, or black cat.

There are as many costume possibilities as there are things in this world. You simply can't sum it up in just a paragraph. However, there are many resources on the Web where you can find directions and patterns for creating any costume imaginable. Some sites even recommend costumes that don't require that you know how to sew.

• Robins FYI: Lots of creative ideas that you can make at home without sewing a single stitch.
• Costume Idea Zone: Plenty of ideas for costumes that don't require sewing.
• Classic Halloween Costumes
• FabricLink.com: Ideas that use Velcro and RIT dye, patterns, and more.

You might also want to visit the Kids Dress Up Guide.

Trick or Treat bags  come in all shapes, colors, sizes, and designs. They can also be made of all sorts of materials. Here are just a few of the options:

• Brown Paper Bag
• Crochet
• Sewn Cloth Bag 1, Sewn Cloth Bag 2
• Pillowcase
• Glow in the Dark
• Zebra, Tiger, and Leopard Felt Bags

Painting your face as part of a Halloween costume is a great way to give it the finishing touch. Follow these links to see how-tos, get ideas, and learn about supplies you'll need.

• Face Painting Designs: Learn the basics of how to paint, see galleries full of ideas, and color photo instructions on making a tiger, butterfly, witch, spider, and more.
• About.com: Tips and how-tos on face and body painting.
• Michael's Arts and Crafts Store: Many original and classic face painting ideas and instructions.
• PBS Kids: Dog, clown, and Jack O'Lantern instructions.
• Gitsy The Clown: Ideas for non-traditional face painting, but no instructions.

Pumpkin Carving Kit 

Graveyard Garden 

Sugar Skull Kit 

Sequin Pumpkin Craft Kit 

Halloween Bag Craft Kit 

Pumpkin Bead Pin Craft Kit 

Tissue Paper Halloween Craft Kit 

Unfinished Wood Pumpkin Candle Boxes 

Haunted House Door Hanger Craft Kit 

Ghost Windsock Craft Kit