Includes: Top, skirt and tights. Wig and shoes not included. This is an officially licensed The Addams Family costume.Nothing says "Halloween" like a hand carved pumpkin, dimly lit from within by a candle that sheds light on its eerily creepy face. Yes, year after year, jack-o-lanterns continue to be a very important part of Halloween.
Although jack-o-lanterns are carved from pumpkins in the United States, the tradition began differently. Halloween celebrations in Scotland and Ireland originally involved the use of similar, yet smaller jack-o-lanterns that were made out of turnips. Pumpkins, though, whose orange color has come to be directly related with Halloween, are a lot easier to work with while carving out a face.
When choosing a pumpkin to use as a jack-o-lantern, make sure that it is not overly ripe. If a pumpkin has strong smell or sounds hollow when you tap on the outside of it, it is too ripe to be used. Don't forget to seriously consider the color, shape, and overall condition of the pumpkin when making your selection. You want to pick the very best pumpkin you can for your jack-o-lantern. And, after picking one out, don't hold onto it by its stem, since it could snap apart and leave you with a squashed pumpkin instead of a jack-o-lantern.
The first steps in turning a plain old pumpkin into a scary Halloween jack-o-lantern are cleaning it, drying it, and cutting off the top part where the stem is located. Then, get all of the soft flesh and seeds out of the pumpkin. You will want to be left with just the thick surface of the pumpkin flesh. Since you need to be able to place a short candle inside the pumpkin, it is also important that you make sure that you leave the bottom of it flat, stable, and reasonably smooth.
Removing all the pumpkin innards is done most easily with a big spoon. After you do that, you can move onto the face carving process.
The best plan is to make a design on paper for your jack-o-lantern before you go ahead and start slashing up the pumpkin. This will ensure that you are really satisfied with the face you put on your jack-o-lantern. You can make the design yourself, buy stencils, or print one that you find online.
Once your paper design is complete, tape it onto the pumpkin in the position you want it. Then, punch lots of small holes with a sharp instrument in the pumpkin flesh, following your pattern.
When you take the paper off, your design will be outlined on the pumpkin and very easy to carve out exactly how you want it.
Now's the time to start planning your Halloween costumes for this year. Don't wait until it's too late and the good ones are all sold out. Get lots of fun costume ideas on the Get In Costume website, where you can also get a free copy of my report "The Family Guide To Halloween Safety."
