Carving a fresh pumpkin is not only fun, but a great opportunity to be creative and unique. Not everyone is artistically gifted, however, and for those there are kits which come with patterns. There are also special pumpkin carving tools, including small saws, which make the task much easier and safer, especially for children.

If using an ordinary knife, be sure it is sharp; a dull one is harder to control. Do not allow young children to carve a pumpkin with a knife, and strictly supervise older children who do. Always be sure to cut away from you so that, if the knife does slip, you are less likely to have an accident.

Resist the temptation to cut the pumpkin too soon, otherwise it will turn to smelly mush before Hallowe'en. A day before is ample. If the bottom of the pumpkin is uneven, cut it with a sharp knife until there is a flat bottom.

When cutting the top of the pumpkin, be sure to cut at an angle so that the top doesn't fall in. Using an ice cream scoop makes easy work of cleaning out the pulp and seeds. Once it's cleaned out, you are ready to start work on the design.

If you are not using a commercial paper pattern, draw out your design with a felt tip pen on paper first. Then attach the paper to the pumpkin with some tape and, using a straight pin or hat pin, prick the outline of your design through the paper on to the pumpkin. Then, using a sharp knife or special carving tools, cut out the design right through the pumpkin, using the pricked outline as your guide. Alternatively, you can draw your design on the pumpkin with a non-permanent marker so you can make changes if desired. Either way, be sure to make the openings large enough to let air circulate for the candle.

Start carving in the middle of your design and work your way out. This way you have more surface area around where you are cutting. You don't have to take whole sections out at once so cut in small segments. Carefully poke the cut out segments straight out as you go.

Place a votive candle in a pyrex cup or baby food jar, and set it in the bottom of the pumpkin. If there are young children around, battery-candles are safer. If using a regular candle, be sure it isn't too tall for the pumpkin, and set it in a flat candle holder so that it is steady and level inside the pumpkin.

To help your pumpkin last longer, seal the exposed edges to keep it from drying out. By day, keep it out of direct sunlight.

An alternative to actually carving the pumpkin is to scrape out a design, without cutting all the way through. By taking away part of the darker orange, leaving the lighter colour showing, you allow your creative work to last longer.