For the fourth year in a row I was talked into buying 5 pumpkins. One for each of us.
We should each have one. It’s only fair, right?
Right…
Well for the fourth year in a row I was stuck gutting and carving 5 pumpkins by myself. They always start off excited. They bring their pumpkins into the kitchen. I open up the first one…and then they’re gone. Don’t kids like gross things? Slimy, icky and sometimes smelly things?
Well mine don’t. Not if any of those things come from a pumpkin.
Well mine don’t. Not if any of those things come from a pumpkin.
I spent more time than I wanted to gutting and carving. I did 3 pumpkins then I decided I was done. Or the psoriasis on my hands did. They were burning after the third pumpkin.
There were 2 more pumpkins sitting on the table and I knew I needed to complete the task. At that point I knew the carving was over.
There were 2 more pumpkins sitting on the table and I knew I needed to complete the task. At that point I knew the carving was over.
It was time for power tools.
I grabbed the cordless drill from the garage, a couple of different sized (larger) drill bits and that was it. Opened up the last two. Gutted them and went to town with the drill.
The only problem with this is that because I drill holes all the way around, the candles tend to blow out easily. Last year I used the flameless/fake tealights that you can switch off and on and they worked perfectly. The pumpkin on the left has a fake tealight, the pumpkin on the right has a real tealight candle.
This is what will be adorning our front porch this evening (I know they don’t hold a candle to Grumble’s, however I did grumble quite a bit as I worked):
Next year? There will be one giant polka dot pumpkin. That’s it. I MEAN IT.
I really do.
Tell me – is 5 pumpkins overkill? If you carve pumpkins, how many do you get?
Oh, and I LOVE the polka dot pumpkins! If I am ever left responsible for carving again, it will definitely be polka dots!
We only carve one, but coming up with the design is a process. We start with a piece of paper with blank pumpkins, then we each draw 2 designs (so 12 in all) and then we vote. Some years there are multiple rounds of voting to break ties. This year, with 2 kids away at university, their ‘all in one’ printer/scanners came in handy to e-mail their designs and they voted long-distance. The result, after all of this, is an entirely unoriginal batman symbol, and all the work was done by my 14 year old son.
THis is fabulous!!! I love a good power tool.
I am old fashioned with these things and so I get one pumpkin but I love more MORE MORE on many things and love over the top so would never judge on this one.
(And I think when my kids were little we wwent always to a pumpkin patch and everyone chose their own- which meant we likely had several years of two or four)
We carve six pumpkins every year. One for each of us. My husband pulls his own weight, though. He carves his own, and helps the kids. The kids help as much as they can.
I get really into it, my pumpkin is always a big secret, and I hide myself away in a corner of the house carving until I’m done, yelling at anyone that comes into the room. Lol!
love the power tool pumpkin!
love it~!
I think I’ve already lost count at how many I’ve done… but you know this is my WHOLE LIFE at this time of year. Drilling is an AWESOME idea! I love them all, Christine – and your spider is wicked!!
i drilled my first pumpkin last night (that sounds very wrong) and it’s awesome! it’s a white one but i was lazy and didn’t change the bits to different sizes but it’s done and that’s what counts. now i have to make a tray full of jello shooters! adults only please!
1 pumpkin and the kids do most of the work. If you aren’t concerned about it looking fabulous this is the way to go!
We do one pumpkin, and really lucked out this year. Neighbours had a Halloween party on Friday night, including a pumpkin carving contest for the kids; my daughter really got into the competition, and at the end of the night, we got to take home her creation. For the first time ever I won’t be finding seeds all over my house into December!