Email will not be published required. About Contact Press Blog. This is not a guarantee. SafeWise is an independent review site. We may earn money when you click links on our site. Learn more. On this page: 1. Pick the right pumpkin 2. Take precautions 3. Choose an easy design Pandemic pumpkin party tips 4. Keep kids busy 5. Clean up 6. By Alexia Chianis. Published on October 18, Share Article.
Keep your little owlets safe with our weekly newsletter. Sign up to get the latest family safety tips and product reviews. Sign Up. Here's how to land the perfect one: Look for a pumpkin with smooth, less bumpy skin.
A smooth pumpkin is easier for kids to draw on and safer for you to carve. Avoid pumpkins that feel heavy for their size. This can indicate thick walls that could be difficult to carve through. Skip any pumpkins with soft spots , which can indicate rotting. Inspect the pumpkin for any nicks or cuts that may make it vulnerable to infection. Pick a pumpkin with a flat, front surface for carving —that will yield the best results.
Take precautions when carving. Best pumpkin carving kit. Pumpkin Masters Carving Kit. View on Amazon. Read full disclaimer. Use small, controlled motions. Keep your hands and carving tools dry. Choose an easy design. Best pumpkin stencils. Ultimate Stencil Book. Tips to pull off the perfect pandemic pumpkin party. Get some space. If your city currently allows for small gatherings, invite over a couple of friends and spread out across the yard and driveway.
You can give everyone a six-foot stretch of butcher paper to collect all those pumpkin guts and seeds. Plus, it makes an easy boundary to help everyone stay at least six feet away from each other. Mask up. It's better to be safe than sorry. Provide masks or ask guests to bring them in case you need to help a little one or take somebody to the restroom. But go ahead and make it fun. You can buy Halloween-themed masks or get supplies to let kids decorate their own. Keep things clean —especially hands.
If you can, set up an outside handwashing station. Instead of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," suggest a spooky tune like "Monster Mash" to sing for 20 seconds while kids wash away those squishy orange remains. And have lots of hand sanitizer available for quick and easy access. A personal bottle for each kiddo is ideal. Go online. If getting together in person seems scarier than a monster movie, you can still have fun with friends and show off your pumpkin decorating skills with a virtual party.
Use Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or whatever platform you use to set up a synchronized carving fest that puts no one at risk. Carving pumpkins for Halloween is a great opportunity to teach children how to use tools and utensils. Knives, spoons, saws and maybe even some power tools, can all be introduced to your child while you carve your pumpkin.
Kids of any age can scoop out pumpkins with a spoon. Small carving knives are a great first step for teaching children to use sharp utensils. Pumpkins are forgiving and offer just enough resistance to cut against but not too much that they can slice too easily through. Hand saws with a small tooth wood blade are handy for making larger cuts in a pumpkin or removing the top.
Children can put press their fingers against the teeth without cutting themselves to feel it. Older kids can try a jigsaw for the first time by plunging it into the top of a pumpkin and turning the pumpkin to remove the top. These tools are becoming much more popular and are very safe to use. The cutting tool is great for making mouths and the scraping tool makes clean work of the junk attached to a pumpkin top.
A Dremel tool can create very detailed designs and under proper supervision is a fun tool for children to carve a pumpkin with.
Hands must be kept very far from drill bits. A hole saw makes perfect cut eyes and spade bits of various sizes can also be used in pumpkin design. Great ideas!
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