Preparing for a Halloween party or just want to create a spooky mood at home? Here's an easy, few-step technique to turn the pumpkin you bought at the market or grew in your own yard into a beautiful and slightly spooky lantern.
You'll need a pumpkin and a sharp knife, then follow the steps to make your own Halloween lantern.
Step 1:
Use a sharp knife to cut a slice from the bottom of the pumpkin, so that it doesn't wobble. This is an important step, because shaking the pumpkin with a lit candle inside can cause a fire. Carefully cut off the top quarter of the pumpkin and save the piece as you will put it back in once you clean out the inside of the pumpkin.
Step 2:
Use a spoon to remove the seeds and any fleshy parts from the inside of the pumpkin. The skin you should leave is 2-4 cm thick depending on the size of the pumpkin. Place a tea light in the center of the carved pumpkin to turn it into a Halloween lantern. If you want to make sure that you have secured your pumpkin-lantern as much as possible, you can carve a little slot for the candle, so that it does not wobble.
Step 3:
To make a patterned lantern, which will scatter whimsical light shadows - use a pencil and draw a pattern on the pumpkin's skin. Take a small sharp knife to cut out the pieces, which will let the light through. Once you are done cutting out all the pieces, place the tea light back into the center of the pumpkin and light it. Place the lid on top, which you removed at the beginning.
With the carved out part of the pumpkin, you can prepare delicacies such as:
- or other pumpkin desserts.
