How to carve a classic Halloween pumpkin lantern

If you want a traditional face, the minimum cutting you can get away with is two eyes and a mouth, but you can also add a nose and eyebrows. If a pumpkin is hard to come by, you can use turnips or swede.

Using a small, sharp knife, cut the top off the pumpkin. Scrape some off the flesh off the inside of the 'lid'. Now start to scoop out the flesh and seeds. Cut vertically downwards around the edge of the pumpkin, leaving about 1cm thickness in the wall of the pumpkin. Cut away chunks and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Keep going until almost all of the pumpkin has been hollowed out, making sure that the base inside is fairly level, so the tealight will be stable. You can use the flesh to add to a soup or stew - try these pumpkin recipes.

Find the most presentable side of the pumpkin. If you wish, before you start cutting, draw on the shapes for the mouth and eyes, plus nose and eyebrows if you're adding these. It's easiest to keep the shapes fairly simple. Push the knife through the wall of the pumpkin along the line of the design, and cut out the desired shape.

Place a tealight inside the pumpkin lantern and light. Replace the lid and turn off the lights to see how the lantern looks. To ensure an adequate oxygen supply to the flame, you might need to replace the lid off-centre.

Position the lantern after dark on a wall or windowsill.

Try our alternative pumpkin lantern designs...

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