20 Pumpkin Carving Ideas to Inspire You this Halloween

Get out those power tools and carving kits! It's time to create your best Halloween pumpkin ever.

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Jenn Huls/Shutterstock

Carve Just the Skin

While it’s common practice to cut completely through the pumpkin to create a design, we love this unique technique, which could be your favourite new pumpkin carving idea. The carver removed just the skin to create a 3-D face that’s scary and impressive!

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Lijuan Guo/Shutterstock

Make a Face Using the Stem

Here’s another pumpkin with carving that doesn’t go all the way through. And this one incorporates the pumpkin’s stem into the design. Flip the pumpkin on its side and work around the stem to carve a face, with the stem serving as a large, crazy nose of a funny-looking monster!

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carving
Photo: Digieva/Shutterstock

Floral Arrangement

Is this not the most beautiful pumpkin carving you’ve ever seen? Skip the scary stuff and choose a more romantic route by carving your pumpkin into a beautiful display of flowers.

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House
Photo: Elena Belskaya/Shutterstock

Enchanted Fairy Pumpkin House

For the family that prefers something sweet over scary, this is a great addition to your pumpkin carving ideas! Transform a pumpkin into a quaint abode fit for a fairy.

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Kelleher Photography/Shutterstock

VW Volkswagon Pumpkin

Who says you have to carve a creature? We love the creativity of this Halloween pumpkin carving idea.

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baby in pumpkin
Photo: Maria Dryfhout/Shutterstock

Carved Out Pumpkin Costume

If you have a small child, this pumpkin carving idea might be perfect for you this year. Find yourself a big enough pumpkin to comfortably place your little one in and carve out holes near the bottom for their legs. Then, take lots of pictures!

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Pumpking carving
Photo: TalyaPhoto/Shutterstock

Halloween Pumpkin Eating Small Pumpkin

At first glance, each of these pumpkins offers a simple design. But together, they create a fun scene! We love that a tiny pumpkin was turned into monster food.

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Pumpkin smoking carving
Photo: Lara Radda/Shutterstock

Man Smoking a Pipe

Now this is one impressive carved pumpkin. While we absolutely love how realistic the lips, eyes, cheeks and chin look, we’re equally impressed with the idea to carve the stem of another pumpkin into a creepy hand, while another small fruit is used as the pipe.

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Darth Vader pumpkin carving
Photo: Alex Wer/Solent News/Shutterstock

Star Wars Carving

If you’re a Star Wars fan, then this pumpkin carving idea is for you. May the force be with you! (Check out these hilarious Star Wars jokes while you’re at it!)

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Ribboned pumpkin
Photo: aimpol buranet/Shutterstock

Ribboned Pumpkin

How beautiful is this ribboned design? It’s a unique pumpkin carving idea, and we’re all about the floral look.

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Minion pumpking carving
Photo: SerdyukPhotography/Shutterstock

Minion Pumpkin Carving

Minions are an adorable addition to your pumpkin carving ideas. This one is simple enough for the little ones to pull off!

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: darf_nicht_mehr_hochladen/Pixabay.com

Welcome Pumpkin

Keep it simple by welcoming guests with a festive flickering welcome sign. You can be as friendly or scary as you want with your lettering.

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Jail cell pumpkin carving
Photo: via pxhere.com

Jail Cell Pumpkin

We love that mini carved pumpkins were incorporated to make the scene of a person inside a jail cell, with parts of the larger pumpkin carved to appear like the person is holding onto the bars!

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Owl pumpking carving
Photo: Michael T Hartman/Shutterstock

Owl Carving

Celebrate autumn—when owls hoot the loudest—by trying your hand at a pumpkin carved to look like an owl! You can make it as simple or detailed as you wish.

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Night sky on pumpkin
Photo: Michael T Hartman/Shutterstock

Night Sky Pumpkin

Considering your pumpkins will be lit up in the evening, why not create a night sky carving like this one? We love how the crescent was gently carved out of the top layer of the pumpkin’s skin, while the stars were cut all the way through, in different sizes.

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Inspired By Maps/Shutterstock

Sunflower Field

Light up the night with a sunflower field made of lit-up carved pumpkins! You can create the entirety of a sunflower, carving the design of a stem with its leaves on the bottom two, and finding a perfectly round pumpkin to top it all off to carve out the head.

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Pumpkin
Photo: via maxpixel.net

Statement Pumpkins

Who says pumpkins have to be super detailed or super scary? We love this trio that offers a positive approach to Halloween.

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Oleksandr Lytvynenko/Shutterstock

Carriage Pumpkin

Recreate one of the most iconic Disney movies by staging a doll horse and a doll Cinderella alongside this carriage pumpkin.

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Marina Grau/Shutterstock

Baby Vampire Pumpkin

If you’ve only got little pumpkins, you can still make them scary. All you need are some fangs!

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Pumpkin carving
Photo: Jen duMoulin/Shutterstock

Cat and Crescent Pumpkin

You can’t go wrong with a black cat on Halloween and the crescent moon makes it super-spooky.

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The Family Handyman
Originally Published on The Family Handyman

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