20 Pumpkin Carving Ideas to Inspire You this Halloween
Updated: Oct. 27, 2020
Get out those power tools and carving kits! It's time to create your best Halloween pumpkin ever.
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!
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!
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.
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.
VW Volkswagon Pumpkin
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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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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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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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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!)
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 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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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.
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 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 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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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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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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Carriage Pumpkin
Recreate one of the most iconic Disney movies by staging a doll horse and a doll Cinderella alongside this carriage pumpkin.
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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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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