Pumpkin Carving Tips and Tricks

Americans love pumpkins: 46.3 percent of them will carve and light one for Halloween this year.

Many others are adorning their front porches and homes with the pretty, straight-from-the-vine orbs, according to the National Retail Federation's 2010 Halloween Survey.

Erin Shafritz and her sons typically come up with their own decorating ideas just by scavenging around their home.

“We always buy the quirkiest and the most perfectly shaped pumpkin,” says Shafritz, of Huntington Woods. "We sometimes paint one and often use stuff from around the house, like a paper plate for a hat and old gym shoes for feet.

"One year we used light bulbs as eyes and used pencils as hair, sticking straight up,” she said.

At , you’ll find a selection of decorative squash and pumpkins that have been “flying off our shelves,” spokeswoman Maggie Bahler reports. “People use them for cooking, carving and decorating." Check out some pumpkin recipes on the Whole Foods blog.

You also can find a variety of shapes, colors and sizes at , spokeswoman Colleen Maiura says. She’s especially excited about some of the ideas the Lowe’s creative team has come up with for decorating and carving pumpkins. 

“We’ve got inspirations for everything from carving and scraping to painting and adding hardware to pumpkins, she says.

If you really want to go all out for gourds, you can also check out in Berkley, which has a huge selection.