WomensBay

So, It’s nearly that time of year again when things go ‘bump’ in the night (leave it!). If you are having a party or want to do something a little special – you will find a few things below to keep you entertained all night (I said, leave it!).

Without a doubt the most recognizable symbol of Halloween is a pumpkin, carved very badly (not like the Americans), stuffed with a tea light. To understand the origins of how pumpkin carving began and what it really means (if you are at all interested), you can read on below.

For most of the general population it is known as Halloween and it’s a night for dressing up, telling ghost stories, having spooky parties, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving and drinking weird looking cocktails the colour of blood (which will undoubtedly have an adverse effect the following morning). What most people don't know is that Halloween is actually based on an ancient Celtic holiday known as Samhain (pronounced "sow wan"), which means "summer's end" (God, am I boring you?).

It was the end of the Celtic year, starting at sundown on October 31st and going through to sundown November 1st. It was a night to honor loved ones that had passed on and they believed that the veil between their realm and ours was at it's thinnest on that night (hence the big dead reunion thing).

Celebrated for centuries by the Celts of old, Witches and many other (weirdo’s) nature based religions, it is the most magical night of the year (if you are American – if you are British, you will probably watch Eastenders and ignore the door if anyone knocks). It is the Witches' New Year, and the Last Harvest, although the religious significance of it has now passed for the general public.

On this night, pumpkins were placed on peoples doorsteps to welcome deceased loved ones and ward off any nasty spirits (with exception of Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort). Back in ‘them ol’ days’ they had to make do with burning lumps of coal as tea-lights were yet to be invented (I am taking this seriously – I promise).

Did you know that pumpkins are not a vegetable - they are a fruit! Pumpkins, like gourds, and other varieties of squash are all members of the Cucurbitacae family, which also includes cucumbers, gherkins, and melons (which means that Peter Andre is now also part of the Curcurbitacae family).

To carve a good Pumpkin, you need the right tools for the job! They have to be sharp enough, flexible, thin and sturdy. I would really recommend buying a ‘Pumpkin Carving kit’ to do this. They cost about £3 at the most. In addition to your ‘carving tools’ you will need something to ‘scrape’ the inside of the pumpkin out, and ice-cream scoop works fine!

Above you will see the very basic way to carve a pumpkin, which let’s be honest….is boring! Young kids can’t really get involved with this in case the knife slips, so this is your chance to ‘shine’ and impress you friends! Be a big kid and go for it. You can get templates off the Internet, which you can print off for free!

You can create some truly ‘wicked’ pumpkins using a stencil. You’ll need a pumpkin carving kit for this – which normally come with their own instructions. I did this last year and it must have been really bloody good because I put it on my doorstep and some ‘sod’ nicked it!

Prepare the pumpkin as you would for basic carving, i.e. cut out the top hole and gut the pumpkin out. Select the paper stencil you want to use and trim the excess paper from it with scissors. Be sure to leave at least a 1/2 inch border for the tape to go on.

Attach the stencil to the face of the pumpkin with tape. Top first, then the bottom and lastly the sides. You may have to crease the stencil to tape the corners, if so, try to make the creases where the pattern will be distorted the least.

Using the Transfer Tool, press the pointed tip into and through the design lines on the paper stencil spaced about a 1/8 of an inch apart. Complex and thin designs might require the dots to be a little closer together.

The tip of the Transfer Tool should be pushed in just enough to go through the paper and the outer skin of the pumpkin, not all the way through the pumpkin.

It's important that you take your time when transferring the pattern from the stencil. Remember, you're making guidelines for sawing. Before removing the stencil, look it over carefully to make sure that all the lines have been transferred clearly. Once the paper stencil is removed you'll see the outline of the stencils pattern marked on the face of the pumpkin via little dots. Once you remove the stencil be sure to save it in case you need to refer to it while carving.

Using the Carving Saw, push the tip of the saw-blade into a pattern hole and saw through the design lines with short back-and-forth motions. Basically, you're playing "connect the dots".

It's important to remember that these are "saws", not knives. The saw is not used in the same way as a knife. You never cut with it, you saw with it. Take your time and follow the pattern edges carefully.

Always align the saw blade to make the cuts straight into the pumpkin. When making sharp corners, remove the saw and re-insert it at the new angle.

To make removal of the pieces easier you can cut them into smaller section while still in the pumpkin.

Then carefully push out all of the cut pieces with your finger or an un-sharpened pencil.

Once you've removed all of the cut pieces, carefully trim the inside edges of the pumpkin of any excess flesh with the Carving Saw or a small knife. I (the expert here) like to carve the excess off at about a 45 degree angle. This allows more light to come through, showing your design to it's fullest.

Remove any cut pieces that have fallen inside the pumpkin from your carving. Coat the edges with Vaseline. This will help to preserve your pumpkin!

Your finished pumpkin should look like the one below. When

choosing a design to use, make sure that it will be clear when finished. The witch and the bat below are the ones that I did last year. The pics aren’t great as they were taken with my mobile phone!

So, there you have it – Pumpkin Carving – great fun and actually very relaxing. Give it a go, take a picture and we’ll feature it next month!!!

So, us Brit’s are slowly catching up with the Halloween party ‘thing’. I know we don’t need much encouragement to have knees up and a few drinks, so why not have a Halloween Party this year? If you are going to a Halloween Party or hosting one, I have some top tips for you below.

Cobwebs can be made from paper and hung around, this is something that the kids (if applicable) can get involved in, or you could buy some web foam and dangle that around!

If you don’t mind clearing up mess, then crunchy dog biscuits under a rug make great ‘bone crunching’ noises when people walk over them.

For a few simple ghosts – but some white helium filled balloons, drape some white voile (or any very light white material) and tie them loosely underneath. This creates the head and the draping material creates the body.

For scary noises – you can record your own if you don’t wish to buy pre-recorded noises. A squeaky garden gate is a good one. Get the kids to blow slowly through a straw into a bowl of liquid for ‘bubbling cauldron’ or ‘bog’ noises. A piercing scream can be done yourself (make sure the neighbours are out). You can also do some ‘cackling witch’ noises and ‘evil laughter’ (I am creasing up writing this! I’m just trying to picture you lot doing this).

Drape a tissue over a lollypop, place rubber band or twist tie directly under the candy. This will make the head. Using a black pen and draw on a face. You could perhaps stick them on a sponge cake!

Make a punch of your choice and add a little red food colouring - Fill rubber gloves with colored water or fruit juice. Tie shut and freeze. Gently remove glove and place hand in punch. Don't worry if finger breaks off, just toss in the punch too. (It will give it that "special touch".)

Get some hard-boiled eggs, cut in half and remove the yolk. Fill the hollows with cream cheese and add an olive for the eyeball. For the bloodshot look you can draw veins on with some red food colouring and a toothpick.

Collect some mini cereal boxes and make a slit down them. Make some knives out of card and glue them into the slits. Add some dripping red paint for blood and then stick them to your clothing – voila – The Cereal Killer!!!

Dress yourself in black. Cut out a big oval from red card and paint a black line down the centre. Add some black spots and cut an old pair of tights in half. Attach legs of the tights to the under-side of your spotty oval to make straps. Put your arms through the straps – et voila – a ladybird. For an even more authentic look – attach some black pipe cleaners to a black headband for antennae.

This concludes our look into Halloween!! Hope you have a great time – whatever you decide to do – look out for ghouls and avoid all things trying to persuade you to go ‘bump’ in the night!!