One of the activities both kids and adults enjoy during Halloween is pumpkin carving. While the standard triangle eyes and nose are easy, many people have started using carving stencils to create breathtaking designs.
You can purchase various carving templates at your local store. But, why pay for them when there are hundreds of pumpkin carving stencils available for free online!
HOW TO USE A CARVING STENCIL
Cut off the top of the pumpkin and clean it out, like you would when making any carving. Then, print the stencil you want and tape it to the front of your pumpkin. Punch marks on the dots you see on the template. Remove the templated and toss it. Use your knife to connect the dots to make the intricate design.
WHAT KINDS OF PUMPKIN TEMPLATES CAN YOU FIND
There is s stencil for just about anything you want. You can find Disney® characters, sports, creepy characters, animals, silly faces — just about anything you could want. Below you’ll find some of the best sites that offer pumpkin carving stencils, patterns and templates for free!
You’ll want to check out our other helpful Halloween ideas too:
- 40 Fun DIY Halloween Costume Ideas
- ICEE Halloween Costume
- 40 Non-Candy Halloween Treats
- Simple Halloween Lanterns
FREE PRINTABLE STENCILS
Pumpkin Pile offers hundreds of patterns including movie characters, animals, creepy faces, sports, celebrities, video games and more. They help you know which templates you might feel comfortable using by offering a difficulty rating of 1 – 5 on each stencil.
Pumpkin Lady: This site has quite the collection of pumpkin carving patterns — more than 700 to be exact! Find templates for special occasions, nature, snow days, fun Halloween words, Boo creatures and so much more! This site even includes instructions and how-t0-videos for more detailed explanations.
Spookmaster: You can find just about any possible pumpkin carving stencil you might need on this site. They have everything from traditional to political figures and more! Read through their tips and instructions to help get you started carving a pumpkin – no matter your skill level. Once you are done, look through their party game ideas for inspiration for your Halloween party.
Disney Family: You’ll find pumpkin carving templates here for, what else, but Disney characters They even have a few ideas to decorate your pumpkin without having to carve it.
Martha Stewart: Look through the more than 40 pumpkin carving stencils she has available. These are less intricate, so might be easier for first-time carvers (or if you don’t have much time to spend carving).
Zombie Pumpkins: Look at their more than 400 pumpkin carving patterns throughout their site. They have movie monsters, creations that are unique to only their site, fun ideas for kids, TV terrors and so much more! Their website is wildly popular with more than 4,000,000 downloads and counting.
HGTV: If you are a pumpkin carving beginner, then these templates are for you. All of these patterns are easy to follow and cut into your pumpkins. They are great to use to help your child learn how to carve (with parental supervision, of course).
Our family really enjoys our time together carving pumpkins each year. We’ve done it since our kids were very young and it is something that we all look forward to doing each year. As our kids get older, they can try more complex designs. It’s fun to watch them learn and get excited as they see their jack-o-lanterns come to life!
Get your kids and family together and use one of these incredible pumpkin carving stencils to make a unique design this year.
