Win Your Block’s Best Pumpkin Award This Halloween With These Carving Tools & Patterns for 2021

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If you love arts and crafts and want the chance to show people how creative you can be, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween are likely your favorite holidays. Having an excuse to create eye-catching centerpieces, tree-topping ornaments or spooky decorations is great fun and a nice way to spend time with children, friends, and family, too. One of the best annual holiday tasks is without a doubt making jack-o’-lanterns with pumpkin carving kits.

Every year brings a blank canvas, letting you create the most eye-catching or scariest design you can think of. Whether you choose a ghost, monster, or Halloween scene for your pumpkin, there’s always plenty of fun to be had seeing who can create the best jack-o’-lantern!

When it comes to carving pumpkins, having the right tools and inspiration gives a huge leg up. While a kitchen knife and dessert spoon perform a perfectly adequate job for the average jack-o’-lantern, if you’re looking to raise your pumpkin carving game or entertain friends and family with a pumpkin carving competition, it’s time to upgrade your tools.

We’ve put together a list of the best pumpkin carving kits, books, and tools to help you achieve the best possible jack-o’-lantern. From three-dimensional faces and creepy ghosts to graveyard scenes and Darth Vader’s mask, these kits and templates will teach you how to carve a pumpkin for every preference and skill level.

Grab one of these handy pumpkin carving kits, raise your carving game and make sure it’s your house that stands out this Halloween with amazing jack-o’-lanterns.

1. Blovec Halloween Pumpkin Carving Kit

BEST OVERALL PUMPKIN CARVING KIT

The Blovec Pumpkin Carving Kit is a professional standard carving kit that also comes in a handy case for easy storage and transport. The kit boasts 11 different carving tools, including knives, a saw, pokers, a scoop and more. This kit would make a great gift for friends who love to get artsy at this time of year.

2. Hyde & EEK! Boutique Halloween Pumpkin Carving Kit

BEST BUDGET-FRIENDLY PUMPKIN CARVING KIT

Target always comes through in a pinch, especially when it comes to holiday needs like this pumpkin carving kit. For less than $5, you can get five tools and eight stencils to carve the cutest or scariest pumpkins in town.

3. Comfy Mate Pumpkin Carving Kit

BEST WITH STENCILS

The pack is filled with twelve pieces that sit in an organized carrying case for easy access and storage. Any kind of tool you can possibly need is in here plus you’ll get an included 1,000-stencil e-book to truly take your pumpkin-carving prowess to the next level.

4. Easy Pumpkin Carving

BEST PUMPKIN CARVING BOOK

Whether you’ve been carving for years or you have decided this is the year to up your pumpkin carving kit game, the Easy Pumpkin Carving: Spooktacular Patterns, Tips & Ideas  provides sound advice on making the most of your pumpkin carving skills. The 14 different patterns in the book include a bat, sugar skull, black cat and a witch on a broomstick. In addition, the book also gives advice on carving techniques and other tips on how to become the street’s number one pumpkin carver.

5. Shuttle Art Halloween Pumpkin Carving Kit

A 15-PIECE SET

This pumpkin carving kit has everything you need to make the scariest pumpkin the world has ever seen. Built with stainless steel and both wood and plastic ergonomic handles, this pumpkin carving kit is easy to use and not to mention, quite safe. For pros who know what they’re doing, having this many tools will be a field day, but for people who don’t necessarily know what they’re doing, this could be quite overwhelming. For beginners (and children) we definitely suggest going with something a little more simple.

AMAZON’S CHOICE

6. Pumpkin Masters Pumpkin Carving Kit

BEST PUMPKIN CARVING KIT FOR KIDS

The Pumpkin Masters Pumpkin Carving Kit comes with everything you need to produce an eye-catching pumpkin this Halloween (except the pumpkin). Inside, you’ll find a book with 12 different patterns to try as well as three different saws, a scraper scoop and a handy poker. This is a great way to inspire your friends or kids into creating something special and make your pumpkin carving kit party a little bit more exciting.

7. Messermeister Pumpkin Carving Kit, Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Halloween Set

BEST THREE-PIECE PUMPKIN CARVING KIT

You don’t necessarily need tons of tools to carve the scariest pumpkin on the block. This pumpkin carving kit comes with just three tools to effectively get the job done. This will be the last carving kit you’ll ever have to buy because the tools are crafted from stainless steel and durable plastic for lifelong use. The kit’s built for both the master carver and kids alike, because these tools are optimized for perfectionists but also to be almost accident-free. Though, we still recommend you watch any kid trying to do this on their own and don’t suggest anyone under 10 years old plays around with it.

8. Realistic Pumpkin Carving

BEST ARTISTIC PUMPKIN CARVING KIT

If pumpkin carving is more than just a half an hour activity you do every October, and you’re genuinely looking to impress visitors or get some recognition on social media, this Realistic Pumpkin Carving: 24 Spooky, Scary, and Spine-Chilling Designs is the book you need. Inside, you’ll find out how to create creepy, three-dimensional faces on your pumpkins to genuinely give people the willies. The book includes two step-by-step projects to get you started and an additional 24 patterns once you’re ready to go it alone.

9. Northlight 10″ Orange and Blue Pumpkin Carving Kit

BEST AFFORDABLE OPTION

Looking for a pumpkin carving kit on the more affordable side with minimal tools? We got you. This set includes a gut scooper, a poker, a drill as well as a carving saw and detailing saw to get your jack-o’-lantern looking creepy as hell. Simply throw them in the shed or pantry and use them again and again for years on end. When using this kit, the young ones will need some supervision.

ON SALE!

10. Falling in Art Craft Linoleum Block Cutters

BEST PUMPKIN CARVING KIT FOR ETCHING

The Falling in Art Craft Linoleum Block Cutters is a classy way to etch your pumpkin. This technique involves scraping away the top layer of “skin” on the pumpkin rather than cutting all the way through. These high-quality tools feature beechwood handles and a range of interchangeable blades. Options include a classic knife along with several different U-shaped cutters, which are all made from hardened carbon steel for easy cutting and durability.

11. BLACK+DECKER Max Lithium Drill with Accessories

BEST POWER-ASSISTED OPTION

Bored of having to use up all your elbow grease cutting, gutting and carving your pumpkin? Say goodbye to using physical effort thanks to this BLACK+DECKER Max Lithium Drill with Accessories . This battery-powered drill makes cutting through your pumpkin a cinch and includes a variety of drill bits to aid your pumpkin-crafting work. And while it’s not the most precise tool available on our list, if you’re creating pumpkins on a large scale, using a power drill is definitely going to save you a good number of man-hours.

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