80 best pumpkin carvings ideas to use this Halloween

Fairy house

Starting out as we mean to go on: creative. We're living for this pumpkin fairy house that oozes cosy vibes. Go one step further and get little toy fairies to really complete the fantasy.

Scared spider pumpkin

How about this pumpkin offering? It's three things rolled into one: funny, creative, and completely Halloween-ey. Your carving skills don't need to be top-notch, either - just carve a generic scary face and then pierce the top and sides with pieces of wire. Simples.

Calligraphy pumpkin

Dust off those calligraphy skills guys, because we're about to get scripty. If you spent your youth (like we did) practising your best cursive, then this is the perfect pumpkin for you.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Hamburger pumpkin

Forget the traditional Jack o' Lanterns, it's all about the hamburger pumpkins. We guarantee your neighbour, your neighbour's neighbour, and your neighbour's neighbour's neighbour won't have thought of this design. It probably will make them hungry, though.

Alarm clock pumpkin

How cool is this alarm clock pumpkin? Creative and practical, wake up for work every morning (or until the pumpkin starts to go off) in the ultimate Halloween spirit.

Snail pumpkin

We're obsessed with how cute this wee snail pumpkin is. Incorporating a butternut squash too?! They will call you a genius.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Stranger Things Vecna

Cannot deal. If you're a Stranger Things fanatic (like us) and you're thinking of hosting a themed fancy dress party, why not go all-out on your decs and pumpkins and recreate this incredibly spooky Vecna carving? The Upside Down awaits!

Honeycomb pumpkin

Keep it sweet this weeny with a honeycomb-style pumpkin. Simple but impressive (and most definitely different), this pumpkin will be sure to be a talking point.

Trick or Treat

A classic. Not the easiest to carve but this one really is an oldie and a goodie.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Elvis pumpkin

No carving involved, just a whole load of 'uh-huhs'. All you need to create the coolest pumpkin of all time are some oversized 70s shades, gold sparkly card, black paint and black fluffy material.

Little Shop of Horrors pumpkin

Get creative with this fun and freaky pumpkin idea. As well as perfecting your carving skills, you'll also need to get your paint on. Because we're not sure you've noticed, but there's no orange in sight...

Boho pumpkin

Easy carving take (who are we kidding, we're not keeping count?). Obsessed with this boho pumpkin, it's really giving 'if Florence Welch was a pumpkin' vibes.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

BOO pumpkins

Loving this idea of spelling out 'boo' in pumpkin lights. You can do this really easily too - all you need is a small circle-shaped cookie-cutter to punch the holes through to type out each letter. Then, just add a few battery-powered candles, switch them on, and wait til it gets dark.

Spider's web pumpkin

If you're after a challenge or something a little more intricate, how about this baroque-looking spider's web design? Yes, it'll consist of a lot of concentration (and probably a few trial runs), but once you master it it'll most definitely be worth it!

Mandala pumpkin

How cool is this mandala-style pumpkin? Again, it's probably harder than it looks (and it also requires some extra tools/ingredients - we're talking about the nuts, btw), but the end product is stunning.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Baby pumpkins

If you're expecting, or have just welcomed a little one (or little ones), what better way to ring in their first Halloween than by getting your own baby pumpkins? Clearly, there's no carving required (just a Sharpy, some dummies and a cute hat/ribbon) so it shouldn't be too stressful amid your (probably) hectic lifestyle.

Whale pumpkin

Simple but genius, you'll have a whale of a time (get it?) carving this pumpkin.

Pumpkin family

If you want to make it a family affair, how about this eccentric collection of pumpkins? Of course, you can copy these three guys - but if you want to get creative and create pumpkins based on your own family members, that's fun too!

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Kinky pumpkin

Little bit kinky, a lot of fun. It's definitely not PG though, so maybe best to keep this one inside and put your traditional ghoul-like pumpkin on your doorstep for all the street to see instead.

VW Camper

Simply iconic. The next best thing to owning one of these wanderlust vans is to have your own VW carved pumpkin on display. Well, it's maybe not the next best thing, but this design is *very* cool.

Jess Edwards is the Editor of Cosmopolitan.com/UK, overseeing all things digital.

Sophie Williams is a Freelance Journalist and Copywriter, covering everything from Fashion to Entertainment to music, Lifestyle and Features. She has interviewed a range of musical artists and authors including Alyssa Edwards, Courtney Barnett, Confidence Man, The Vaccines, Loyle Carner, Gabrielle, and John Niven, and has written for publications like Metro, Reader's Digest, ITV's Woo! and Vice’s NBGA. She is also working on a book for HarperCollins about Taylor Swift, due to be published in 2024.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLvSpqapp5yewaK6jZympmeloHyttcWeqq2xnJp8qH2Qb21scWJlfLHBzKmioqZdmK6zwsinnmahlJqutHs%3D