My favorite icon of Halloween is not ghosts or witches even though those are both spooky. My favorite icon is the jack o’ lantern. I admire people who can carve wonderful designs in pumpkins. I carve my pumpkin the same way ever year – two triangles for eyes, a square nose, and a one-tooth grin. I have no carving talent. Which is why I was so excited when I saw the jack o’ lanterns on this Disney Parks Blog video. (It is short, fun, and festive. Click here to watch it.) Finally, a technique that even I can’t mess up.
This video actually has three very fun and very easy Halloween crafts on it. Craft one shows you how to make a ghost that lights up from the inside. Very spooky. Craft three shows you how to turn construction cones into candy corn. I think a row of these along a driveway or sidewalk would be very festive. But I got most excited when I saw craft number two.
Did you ever play with a Light Brite when you were a kid? I loved my Light Brite but had not thought of this creative toy for years. It turns out the Light Brite has been updated and is alive and well. Now Disney has expanded its uses. Why not use your pumpkin as a Light Brite surface? Instead of carving the pumpkin use an awl to make holes around and inside your design. Then you can push the Light Brite pegs into the holes. When you put a light in the pumpkin the pegs will light up. Because the pegs come in many colors you can make quite detailed pictures. Awesome. On Amazon you can buy just the Lite Brite Peg Refills
Goofy Tip: To really light up your pumpkin use electric light bulbs instead of candles. If you cut the top off of your pumpkin just make a hole in the back toward the bottom so a cord can come out. The professionals often cut the bottom off so then a light can easily be placed inside. This is especially useful if you want to add Mickey Mouse pumpkin ears to your jack o’ lantern. The lightbulbs are safer than candles and you can do all sorts of fun things with different colored light bulbs.