Pumpkins Already?

Normally I wait until mid-October to purchase pumpkins for Fall, and end up with a couple of the smaller picked over pumpkins. Or to get a nice sized pumpkin, I usually pay more than I'd like! So it may be early to start carving Jack o'Lanterns, but this year I figured I'd buy my pumpkins ahead of time. I had a few Safeway catalina coupons ready to expire, and simply enough food in our pantry to last for weeks, so I purchased 2 large pumpkins from Safeway yesterday.

I haven't put them out for display yet, since I usually wait until October, but I look forward to decorating for Fall soon! In the meantime, to keep the uncut pumpkins fresh, I'm keeping them in a cool dry place.


I was so excited about buying these pumpkins, now I'm already thinking about Halloween too! I usually carve the pumpkins the day before Halloween. Last year I did a couple non-classic pumpkin carvings that took too long to carve, and did not turn out well. This year I'm keeping it simple.

I found a couple ideas from ehow.com, and I like their printable carving templates! The Mean Jack stencil and the Bob stencil look simple and easy. I'm thinking I'll carve one pumpkin, and then just paint a face on the other.



A few Frugal Pumpkin Tips:

• To keep pumpkins fresh, after carving cover all cut edges and entire interior with petroleum jelly.

• Grow your own with seeds, or try to grow one from this years pumpkin. Two years ago my mom placed an un-carved pumpkin in her garden to compost, and the next year she had a very large plant with a pumpkin on it. I'm not sure if this works with all pumpkins, but I think I'll try it too. But since the plants get big, and may require special conditions, do a little research first!

• How about roasted pumpkin seeds? allrecipes.com has simple easy directions for roasting pumpkin seeds
  

When do you decorate for the Fall season? And when do you decorate for Halloween?