# Tradition



## randomr8 (Oct 24, 2009)

Who still carves at least one Jack-o-lantern? Last year I didn't. It's still bugging me. I usually do a least 3!


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## The Evil Queen (May 8, 2010)

Dude... I love Jack's. That sweet roasting pumpkin smell. The flickering of shadows dancing on the walls. The sound of popping and hissing in the fresh carved pumpkin with a candle. The anticipation of getting home to slice him open...

I miss that SOOOO much! I am lucky if I can keep one alive for more than a day or two here. The mold over night, rot, and fall in on themselves. But I still try every year!


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

I agree, no matter what direction I go with my haunt, REAL Jack o' Lanterns are a must. I do have some that I've made that are fake, but I guess it's the carving, the smell of pumpkin guts, cooking of the seeds, (trying to outdo the neighbors lame pumpkins) that take me back to childhood and make me get that extra spirit of Halloween.


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## Devils Chariot (May 23, 2007)

I am always fixing problems at the last minute for the last three halloween, and I haven't carved a jack before halloween. I did some after for fun.

THis last year I sat down halloween day with the intention of just busting out a jack superfast, NOPE! I had to go fix the fog machines! Hurry! Trick or Traters are coming! Arrgggg!


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

Absolutely a tradition for me to carve out the jacks. Growing up I insisted on it every year and even after I moved out of parents house and went to college, they still do at least 1 each year. I do around 6 of them each year and doesn't matter if I free hand carve or use templates, lots of comments each year from kids and from parents. Most of those comments are how they just don't see people taking the time to carve jack o' lanterns each year


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

We carve anywhere from one to four, depending on what we get from our pumpkin plants. It's such a traditional part of Halloween, and I like to roast the seeds for eating later


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

I always carve at least 1 traditional J-o-L. In the last few years I was carving 2 fancy ones and a traditional but last year I was in a crunch and only had time to carve 1 traditional, which is the one in my signature.

When I was a kid we had a blow-mold one that I loved. We never had a real one.


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## corner haunt (May 21, 2008)

Most years yes, but I just ran out of time last year! Hope to do some this year.


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## kid (Feb 19, 2010)

I do at least 2 every year to put on either side of my door. Last year was going to be the first time I used my dremel, but when I went to get them off the front porch, they were gone. Stolen two nights before Halloween. I was soooooooo upset!


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

It's not Halloween without a Jack-o-lantern.


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

I do between 6-8. I like to place them on the front steps coming up the house. Unfortunately, I had to use glow sticks last year because of the 25 mph winds. However, I did bring in a few pumpkins in the house late Halloween night and lit them w/real candles.


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## datura (May 11, 2010)

I carve 2 each year and use the flesh for my pumpkin pies... It wouldn't be Halloween without old Jack !!!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Last year we had four jack's, two on the window sills, and two on the front porch, we always have two that are hand carved, and two we usually use really complex design templates, and have a competiton to see who can carve it the fastest without messing up!! My wife has beaten me five consective years now!! I have to pay attention to all the little details , and it slows me down soooo much I don't stand a chance!! lol...


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

I always carve one for Halloween weekend and put it on the counter of my haunt. It has to be there.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

We usually carve about six to ten. My daughter comes over to help, it's one of our traditions. Another one is, after we've taken everything down after the Tots, The kids throw them off a bridge next to our house. Alot of times the kids helping out that year have never smashed pumpkins. I often hear "I've never smashed pumpkins before, this is really fun". lol Next year, 2011, I like to try to do a yard like the one in the movie Trick R Treat. I don't know where I'd get that many pumpkins, or how long they would take to carve, but it really like the looks of it.


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## MorbidMariah (Mar 28, 2009)

Yep, I wouldn't feel like it was truly Halloween without carving at least 1 or 2 jacks. I usually do 2-4 myself, and we have a little mini party to carve 'em usually the day before the party. So everyone leaves their pumpkins at my place for decoration for the party. Usually we have about 4-8 pumpkins around party night. Roasting the seeds, admiring your handiwork, and rubbing cinnamon into the lid to give off that pumpkin pie smell when they're lit....I LOVE JACKS!:jol:


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## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

I went a year or two without doing any JOLs. I usually get so busy with last minute props that there's no time. We also tend to get snow or frost before Halloween so in my procrastination in buying them only the rotten ones are left.


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## randomr8 (Oct 24, 2009)

The Evil Queen said:


> Dude... I love Jack's. That sweet roasting pumpkin smell. The flickering of shadows dancing on the walls. The sound of popping and hissing in the fresh carved pumpkin with a candle. The anticipation of getting home to slice him open...
> 
> I miss that SOOOO much! I am lucky if I can keep one alive for more than a day or two here. The mold over night, rot, and fall in on themselves. But I still try every year!


ooo that smell. Can't you smell that smell?... yep!! gotta make time this year.


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## mandodude (Aug 31, 2008)

JOL's are a must. I love to do the crazy designs. I always make one with each of my two kids. For some silly reason I never thought to use the dremel despite its frequent use in the prop shop. We also love to roast the seeds.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Spooky1 said:


> It's not Halloween without a Jack-o-lantern.


So true. And you'll never find seeds in a plastic pumpkin - I live for fresh roasted seeds. I do at least 4 each year, and I've gotten pretty fast at free-hand traditional carving so I always find time to do them the night before.


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## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

The Evil Queen said:


> Dude... I love Jack's. That sweet roasting pumpkin smell. The flickering of shadows dancing on the walls. The sound of popping and hissing in the fresh carved pumpkin with a candle. The anticipation of getting home to slice him open...


Beautifully said!

I love carving pumpkins! I let my littlest ones doodle out their hearts' desire on their pumpkins with a pencil, then I do my best to carve along their lines, so the JOL is truly their own design. Hubby, oldest daughter, and I each carve our own. Slinging pumpkin guts at one another often ensues at some point during the process. We bake the seeds, munch on them for days, but save plenty for the traditional pumpkin seed spitting contest at our Halloween party. After Halloween, the remains of the JOLs, are tossed into the "pumpkin recycling center" (compost/garden bed) along with the uncarved pumpkins we use as accents (with loads of leaves on top), and left for the winter. It's fun to see what just turns up there the following year. We've dried and saved seeds and planted them the proper way before, but our way is more suspenseful...


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## Johnny Thunder (Feb 24, 2006)

My wife and I always carve JOLs and now with our daughter, we do three. Love me my pumpkin seeds too!


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## halloween71 (Aug 9, 2007)

I carve one and buy lots for the kids at the party to carve to take home.


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## Evil Queen (Mar 8, 2008)

We always have at least one real jack. I love the smell of candle burned pumpkin! I usually buy around 10 pumpkins, they don't all get carved but I cut them in half so we have plenty of roasted seeds. One year our grocery store overstocked pumpkins and were giving them away a couple days after Halloween. I loaded up the trunk of the car and we had seeds for months.


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## GhoulishGadgets (May 13, 2010)

We do - every year, the kids (3 - all teenagers) and my wife do one each.

I normally get a bit (too!!) ambitious.. and normally (just!!) get away with it.
my avatar pic is the one I did last year for my site.. was the most intricate I've ever done.

I've got pics od some of the others I've done, I'll dig them out.

Si


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## Volscalkur (Feb 15, 2010)

Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite parts of Halloween! :smileton:
My family was ...er rather overly religious growing up so going all out for celebrating Halloween was taboo, but carving pumpkins was ok for some reason? Always had so much fun! Something I am defiantly looking forward to doing with my kids someday.

On a side note (and since I'm a nerd) here is something I ran across and favorited a while back about how JOLs got stared: http://www.essortment.com/all/jackolantern_reuu.htm Very interesting!
:jol:


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## madmomma (Jul 1, 2009)

Don't feel bad Randomr8, last year was the first time I didn't carve one either...killed me! I had the foam ones I carved and decorated but it wasn't the same as the real thing. This year I'm carving my usual 3-4 plus decorating with the others. Halloween isn't Halloween without at least ONE painstakingly carved pumpkin!!! :jol:


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## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

I used to carve pumpkins, but the landlord (aka mother) expressly said 'not a single pumpkin in the yard' but when i did, i would carve at least two and make little lanters out of gourds that i would dangle from the overhang. man that was fun!


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## Ryan Wern (Dec 3, 2009)

We carve at least 5 different Jacks. My kids each do 1 (I have 3 kids) and I do 2 or 3 myself. I'm having a hard time outdoing myself every year now. My kids just think I'm nuts.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

If I only did one thing for Halloween, it would be to carve a jack. We normally do 3-5 of them. I can't imagine not doing them. We've gone from the fancy templates back to old time traditional faces and I love it! It's what we associated Halloween with as kids. I know at some point I'll be too old to do a walk-through haunt or even an elaborate yard display but I'll carve a pumpkin for Halloween as long as I'm able!


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## nixie (Sep 17, 2008)

Ryan Wern said:


> We carve at least 5 different Jacks. My kids each do 1 (I have 3 kids) and I do 2 or 3 myself. I'm having a hard time outdoing myself every year now. My kids just think I'm nuts.


lol... I don't think we've quite arrived until our kids think we're nuts!


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## jaz86 (Jun 3, 2010)

If you want something different try soaking a roll of tp in kerosene(only a VERY little) put in JOL and add a match.


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