Fall is my most favorite time of year. I love the way the air smells, the way the leaves look and the clothes that I get to wear. One of our family traditions is taking the kids to the pumpkin patch and letting them pick out their own pumpkins. Our local pumpkin patch also has a hay maze, photo props and yummy farm fresh goodies. The kids love getting their pictures taken with all the fun wooden farm photo props, and I love seeing how much they have grown over the past year. This year was no exception and I am a little sad that my “baby” has gotten so big!
In order to get to the pumpkins we get to ride in a covered wagon pulled by a tractor. Once we get out to the field we let the kids run wild looking for their perfect pumpkin. It usually doesn’t take long and they love the ownership they get from picking their own pumpkin.
Since we went to the pumpkin patch so early in the season (I really wanted to go on a sunny day) we knew we weren’t going to carve them right away. So once we got them home we set them up on the stairs and waited until a little closer to Halloween to actually carve them.
That time came earlier this week and when I told the kids it was pumpkin carving day they couldn’t stop jumping for joy! Pumpkin Masters sent me a box full of goodies to use for our carving this year and they really make something for everyone! My younger girls quickly picked out designs from their special kid book. My son is a little older so he chose a design from one of the regular books. My hubby always goes for the scariest and spookiest design he can find and I was so excited to try out the punch out designs that I didn’t even look through the other books!
Once we cut the “lids” off it was time to scoop out the goodies. I armed each of my kids with one of pumpkin masters scoops, however my hubby thought it would be easier to use a kitchen spatula. After all three of the kids and I finished scooping our pumpkins out he was still working on his. I suggested he try the scoop and he was amazed at how much easier it was! That alone makes these kits worth every penny!!
After everyone’s pumpkins were cleaned out it was time to get the designs going. The special kids designs had holes around the design and came with a special crayon. You simply color over the paper and get a connect the dots like line to follow. This made getting their designs onto the pumpkins a breeze! The kids kit also came with its own special cutting tool. It featured a larger handle and a sturdier blade. I felt so confident in this product that I let my 3 year old carve out her own design (supervised of course) without any help from me!
My son is a little almost 8 and he was able to get his design cut out, taped on and carved on his own without any help from us. These kits really do make the whole process super easy!!
Here is an in progress shot of my hubby’s pumpkin.
Finally, using the punch out designs was super straightforward. you simply carve out along the line and poke holes on the paper with the special poking tool. Then use the presized punches to cut out perfect shapes with no work at all. My hubby called it a cheater method, but I think it is a genius idea!! 
Pumpkin Masters is searching for carving talent as part of its annual Pumpkin Masters Carving Contest. You can share a picture of your carving via Instagram or Twitter with #PumpkinMasters2013, submit via the Facebook app or send via email to: social@pumpkinmasters.com to enter for the chance to win one of six prizes, including $5,000 for the Best Pumpkin. The contest runs from October 1 – 31, 2013. For all the details and official rules go here!!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
