Carving a pumpkin is very easy, all you need is a couple of tools and an open space. Before starting, make sure you have a good pumpkin that will last throughout the Halloween season. Make sure the pumpkin you get is sturdy and round, with as little imperfections as possible. Depending on the design you have in mind, you can get a wider pumpkin or a taller pumpkin, depending on what will fit better.

Materials: Pumpkin, pumpkin carving kit (knife and spoon or ladle from kitchen can work fine), a bowl, a towel or paper sheet, and a marker.

Step 1: Get some sort of paper sheet, bag, old towel, or anything you can lay on the ground and throw away later. Go outside, to avoid a mess, if not possible you can do this inside but it might be a bit messy. After laying down the towel or sheet, this will be your working space.

Step 2: If you have a marker, you can draw your design onto the pumpkin beforehand to make the carving process easier.

Step 3: Draw a circle around the stem or the pumpkin, around 5-7 inches away from the stem at all times. Use a knife or other sharp tool to cut out this circle, giving you a lid and an opening in the pumpkin. (Make sure to cut on a 45 degree angle facing the inside of the pumpkin so the lid does not fall in when you put it back on).

Step 4: Once you take off the lid of the pumpkin, you have to clean it out. You can grab all of the seeds in the middle of the pumpkin and put them into a bowl. If you do not want to get dirty, you can use a spoon or ladle.

Step 5: After the seeds are gone there will still be extra debris left over, scoop this out with a spoon or ladle. 

Step 6: Before you start to carve your pumpkin, wipe off and clean the surface to make sure it is easier to carve.

Step 7: Carve out the pumpkin following the outline if you drew one earlier, put the scraps in a separate bowl. If you did not draw an outline, feel free to do so now or make up a design as you carve.

Step 8: If you have something like an X-ACTO knife or anything else that is very sharp, use it to polish the edges of the pumpkin where you cut it to make it look more polished.

Step 9: To light up the pumpkin, you can either use LEDs or an artificial light or candle. Make sure not to use actual fire because the pumpkin will burn too.

*Carve at your own risk.