How to Make Halloween Decorations with Pumpkins & Flowers

- A sharp knife

- A large spoon (the bigger the better)

- A small glass vase or drinking glass that fits inside the pumpkin

- Most importantly: flowers! Choose autumnal seasonal flowers in red, orange, brown or yellow that radiate cosiness and Halloween vibes

Cut into the top of the pumpkin near the stem to completely cut off the top of the pumpkin. Make sure that the rest of the pumpkin has enough space for the vase or glass you’ve chosen.

This works best with a tablespoon. You can also use a teaspoon, but it will take a little longer. Watch out: this can get a bit messy, so we advise wearing an apron or old clothes if you want to be on the safe side.

Now for the best bit! Fill the vase or glass with water and place your autumn flowers inside. Put this together in the carved-out pumpkin and your arrangement is ready for Halloween. Easy-peasy and eerily beautiful!

Fill a glass vase with mini pumpkins to give your bouquet a touch of autumn and Halloween spirit. Beautiful for the dining table or kitchen counter, the perfect autumn tablescape.

Let your imagination run wild with flowers attached to the outside of your pumpkins too!

While pumpkins can last around 8 to 12 weeks after being picked, they can quickly begin to wilt and rot after carving: it’s generally recommended that you don’t carve your pumpkin until around 3-5 days before Halloween.

So, whether trying out our pumpkin bouquet hack, or carving a spooky Jack-o’-lantern, exactly how do you preserve a pumpkin?

To allow you to get into the spooky spirit ahead of time, we’ve pulled together our top 5 natural tips on how to preserve a carved pumpkin to ensure it lasts until Halloween. Check them out below.

1. Make sure you pick the right pumpkin

The first step to ensuring your pumpkin will survive being carved into a Jack-o’-lantern is to make sure you purchase the right one.

Make sure it doesn’t have any gouges, scrapes, or obvious blemishes. If it does, it’s not likely to last very long. However, if your pumpkin has some green colouring to it, this means it’s still ripening, so it’ll be good to take home, and ripen there.

Similarly, you should check that your pumpkin isn’t too soft. To do this, flip the pumpkin upside down and apply pressure. If you feel it gives beneath your thumbs slightly, look for another one.

You’ll also want to sit your pumpkin down on a flat surface to make sure it sits flat for when you put the candle inside after carving.

2. Clean it with a white vinegar solution

When you first bring your pumpkin home, give it a good clean-down with a diluted vinegar solution. Vinegar is acidic, which makes it a natural preservative. It also has naturally antibacterial properties, so it will help to kill off any nasties before you begin carving.

To do this, simply combine 10 parts water with one part white vinegar, thoroughly mist the outside of the pumpkin, and allow it to air dry.

Once your pumpkin is carved, it's a good idea to mix up a spray bottle with water and white vinegar and give the inside of your pumpkin a daily spray with the solution. This will help to kill off any growing mould.

Keeping the inside of your carved pumpkin moist will also prevent it from collapsing.

3. Use essential oils to deter pests

Much like the human skin, the flesh of the pumpkin acts as a protective layer, so as soon as you start carving into the skin, decomposition speeds up, which can attract flies.

When carving your pumpkin, it’s important to get as much of the ‘guts’ out as possible. Anything left behind will attract additional pests.

While there’s no foolproof method for completely deterring pests from rotting food, using essential oils such as peppermint or lemon can keep them from doing damage to your carved pumpkin.

When spraying down the insides of your pumpkin with your white vinegar spray, consider adding a few drops of essential oils to the solution. Alternatively, you can add a couple of drops to the outside and inside of your pumpkin directly.

4. Keep it shaded from the elements

Most people will keep their carved pumpkins outside of the home, and while your pumpkin might look great lighting up the bottom of the front garden, leaving it exposed to the elements will speed up the decaying process.

Instead, you should place it in an as dry and shaded spot as possible - away from sun, wind, and rain. For the best results, keep it close to the front door in a covered spot.

If you don’t have a safe place to keep your pumpkin indoors, consider keeping it in a window so it’s still visible from outside.

5. Keep its features moisturised

To avoid your pumpkin becoming a Beetlejuice-esque shrunken head by day two, you’ll want to keep your pumpkin's features moisturised.

To do this, apply some Vaseline - or similar - to the cut surfaces.

The Vaseline will act as a barrier, and keep moisture from leaving the flesh of the pumpkin.

However, when using Vaseline, or similar petroleum jelly-based products on your pumpkin, you should avoid using a real flame inside because it is flammable.

Instead, use a battery-powered, flameless tea light. Avoiding real flames will also help to stop your pumpkin from drying out further.