Carving the Halloween pumpkin is one of the most enjoyable activities of the year except unwrapping Christmas gifts. There are several styles of carving, but one of the easiest and most rewarding one is that involving a stencil to create the exact piece you are interested in. Numerous printable stencils are available on the internet for free and all you have to do is choose your favorite piece and use it right away. Whether you want a scary Halloween pumpkin or a lovely one, there is no way you can go wrong. You can find stencils ranging from Tinkerbell to zombies or Michael Myers. If your kids love Disney productions you can mellow it down and choose neat pumpkin carving stencils like Elsa. Carving Halloween pumpkins is easy and cool with the right ideas, but spending time with your loved ones while you are doing it is the most important outcome.

1. Batman signal

The Dark Knight is one of the most beloved superhero characters, you can’t go wrong with this one. This stencil’s advantage is that the famous Batman signal is symmetrical, so it’s easy to reproduce. Just stick the stencil to the pumpkin and start carving gently around it. Depending on your artistic skills, there are other alternatives. Some decided to reproduce the Joker’s face, while others chose Batman’s recognizable square face. It all depends on how creative you want to get.

2. Super Mario

The childhood hero is a guy who eats magic mushrooms, so your child probably loves him. You are not going to spook anyone by using the gaming icon. But if you got there, it probably wasn’t your intention at all. You’ll manage to create a more welcoming atmosphere, so get ready to surrender your candy to the armies of children who will assault your house this Friday.

3. Tinkerbell

This cool Tinkerbell carved in your pumpkin could fit your daughter’s aspirations of being a princess. It’s definitely less scary than zombie carvings. Disney inspired carves in your Halloween pumpkins are fun and creative for the whole family and you can choose from a wide range of characters like Tinkerbell, Ariel or Mulan. That should fit many of the family requests, but if it doesn’t, there are always alternatives like Star wars carvings or, if you’re looking for some haunted look, a scary skull to draw children away from “trick or treat” your house.

4.  Sponge Bob

Although you can choose some animal shaped carving, like a wolf, a cat or a dog, if you want something really funny and probably with higher chances of being unique, you can try Spongebob, our favorite kids-oriented theme. Although if you do it right it might pass as scary, this carving can actually be very cute, if you are bored of all the witch-themed pumpkins. Because of its two frontal teeth and those wide eyes trademark, Spongebob’s image is actually easy to be reproduce and guests won’t have problems recognizing the character.

5. Owl

Owls are night creatures we love and these are the animals we’d like to have on our own pumpkin. You can find owl patterns all over the internet, from simple to strikingly complex. Zombie pumpkins offer patterns with some degrees of difficulty marked, so you can choose wisely before embarking in a carving adventure. Obviously, if you plan to win a contest with your carving skills, you might want to choose something more elaborate than a static creature with big eyes. But if you want to impress your neighbors with your porch pumpkins, fear not, there are various patterns of owl faces all over the web, from scary to cute.  In the end, you have to choose the right pumpkin carving stencils for you.