- Use Christian Jack-o’-Lantern Themes for Kids - Photo by Sheila Lovett
Halloween doesn’t have to be ghosts, ghouls and monsters that scare young children. Parents who want to make jack-o’-lanterns with their children can pick family-friendly pumpkin carving templates that won’t scare children. Look for animal, Christian and Toy Story® themes for carving stencils.
Using Carving Stencils
Free printable stencils range from the elaborate to the simplistic. Parents who are looking for family-friendly pumpkin carving templates should consider their own skill level at pumpkin carving before choosing pumpkin templates. The best pumpkin carving templates for beginners include more straight lines than curved lines and use simple designs. Keep in mind using pumpkin carving tools achieves the best results.
When carving more advanced pumpkin templates, the Pumpkin Lady recommends carving the smallest sections first. Begin in the center of the pattern and work toward the outer edge. To give the design more stability while working, wait until the entire pumpkin carving is finished before pushing out the carved sections.
Family-Friendly Pumpkin Templates
To keep Halloween decorations family-friendly, select a theme for the jack-o’-lanterns. There are free printable stencils for many different Halloween themes like cats, bats, stars and moons or smiling jack-o’-lanterns. For example, Reader’s Digest offers free printable pumpkin carving patterns with pictures of silly faces, a cat arching its back and the moon with stars. The Pumpkin Masters website has a free printable stencil that is a bat and moon combined, although the other pumpkin templates are scarier themes.
Christian Jack-o-Lantern Themes
Christian families may want to choose pumpkin carving stencils with religious themes. Families looking for Christian jack-o’-lantern themes can check out the stencils on PumpkinGlow.com. This website offers Christian, patriotic and other untraditional “un-Halloween” decorations. PumpkinGlow.com has printable carving templates featuring Jesus, doves, Noah’s ark and other Christian symbols.
Other ideas for Christian families who want to carve jack-o’-lanterns include using pumpkin templates of angels and doves like those found on the Pumpkin Lady website. The Pumpkin Lady has free printable stencils as well as pumpkin templates for sale. Free templates from past years include a peace dove and angel. Another option is to carve letters on individual pumpkins to spell out a Christian message. Letter and number templates are available to use to create Christian messages like, “He is Lord,” and “Give Thanks to the Lord.”
Toy Story Pumpkin Carving Stencils
With the upcoming return of Toy Story® and Toy Story 2® to theaters, parents may want to make Halloween decorations with Toy Story characters. Pumpkin Masters makes a Toy Story Pumpkin Carving Kit with stencils of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bullseye and Jessie. The set sells for $9.95 at Masterpiece Pumpkins and other online retailers. The Pumpkin Lady offers a free printable carving stencil of Tux, the penguin.
Jack-o’-lanterns don’t have to be scary to be fun Halloween decorations. Parents who want family-friendly carved pumpkins can use pumpkin carving stencils to make jack-o’-lanterns. Child-friendly themes include cats, bats and stars and moons. Christian families can carve pumpkins with Jesus, doves, angels or religious messages. Use Toy Story pumpkin carving stencils to introduce young children to the Toy Story characters before the movie returns to theaters.
For more Halloween related articles, read Make Carved Pumpkins Last Longer, Safe Pumpkin Carving with Children and Movie Costumes for Married Couples.
Genna Cockerham - Genna Cockerham has been writing online since November 2008. She served as Marriage Feature Writer from December 2008 to February ...
