With Halloween fast approaching, decorations may be starting to go up at your house if they aren't up already. This includes pumpkins!

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The Best Time to Carve Pumpkins for Halloween

If you are planning to carve a pumpkin this year, the experts say you should wait until October 27th to carve to prevent it from getting moldy and sad before trick-or-treaters arrive.

That happened to us last year. We were way too eager to carve our pumpkins, did them super early, and they were soggy and moldy before Halloween even hit.

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However, many households opt to not carve pumpkins. For some, it's because it's a lot less messy and it can be easier than carving. But some families choose to do something other than carving because, let's be honest, we don't want the kids trying to use the sharp knives.

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Alternatives to Carving Pumpkins

There are plenty of things you can do to decorate pumpkins that doesn't involve carving.

You could take some yarn or twine and do a cool design. You could print out a design or a face and attach it to the pumpkin. There are also plenty of cute things you could stick on your pumpkin like googly eyes or fun stickers. And I think the most popular idea is to paint the pumpkins

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However, these ideas, especially the painting one, can be dangerous.

Why You Shouldn't Paint Your Pumpkins for Halloween

The big issue with painting your pumpkins, and, unfortunately, the issue with most of those alternative ideas, is that it's dangerous to wildlife.

The paint can be toxic, and no matter how hard you try, if the critters want a bite of that tasty-looking pumpkin, they're going to nibble.

Robert Zunikoff, Unsplash
Robert Zunikoff, Unsplash
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However, there are non-toxic paints out there that are made with natural ingredients. That's a good option! Or, if you're still committed to painting pumpkins, keeping the pumpkins inside or up and away from where wildlife can get at it.

We want Halloween to be a fun holiday that's safe for all, including the animals!

On the topic of pumpkins, there are different colors of pumpkins that mean different things to trick-or-treaters.

7 Pumpkin Color Meanings You Should Know Before Handing Out Candy on Halloween

Pumpkins have become more than a Halloween decoration for families who want to spread awareness about a specific cause. Here is a look at the meaning behind seven different pumpkin colors.

Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll

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