I made a beautiful pumpkin thanks to this carving set
27.10.2025
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Video: Davide Arizzoli
Pictures: Davide Arizzoli
Support: Pierre Niedegger
Camera: Ambra Antonelli
Carving Halloween pumpkins is horrifying enough for people like me who struggle with arts and crafts. Luckily, I found a set that simplifies the creative process. Using it, even I became a Michelangelo of pumpkin art.
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Plenty of people in German-speaking Switzerland are familiar with the «Räbeliechtli» tradition. Kids hollow out white turnips and carve motifs into them, carrying them through the streets as lanterns in a parade. My lantern was always the ugliest, and that wasn’t my only trauma related to those parades. One time, a friend accidentally pushed me into the barbed wire of a sheep meadow during one. The solemn parade turned into a bloody horror movie. You can still see the scar above my left eye.
Now, I’m facing my inner fears and innate handicraft struggles while trying to craft an acceptable pumpkin with a carving set.
Cutting out, not carving
The 23-piece set consists mainly of moulds, allowing you to prick out eyes, a nose and mouth from the pumpkin rind. There’s also a very blunt saw, a spoon for hollowing out the veg and a plastic hammer used to smack the moulds deeper.
As I bought a pumpkin that was deliberately grown for Halloween, its wall is so thin I can easily cut out the lid with the blunt saw. I hardly have to scoop out any pulp either. After that, I use a spoon to remove the seeds and whatever else is in the pumpkin.
Then I can simply place the moulds for its eyes, nose and mouth and hammer them in. Removing these shapes is trickier, but with a little more hammering and patience I can do it and end up with an almost perfect Halloween pumpkin within a few minutes.
Since the set comes with 20 shapes, it’s perfect for families with several kids or a children’s Halloween party. The tools are so blunt that no child will hurt themselves… To anyone who’s watched the video above, that was just an Oscar-worthy special effect that’d make even Stan Winston blush. I still have my left index finger.
If the set had a few more tools for custom designs and less plastic on the handles, it’d be perfect. Still, it’s ideal party fun that would’ve taken my «Räbeliechtli» to a whole new level. A pity it didn’t exist in my day.
In a nutshell
Cut out, don’t carve – you’ll get prettier pumpkins quicker
Using this set, you can make beautiful Halloween pumpkins in record time. But cutting out instead of carving also means there’s little room for individual designs. The manufacturer could’ve included a few more delicate tools. But thanks to 20 shapes, you’ve got plenty of variety to play with, and nothing will stand in the way of your pumpkin party.
Pro
- Cookie cutters quickly produce beautiful results
- All you need to get started right away
- Tools also suitable for children
Contra
- Plastic tools
- No delicate tools
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
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