Pumpkin Carving Ideas for an Epic Pumpkin Carving Night

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FREE Pumpkin Stencils

Use this huge list of free pumpkin carving ideas to help you create an amazing pumpkin for Halloween this year! Certainly, with so many pumpkin patterns and stencils to choose from, you’ll find the inspiration you need!

But first, it may be helpful to learn how to actually CARVE a pumpkin successfully. So without further adieu…

Pumpkin carving ideas for families to use when carving a pumpkin | The Dating Divas
Family carving a pumpkin with helpful pumpkin carving ideas

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. To learn more about ’em, click here.

How to Carve a Pumpkin

To start your scary pumpkin carving, cut a circle around the pumpkin’s stem using a serrated knife. Pull off this piece and set it aside. Now, it’s time to get messy!

Remove all of the goop and guts so you can move on to the pumpkin stencil fun. Scrape along the inside of the pumpkin until you get all of the guts and seeds out. Now it’s time to choose your pumpkin template. 

Scroll below to find the pumpkin carving stencils that fit your vision. Print the pumpkin stencils and hold it up to your pumpkin. Puncture the paper and pumpkin with a toothpick along the lines of the pumpkin template you chose. When you remove the paper, you will see a bunch of little dots where you can begin cutting with your pairing knife.

When you finish carving your pumpkin, put a tea light or candle inside and light it up!

Are you wondering what tools will work best for carving a pumpkin? We’ve got your back!

Best Pumpkin Carving Tools

Here are some ideal carving tools we recommend: 

Of course you can buy a pack of pumpkin carving tools, but we linked utensils you probably already own. 

75 Fun and Easy Pumpkin Stencil Patterns

This list hits all the major categories you want in pumpkin carving stencils! Below you will find:

Table of Contents
  1. FREE Pumpkin Stencils
  2. How to Carve a Pumpkin
  3. Best Pumpkin Carving Tools
  4. 75 Fun and Easy Pumpkin Stencil Patterns
  5. Pumpkin Template Ideas for Kids
  6. Classic Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas
  7. Scary Pumpkin Carving Ideas
  8. TV and Movie Themed Pumpkin Carving Templates
  9. Artistic, Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils

By the way, all of the below stencils and pumpkin patterns print for FREE.

Pumpkin Template Ideas for Kids

These free pumpkin stencils are great for inspiring your own pumpkin carving ideas!

1.  Amazing Spider-Man

Spider-Man pumpkin carving stencils. | The Dating Divas
Spider-Man Pumpkin Carving Pattern

All kids love Spider-Man, so help their dreams come true with this great carving pattern for pumpkins.

2. Superman

Super Man pumpkin stencils for free. | The Dating Divas
Super Man Pumpkin Stencil

Superman is a classic when it comes to Halloween!

3. Rocket

Easy rocket stencil for kids. | The Dating Divas
Rocket Pumpkin Stencil

Create this great rocket for your child’s pumpkin carving (if you don’t want to look at the whole slideshow, click here to just print the rocket).

4. Mickey Mouse

Disney pumpkin stencils for kids. | The Dating Divas
Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Stencil

Mickey Mouse is a favorite for any kid. Carve this awesome pumpkin for your child!

5. Phineas (and Ferb)

Phineas and Ferb Disney printable pumpkin stencils. | The Dating Divas
Phineas and Ferb Pumpkin Pattern

Create this kid icon for your pumpkin carving party this year.

6. Kermit the Frog

Kermit the front free printable pumpkin pattern. | The Dating Divas
Kermit the Frog Pumpkin Stencil

Make this great Kermit the Frog pumpkin to help your Halloween be perfect.

7. Goofy

Free Goofy printable pumpkin stencil. | The Dating Divas
Goofy Punkin Carving Pattern

This list wouldn’t be complete without Goofy! He’ll make your Halloween carvings complete!

8. Olaf

Olaf printable pumpkin pattern stencils. | The Dating Divas
Olaf Free Pumpkin Stencil

Isn’t this Olaf Halloween carving design just amazing? Forget the kids, I want to carve this one!

9. Lightning McQueen

Cars pumpkin carving free stencil. | The Dating Divas
Cars Pumpkin Pattern

Go as fast as lightning with this great pumpkin carving pattern!

10. Tinkerbell

Tinkerbell Free Printable Pumpkin Carving Stencil. | The Dating Divas
Tinkerbell Free Printable Stencil

Everyone loves Tinkerbell! Turn your Halloween pumpkin into her great character!

11. Ferb

Ferb pumpkin pattern and stencil. | The Dating Divas
Ferb Pumpkin Stencil

You can’t have Phineas without Ferb! Use this creative pumpkin pattern to make this great character come to life!

12. Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse printable pumpkin pattern. | The Dating Divas
Minnie Mouse Pumpkin Pattern

Help Minnie come to life with this great carving pattern. You could even pair her with Mickey, up above, for a true match made in heaven.

13. Mike Wazowski

Monsters Inc. pumpkin stencil ideas. | The Dating Divas
Monsters Inc. Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Bring a friendly monster to life with this awesome pumpkin carving pattern!

14. Ariel

Little Mermaid pumpkin patterns for kids. | The Dating Divas
Little Mermaid Pumpkin Ideas

Halloween wouldn’t be complete without adding a princess to the mix!

15. Toy Story Alien

Carve a Toy Story alien into a pumpkin for Halloween. | The Dating Divas
Toy Story Alien Pumpkin Ideas

Bring this funny and silly creature to life for Halloween with this amazing pumpkin carving pattern.

Classic Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas

You can’t have Halloween without some of the classics! Whether you are looking for spiders or witches, we have the free pumpkin patterns you need.

16. Spider

Spider pumpkin carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Spider Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Our list just wouldn’t be complete without including a great, spider carving pattern ideas!

17. Spider Web

Spider Web Pumpkin Inspiration | The Dating Divas
Spider Web Pumpkin

For those that are more adventurous, try this fantastic spider web carving pattern.

18. Black Cat

Black cat classic Halloween pumpkin patterns. | The Dating Divas
Black Cat Pumpkin Pattern

Halloween carving just wouldn’t be the same without this great cat-themed pumpkin pattern.

19. Bat

Bat halloween pumpkin carving stencils. | The Dating Divas
Bat Pumpkin Carving Stencil

Bats are one of the most common Halloween themed creatures, so we had to include one in this great carving patterns list!

20. Skull

Skeleton pumpkin carving patterns for Halloween. | The Dating Divas
Skeleton Pumpkin Carving

This pirate skull pumpkin is a perfect Halloween theme!

21. Witch Text

Witch pumpkin carving ideas for Halloween pumpkin carving pattern. | The Dating Divas
Witch Text Pumpkin

Instead of carving an actual witch, use this awesome, scary, text, carving pattern as a great alternative.

22. Witch’s Brew

Witches brew free pumpkin patterns.| The Dating Divas
Witches Brew Pumpkin

This is a fantastic carving pattern if you are looking for a spooky witch!

23. Owl and Falling Leaves

Creative, beautiful, pumpkin carving ideas and decor. | The Dating Divas
Creative Decor Pumpkin

This is a super creative, owl carving pattern to use this Halloween!

24. Pumpkin

Jack-O-Lantern Carving Ideas for Halloween Party | The Dating Divas
Jack-O-Lantern Face Stencil

Halloween is not Halloween without pumpkins! So use this great pumpkin carving stencil to transform your Halloween pumpkin into something amazing. (If you don’t want to look at the whole slideshow, click here to just print the pumpkin pattern.)

25. Jack-o-Lantern

Pumpkin face carving pattern. | The Dating Divas
Jack-O-Lantern Carving Pattern

These fantastic jack-o-lantern patterns are perfect to spice up your porch this Halloween.

26. Skeleton

Skeleton pumpkin carving inspiration and free pumpkin stencil ideas. | The Dating Divas
Skeleton Pumpkin Carving

Skeleton’s are an iconic symbol of Halloween which makes it an ideal, carving pattern for pumpkins!

27. Haunted House

Haunted house pumpkin carving inspiration. | The Dating Divas
Haunted House Free Pumpkin Stencils

Ooooooo! A scary haunted house is just what you need for a great pumpkin carving party!

28. Graveyard

Graveyard pumpkin pattern for Halloween carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Graveyard Pumpkin Carving Pattern

This graveyard carving stencil is perfect for your Halloween pumpkin this year!

29. Howling Wolf

Wolf and werewolf pumpkin pattern for pumpkin carving. | The Dating Divas
Howling Wolf Pumpkin Ideas

Channel your inner animal with this amazing carving pattern.

30. R.I.P.

Gravestone RIP easy pumpkin carving ideas | The Dating Divas
RIP Gravestone Simple Carving Ideas

What represents Halloween better than a gravestone? Nothing! So use this amazing pumpkin carving pattern in your Halloween plans this year.

Scary Pumpkin Carving Ideas

If you want a super spooky Halloween theme for your house this year, this is the list for you! These scary, free pumpkin stencils sure are people pleasers.

31. Ghostly Figure

Creepy pumpkin carving inspiration and ideas. | The Dating Divas
Spooky Spirit

This is the perfect picture if you are looking for a creepy pumpkin.

32. Medusa

Medusa pumpkin carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Medusa Pumpkin

This is a super, scary, pumpkin face that will make your pumpkin carving a hit!

33. Skull

Skull Carving Stencil for Pumpkins | The Dating Divas
Skull Pumpkin

Scare your neighbors with this great skull carving pattern.

34. The Grim Reaper

Grim Reaper Spooky Halloween Decor | The Dating Divas
Grim Reaper

Seriously, this is a super scary, carving pattern…which I LOVE!

35. Scary Gargoyle

Gargoyle spooky pumpkin stencil ideas. | The Dating Divas
Gargoyle in the Window

It doesn’t get much scarier than this scary gargoyle carving pattern.

36. Skull with Flames

Skull, cross bones, flames ideas for carving pumpkins. | The Dating Divas
Flaming Skull and Cross Bones

Take the normal skull to the next ‘scary’ level with these flames coming out of the skull in this pumpkin stencil.

37. Glare Stare

Classic, spooky pumpkin faces for carving. | The Dating Divas
Spooky Faces

This super, scary stare is just what you need to make your Halloween extra intimidating.

38. Hand Reaching

Hand reaching out for Halloween. | The Dating Divas
Halloween Reaching Hand

Easy enough for a beginner, but creepy enough to make it perfect for your Halloween pumpkin carving party!

39. Vampire

Dracula in a cape pumpkin carving techniques. | The Dating Divas
Dracula Vampire Pumpkin

What’s Halloween without a vampire? Complete your Halloween with this wonderfully spooky vampire carving stencil.

40. Scary Clown

Pennywise clown Halloween ideas. | The Dating Divas
Pennywise Creepy Clown Pumpkin

This Pennywise stencil is the perfect scary pumpkin carving pattern!

41. Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger scary pumpkin decorating ideas. | The Dating Divas
Freddy Krueger Pumpkin Carving

This creepy classic is great for a scary pumpkin carving.

42. Scary Face

Spooky, creepy, scary Jack-O-Lantern ideas. | The Dating Divas
Spooky Jack-O-Lantern Ideas

Ooooo…this creepy face carving pattern is super spooky and awesome!

43. Green Witch

Witch pumpkin decorations for Halloween pumpkin carving. | The Dating Divas
Witch Pumpkin Decor

There is just something super creepy about witches. This great carving pattern is no exception!

44. Monster Lady

Lady monster creative pumpkin stencils and carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Lady Monster Face

This pumpkin pattern of a lady monster is cool and creepy!

45. Frankenstein Screaming

Frankenstein screaming pumpkin and craving pattern ideas. | The Dating Divas
Frankenstein Screaming Pumpkin

Use this super scary Frankenstein carving pattern on your Halloween pumpkin this year to get into the scaring spirit!

TV and Movie Themed Pumpkin Carving Templates

If you love movies and want your favorite characters turned into pumpkin patterns, we have all the free pumpkin stencils you’ll need! If you or your kiddos are dressing up as characters, it’s also super fun to carve a pumpkin to match their costumes!

46. Chewbacca

 Chewbacca Star Wars pumpkin carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Chewbacca Star Wars Pumpkin

Talk about free pumpkin stencils that are sure to please! A Chewbacca pumpkin is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

47. C3PO

C3PO Star Wars pumpkin patterns for free. | The Dating Divas
C3PO Star Wars Pumpkin Patterns

This is the type of Star Wars pumpkin carving pattern that is simple enough to complete, but hard enough that it will impress anyone who walks by!

48. Avengers

Simple, easy pumpkin carving ideas of the Avengers. | The Dating Divas
Simply Avengers Pumpkin Carving

An Avengers pumpkin will certainly make your kids happy! This is an excellent pattern for mini pumpkins!

49. Harry Potter

Harry Potter pumpkin stencils for free. | The Dating Divas
Harry Potter Pumpkin Stencil

Harry Potter is a classic movie character that is perfect for your carving pattern needs!

50. Darth Vader

 Darth Vader pumpkin stencil pattern for carving. | The Dating Divas
Darth Vader Pumpkin

Darth Vader is the most well-known character of the most popular movie series ever created! Have fun carving him into your pumpkin this year!

51. Harry Potter Text

Harry Potter, HP initials to carve into a pumpkin when you don't know what to carve. | The Dating Divas
HP Initial Pumpkin Idea

So if carving a Harry Potter face in a pumpkin is sounding a little too hard, give this simple pumpkin pattern a try!

52. Jaws

JAWS shark pumpkin patterns and stencils for creative pumpkins. | The Dating Divas
JAWS Pumpkin Stencil

Du-duh, du-duh, du-duh… Come on, you have to go along with me and hear the Jaws theme song when you read this opening. This Jaws pumpkin carving pattern is a great classic movie and had to be a part of this list!

53. Batman

Batman Pumpkin Stencil | The Dating Divas
Batman Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Batman is an absolute classic. So it makes for the perfect free pumpkin carving stencil. Also – this would work great on mini pumpkins.

54. Joker

Joker from the Batman movie, carving stencil for a pumpkin. | The Dating Divas
Joker Carving Stencil

The perfect amount of creepy and cool. This is what free pumpkin stencils are all about!

55. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman Halloween pumpkin ideas. | The Dating Divas
Wonder Woman Pumpkin

Looking for the perfect pumpkin patterns for your girls to carve? Wonder woman is always a good choice.

56. Dory

Dory pumpkin party ideas for Halloween pumpkin carving. | The Dating Divas
Dory Pumpkin Patterns

Simple, sweet, and your kids will love how this pumpkin carving pattern turns out!

57. Back to the Future

Back to the Future Halloween ideas and free pumpkin carving stencils. | The Dating Divas
Back to the Future Stencil for Pumpkins

So here’s a throwback I know you can get behind! Use this cool design for some serious nostalgia.

58. Olaf

Olaf from Frozen Halloween free pumpkin carving stencils. | The Dating Divas
Olaf Pumpkin Stencil

Tell me your kids and neighbors wouldn’t love this free pumpkin pattern!

59. Dumbo

Dumbo pumpkin patterns. | The Dating Divas
Dumbo Pumpkin

A Dumbo pumpkin would certainly be a cute addition to your doorstep!

60. Ghost Busters

Ghost Busters pumpkin stencil for free. | The Dating Divas
Ghost Busters Pumpkin Stencil

This Ghost Busters pumpkin stencil is certainly on my pumpkin patterns to-do list!

Artistic, Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils

If you like some gorgeous and super creative, free pumpkin patterns, then this is the list for you! These pumpkins are literally works of art. I would put them on a tablescape!

61. Fairy House

Fairy House easy pumpkin carving ideas. | The Dating Divas
Fairy House Pattern for Carving

Transform your Halloween pumpkin into an amazing fairy house with this great design!

62. Night Owl

Beautiful owl pumpkin carving patterns. | The Dating Divas
Owl Pumpkin Stencil

This is a super, creatively designed pattern that would be beautiful when completed.

63. Galaxy Pumpkins

Creative pumpkin carving pattern ideas of space. | The Dating Divas
Constellations of Space Pumpkin

Wow! These are gorgeous and super creative carving pumpkin patterns!

64. Where the Wild Things are

Where the Wild Things are monster advanced pumpkin carving pattern. | The Dating Divas
Monster Book Themed Pumpkin

This iconic book comes to life with an amazing pumpkin carving stencil!

65. Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack Skellington Nightmare Before Christmas Pumpkin Stencil Template | The Dating Divas
Nightmare Before Christmas Pumpkin Template

If you don’t want to scroll through all the awesome patterns, click here for this specific free pumpkin stencil.

66. Gourd Owls

Owls made out of pumpkins. | The Dating Divas
Pumpkin Owls

So these pumpkin owls are super unique!

67. Dog- O-Lantern

Pet dog pumpkin patterns and templates for pumpkin carving. | The Dating Divas
Pet Dog Pumpkin Template

Use a good silhouette picture to help create these fun, pet carving stencils.

68. Haunted House

Haunted House pumpkin carving template. | The Dating Divas
Haunted House Stencils

Choose from 1 of 3 free pumpkin patterns. The list of templates is on the side of the page.

69. Snake Pumpkins

Snake pumpkins and reptile stencils for pumpkin carving patterns. | The Dating Divas
Snake Pumpkin Patterns

Use these unique templates to create reptile pumpkins.

70. Fox and Bunny

Beautiful pumpkin carving pattern templates. | The Dating Divas
Whimsical Pumpkin Ideas

Gorgeous, whimsical pumpkins with free carving templates!

71. Etched Silhouettes

Pretty pumpkin patterns and ideas for decoration during Halloween. | The Dating Divas
Pretty Pumpkin Patterns

These different Victorian styled Halloween pumpkin patterns are the perfect inspiration as Halloween pumpkin carving ideas.

72. Cat

Spooky cat free pumpkin stencils. | The Dating Divas
Spooky Cat Stencil

Turn your pumpkin carvings into masterful art pieces this Halloween.

73. Mouse House

Mouse house, creative pumpkin ideas for Halloween. | The Dating Divas
Mouse House Pumpkin

This strange mouse house is what you need to make your Halloween carving super unique!

74. Lace Patterned

Lace pumpkin idea for a pumpkin carving party.| The Dating Divas
Creative Lace Pumpkin

These lace pumpkin patterns are so creative and just awesome!

75. Pattern Pumpkin

Full pumpkin pattern with stencil that covers the whole pumpkin. | The Dating Divas
Cool Pumpkin Patterns

Make a pumpkin pattern that wraps around the whole pumpkin.

We hope you got all of the pumpkin carving ideas and inspiration you could dream of! For more ways to make this the best fall ever, click over to our:

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Cami

I am a fun-loving, down to earth girl. I love anything from the outdoors to a night in, because I try to make everything that I do FUN!

Learn more about Cami
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