EASY, Fun Jack O' Lanterns Made From ORANGES!

 

I started out my day trying to do something in the Halloween spirit with the kids. I thought of carving the pumpkins that we had just bought while visiting the pumpkin patch. We picked out pretty small pumpkins to carve into our very own Jack O' Lanterns. I figured the smaller the pumpkin, the less work it'll be. I have never carved a pumpkin before and was pretty excited to try it out now that I have kids to share that experience with. 

As I sat down and stared at these cute, perfectly shaped pumpkins, I realized that they looked beautiful as they were. In tact. I glanced over at a bag of HUGE oranges on the kitchen counter and the rest is as follows...and to my surprise, which I can only guess, was MUCH easier and less of a mess.

Things you will need:

1. Huge oranges or grapefruit
2. Small pointy serrated knife or carving knife
3. Battery operated tea lights
4. Toothpicks (optional)

 

1. Buy the BIGGEST oranges or grapefruit you can find.
2. Using a brown sharpie, make vertical sections to mimic pumpkin ridges (oranges have natural ridges on top you can follow, see arrow below).
3. Slice off the top.
4. Make sure you do not slice off too much or too little-your hand will need to get in there!
5. Use a sharp pointy knife, slice between the skin and the thick white membrane of the orange.
6. Quarter INSIDE the orange (pulp) in sections so that it is easier to scoop out. Try not to cut through the skin.
7. Use fingers to feel and separate the inside of the skin and the white membrane.
8. The pulp comes out very easily when the white area is properly separated.

 

1. Use a spoon if necessary to remove extra pulp.
2. The inside should look like this. If not, no big deal.
3. Scoop out the 'cover' of your orange lantern with your thumb nail-it's that easy!
4. Carve your mean or happy face.

I used a real tea light candle inside. DO NOT leave this unattended or around children of course.

A happy and mean face...this is how I feel sometimes :)

Break a toothpick in half and insert for the stem. Color it green if you feel extra crafty.

Even my ceramic pumpkin was jealous!

 

The left one has the sharpie lines and the one on the right has none.  Makes no real difference when lit up.

 Happy and SAFE Halloween!

Tips:

1. If you plan on using real tea light candles, carve out holes into the 'cover' or lid of the lantern.
2. Do not leave unattended.
3. The bigger the fruit the less likely the flame from the candle will burn the inside of the lid.
4. You can use the pulp from the oranges in a cocktail with red food coloring, makes a bloody good Halloween treat...:)
5. Use Blood Oranges if you can find them.

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