Kids love carving Hallowe’en pumpkins, but the clean-up can be a monster mess. Try these simple tips to keep the focus on the fun.

1. Great artists plan and sketch their paintings before they start work; encourage kids to do the same. Get out the crayons and markers and let them draw the pumpkin they want to carve. Let the kids share their creations with neighbours when trick or treating.

2. Find or create a clean, clear surface to start. Counters work well and will allow for plenty of room to move around the pumpkin as you work on it. This is preferable to putting down newsprint, which can leave ink on surfaces and clothes.

3. Put aprons on the kids to protect their clothes from the pumpkin mess.

4. Minimize the mess by scooping pumpkin seeds and flesh into a bowl that can easily be emptied into the composter or garbage can. To scrape out the pumpkin, save your spoons and use an ice cream scoop – they’re also easier for little hands to wield.

5. Once you’ve scooped out and carved the jack o’lantern, wipe down the surface with Bounty paper towels – they have the strength, absorbency, and cloth-like durability that you are looking for.

Additional Hallowe’en craft ideas can be found online at www.bountytowels.com.

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Top 10 Halloween Stuff on the Web for 2009

Haunted Gingerbread House at Savvy Halloween

1. Make your own Halloween gingerbread house! Savvy Halloween shows you how to make a Halloween Haunted Gingerbread House, gives a recipe for the gingerbread and icing, and even provides a pattern for users to print off and use.

2. Halloween recipes galore!  Disney’s Family Fun has enough recipes to keep you and your family busy for all of autumn!  Most are easy, fun, and best of all, they come with pictures so you can get a good visual of the treats.

3. Who doesn’t love checking out pets in costumes?  Well the Baltimore Sun has a ton of user-submitted dressed up pets all for the looking.

4. Sometimes commercials can be just as entertaining if not more than the shows themselves, and Smashing Apps has highlighted 19 great Halloween ads for your viewing pleasure in their post, 19 Creative Halloween Advertisements.

5. Play one of our favorite Halloween games, Halloween Pumpkins, right here!

6. Pumpkin carving at Martha Stewart – MarthaStewart.com offers pumpkin templates, pumpkin projects for kids, pumpkin creatures, and more of Martha’s tips and tricks for creating gorgeous jack o’ lanterns of your own.

And the last four are our favorite Halloween videos with instructions on making some fun & spooky Halloween crafts and treats!

7. Halloween Cat Origami for kids and adults:

8. Halloween Marshmallow Ghosts and Ghouls Recipe:

9. Spirited Halloween Cupcakes from Food Network:

10. And finally, catch up on your Halloween history with this video from National Geographic:

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