How to Keep Pumpkins From Rotting:
1. Clean the inside.
2. Give it a bleach-water bath after you carve it.
3. Apply petroleum jelly.
4. Rehydrate the pumpkin daily.
5. Store it in the fridge overnight.
6. Give it an ice bath.
7. Don't use real candles to light it.
8. Display it in a stable temperature.
9. Don't carve it.
Pumpkin Pointers:
- Prolong a carved pumpkin's life by lathering the inside of the shell and cut areas with petroleum jelly.
- For easy cleanup, set the pumpkin on several layers of newspaper before carving.
- Avoid cutting mouths that are large open spaces or very long horizontally. They weaken the pumpkin at the bottom and can make it collapse.
- To prevent a fire hazard, use battery-operated candles to light the pumpkin.
- Small children can make jack-o'-lantern faces by attaching vegetables, fruit or candy with toothpicks instead of cutting. Try cucumber or squash slices for eyes, a green bean for the nose and candy corn for teeth.