Mum's tip for carving pumpkins this Halloween – and one product to make them last longer

Carving pumpkins into a neat shape is not as easy as it looks, now one mum has come up with a simple trick to create impressive designs in seconds – and how to make pumpkins last

A savvy mum has come up with the ultimate trick to carve unique shapes in your pumpkins this Halloween - and how to keep them fresher for longer.

Millions of pumpkins are grown every year in the UK, with more than half being used to form some part of a spooky display during October. You may have already carved your pumpkin, or have left it last minute so it remains fresh for the big day.

If you're getting ready to carve, you may have screenshotted a picture of the design you want to create - but anyone who as ever attempted to carve a pumpkin knows how hard it can be to make a character, smiley or spooky face into the thick vegetable. One mum has gone viral after sharing her ultimate trick to creating impressive pumpkin designs - and how to make them survive as long as possible.

If you have baking cookie cutters stored in your cupboard - or you can buy them for cheap - get them out as these will be essential in creating shapes in your pumpkin.

Keisha Franklin, who is a parenting hack content creator and mum-of-two, says if your children struggle to carve pumpkins, put the cookie cutter where you want to carve a shape. Next, use a small hammer and hit the edges of the cutter until it falls through the pumpkin. Pull out the fallen pumpkin pieces and any excess.

She also insists using Vaseline can help make your pumpkin last longer. She suggests putting a small amount around all the edges. Finally, place a candle inside your pumpkin and light it - and now you have a perfect pumpkin display for Halloween. A number of people in the comments suggested using fake candles as Vaseline can be flammable.

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Keisha said: "A mum hack I wish I knew sooner. If your little ones struggle to carve pumpkins, use cookie cutters and then Vaseline to help the pumpkins last long."

After Keisha shared the hack on her page @keisha_motherhood, thousands of parents commented. "Oh my gosh this is a great idea," said one individual. "It looks amazing," added another. "I like the cookie cutter idea," said a third.

Another commented: "Oh wow this is cool. Thanks, I'm definitely going to do this."

One other individual shared their hack and said: "Use coconut oil instead so when Halloween is over, you can toss it in your yard and the squirrels, racoons and possums can go back wild. They love pumpkins."

Another individual shared their suggestion of using cinnamon. They explained: "You should cut it open from the bottom, and ground cinnamon on the inside helps it last longer and smell good."

If you want to stick to traditional carving, one woman shared the "easiest" way to do so. Meanwhile another savvy woman has been hailed for her trick to help pumpkins last two weeks longer - and it only takes 10 seconds.

What are your plans for Halloween? Share in the comments below.