Cutting into a pumpkin with a steak knife might be fun if you want to get out some aggression, but the easiest way to scalp a pumpkin is with a saber saw.
The scoop in the kids' kit works ok, but I need something I know I won't crack in half. An ice cream spade works much better at scraping and thinning the walls of the pumpkin. Don't get me wrong, my kids do get to work on their own pumpkins. It took a little bit before they were willing to get their hands dirty; but once they got started, they did well. I would scrape the inside and one would scoop out the junk while I scraped out her sister's pumpkin.
The girls traced on their designs and cut out the eyes, mouth, etc. with the tools from their kit. But when my one daughter wanted a perfectly round nose, you can't beat a wood-boring bit.
To light up the pumpkins I thought about using kerosene and toilet paper, but instead I opt for something more traditional (and something I can leave on the porch). I take an old light bulb socket and stick it through a hole that I again drilled out in the back of the pumpkin. Those flickering lights give a nice candle effect without the wind constantly blowing it out.
This year I did not break out the dremel tool for these designs. Last year my daughter used it to carve (yes it's safe enough for a first grader) out a design from our local paper that featured our mayor. To be honest my wife was surprised that I didn't get my own pumpkin this year. I guess I just wasn't inspired enough. :-)
