This Halloween season, round the family up to do something fun. Get a couple of real pumpkins at the store or if you don't want the mess, stop by Hobby Lobby or Michael's and get a "Carvable Pumpkin." Those are widely used for the annual school Pumpkin Competitions in Southwest Louisiana. The completion involved most of the schools in Calcasieu Parish at least and was centered around an annual school book fair.

We would help my little girl make one each year and it was so fun to do. One of the many guidelines was that your pumpkin had to be a depiction or relate to a storyline from a Scholastic-approved book. As a parent, I appreciated that the entire Pumpkin Competition was based upon and meant to encourage children to read. Another thing I really felt was necessary was that every child who participated in the competition had their special pumpkin on display throughout the school, inside the book fair, and in the library.

There are so many things you can make out of pumpkins. Trust me I know, because my daughter had pumpkin contests at school all the time and we came up with all kinds of stuff. Below, is an image of her and the pumpkin we helped her carve for her book: Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl

Your pumpkin doesn't have to be real, it could be a carvable pumpkin which can be found at most arts and crafts stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby. The main thing is, we had quality family time and a lot of fun on top of that. Below is a look at some of the pumpkins we did and a host of other Halloween jack-o-lantern pumpkin-carving ideas for your whole family to enjoy. Happy Fall!

While you're at it, if you like sunflower seeds, you'll love baked pumpkin seeds! Scoop the seeds out, wash/rinse them off, and put them on a paper towel to absorb most of the water. While they're a little damp, put them on a cookie sheet, sprinkle salt on them, and bake them for about 15 to 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Walla! You have a healthy, delicious Halloween snack to boot!