Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas, Homemade Costumes For Halloween

If you absolutely love Halloween and have more than a little time before the autumn holiday (say, while you're being bombarded by Hurricane Sandy for you northeast-coasters), why not go a little crazy with your Halloween pumpkin carving and depart from the traditional jagged-toothed depction of a face on a jack-o'-lantern.

Softpedia has some thoughts on creative pumpkin-carving designs some innovative holiday lovers have used for Halloween. Of course, you can put just about anything you want on a pumpkin if you have the time and patience, but if you want to stick with the face motif, there are some intricate options on the site that range from a skeletal pirate and an image of Darth Vader's helmet to an alien, Mustafa from The Lion King, and even Heath Ledger's joker from Batman.

All you need are some pumpkins, a well-sharpened knife and some time and creativity. And, while you're at it, check out parenting.com's suggestions for inexpensive, yet creative, homemade Halloween costumes for your kids, that range from a chocolate chip cookie to a toothbrush and piece of sushi.