Pumpkin Carving Tips from Zippo {Flex Neck Utility Lighter Review}

The month of October has flown by and Halloween is nearly here already! Around our house we've been excitedly talking about costumes and parties for a while, but, as usual, the pumpkins have been left until the end.

Fortunately, with the beautiful weather we've been having, we still had time for our family to take our annual trip to the pick-your-own pumpkin patch that is 15 minutes away and spend a sunny afternoon deciding which pumpkins were going to make the best jack-o'-lanterns.

Apparently testing out whether they make good chairs is very important as well.

But choosing the pumpkins is only have the battle, right? With only one weekend left before the big day, we were happy to be invited over to some good friends' house for a Pumpkin Carving Party just in time to get our pumpkins carved up and ready to go for Halloween night.

Thanks to the experts over at Zippo, we were prepared and ready with easy-to-follow tips to ensure that our pumpkin carving would be safe and easy.

Things You'll Need:

• Pumpkin (keep in mind the smaller the pumpkin, the smaller your design needs to be)
• Newspaper (keeps the clean-up to a minimum!)
• Marker
• Stencils (if you really want to get creative, search online for some cool stencils)
• Sharp knife and spoon (tools of the pumpkin carving trade)
• Small tea light candle (light up your design so your neighbors can see your creation!)
• Zippo Flex Neck (with a flexible nozzle, you don’t have to worry about burning your fingers when you bring your carving to life!)

Instructions:

1. Place a pumpkin flat on its bottom, on a flat surface (so the stem is at the top)
2. Draw a circle around the stem with a marker – make sure the circle is large enough so that you can fit your hand through it!
3. Cut around the outline with a long, sharp knife
4. Lift the newly made lid and remove the flesh of the pumpkin with a spoon – if you’re a fan of pumpkin seeds, you can roast them later on for a healthy snack!
5. Rinse the interior, clearing out the remaining flesh, and tip away the waste
6. Draw your design on the front of the pumpkin with a marker or draw around an already-made stencil – have your kids sketch out their designs on a scrap piece of paper and ensure they’re happy with it before they transpose it on the pumpkin
7. Insert the tip of your knife into the lines drawn and begin carving your design
8. Once your masterpiece is complete, place the small tea light candle inside the pumpkin
9. Save your fingers from any unnecessary burns by lighting it with a Zippo Fleck Neck. The long, slim, adjustable nozzle will fit right in between the carvings so that you don’t have to remove the candle to light it.
   

Along with the food, fun, and laughter at the party, we had a great time pumpkin carving! After opening the tops of their pumpkins for them, Big Sister E and Little Sister B participated in the flesh-removal, all the while making comments about the squishy, eeew-ness that they found inside.

Even though the girls didn't come up with anything too complex for the designs (which actually made it easier for my husband to have to cut out), they still had a great time participating.

Back at home, we've already been able to see just how much easier it will be on October 31 to light all of our jack-o'-lanterns using the Zippo Flex Neck. Right out of the package, I was amazed at just how flexible this lighter truly is!

In less than a minute, I had checked the fuel supply window on the side to ensure that the Flex Neck needed to be filled and easily was able to pump the Premium Butane Fuel right into the bottom.

Once that was done, we were nearly set to go! The convenient adjustable flame dial right on the bottom made it so that I would have just the right height flame and I appreciated that Zippo made the Flex Neck wind resistant so that there is no trouble being outside with it.

What is really great, however, is that with the tremendous range of bending and turning that this lighter is able to accomplish, there's no need to remove the candle from inside the pumpkin ever again. Instead of burning my fingers trying to drop a lit tea light down into the base, I can simply reach right in through the design!

With the patented child-resistant safety button, I have no worries of using the Flex Neck around my kids and that they'll hurt themselves with it if I put it down within their reach. Being this easy and convenient to use, I have no doubt that this will be a tool that I will pull out for many more Halloweens to come!

For this holiday and beyond, your fingers will thank you for choosing Zippo's high quality, innovative and affordable products. Retailing for $19.95 for the Zippo Flex Neck Utility Lighter and $3.30 for the Premium Butane Fuel, these are welcome additions to our Halloween traditions. Zippo products can be purchased online or at many retailers near you and you can keep up with their latest on Twitter and Facebook as well.

(Other than the Flex Neck Utility Lighter and Premium Butane Fuel that I was sent by Zippo, I was not provided with anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This review is solely my opinion of this company and their high quality products.)