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TikTok’s favorite grandma shares Halloween pumpkin carving tips. Take a look

“I have been doing everything wrong the last 40 plus years of my life,” one viewer said.
“I have been doing everything wrong the last 40 plus years of my life,” one viewer said. Screengrab of @brunchwithbabs' TikTok video

TikTok star Barbara Costello, also known as “everyone’s grandmother,” is giving tips to help people carve the perfect pumpkin this Halloween — and viewers are listening.

Costello, also known as “Babs” on TikTok, is a 73-year-old mother and grandmother, according to the Independent.

The TikToker has gone viral for her cooking recipes, motherly advice and lifestyle tips to help viewers. Costello has over 2.5 million followers on the platform.

In preparation for Halloween, she offered a handful of tips for carving pumpkins to help them last longer. First, Costello says, cut from the bottom instead of the top.

@brunchwithbabs Do’s and Don’ts of Pumpkin Carving It is a treasured tradition in our family to carve jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.  But with all the yuck and mess, sometimes my kids would quit the project before we even started.  Babs’ Do’s and Don’ts for Pumpkin Carving, saves the mess and speeds up carving so you can have the perfect jack-o-lantern with no mess and no fuss.  Happy Halloween XO Babs 1. Carve from bottom.  That way you have the stem to hold onto and you can easily slip the pumpkin right over a candle or flashlight. 2. Hold pumpkin in your lap to carve.  You will have a much steadier pumpkin to cut.    3. Use a red dry erase marker to sketch your design. It erases easily and if you miss a spot, it blends in. 4. Use a hand mixer to clean out your pumpkin. 5. Use cookie cutters and a rubber mallet to carve your design. 6. Cover all cut surfaces with Vaseline to keep the pumpkin moist after carving.  Pumpkins should last 1-2 weeks carved! 7. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the inside top of your pumpkin for festive pumpkin spice smell when a candle is lit inside the pumpkin.   #pumpkincarving ♬ original sound - everyone’s grandmother

“That way you have the stem to hold onto and you can easily slip the pumpkin right over a candle or flashlight,” Costello says in her video.

Her tips include the following:

  • Hold the pumpkin in your lap while carving
  • Use a red dry-erase marker to sketch your design and erase it afterward
  • Use a hand mixer to clean out your pumpkin
  • Use cookie cutters and a rubber mallet to carve designs
  • Cover all cut surfaces with Vaseline to keep the pumpkin moist
  • Sprinkle some cinnamon inside for a nice smell

“Pumpkins should last one to two weeks carved,” Costello writes in her video.

Her tips can help speed up the process and help reduce the mess at the end, according to Costello.

Costello draws in viewers of all ages with her life hacks.

“I love you! I have been doing everything wrong the last 40-plus years of my life,” one woman said.

“You are the mom I always wanted and never had,” another said.

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This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 3:33 PM with the headline "TikTok’s favorite grandma shares Halloween pumpkin carving tips. Take a look."

Alison Cutler
mcclatchy-newsroom
Alison Cutler is a National Real Time Reporter for the Southeast at McClatchy. She graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and previously worked for The News Leader in Staunton, VA, a branch of USAToday.
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