THEYRE part and parcel of Halloween with parents all over the country planning pumpkin patch trips during the half term.

But the fact that Halloween isnt until this Thursday means that if youve picked up a pumpkin in the last few days, it might not make it.

suppliedWe carved pumpkins to test three different hacks for preserving them for Halloween[/caption]suppliedMillie went for a cute design (left), I went for a traditional one (middle) and Lucas was predictably scary[/caption]

Its a problem that many of us encounter every year with the cute, carved pumpkins turning into slimy, sludgy messes by the big day itself.

So, I decided to try out three different hacks to see which of them, if any, would make our pumpkins last until the spooky day itself.

I enlisted the help of my son Lucas, 10, and daughter Millie, six, and we each tried out a different trick, each meant to extend the life of a carved pumpkin.

In the spirit

According to the experts at Eflorist, there are three all-natural hacks they recommend to preserve the life of a carved pumpkin.

I tried the first one out on my pumpkin, after digging out my trusty white vinegar from the cleaning cupboard.

suppliedI tested out the white vinegar hack mixing one part with ten parts water and wiping the outside down with it[/caption]suppliedThe pumpkin was still holding up by day five, although the cut sections had started to weather[/caption]suppliedOut of all three of the pumpkins, this one had the least insects and creepy crawlies inside[/caption]

I then used it to make a solution, using one part vinegar to 10 parts water, before using this to give the outside of the pumpkin a good mist and clean down, and leaving it to air dry.

Vinegar is acidic, which makes it a natural preservative, the pros explain.

It also has naturally antibacterial properties, so it will help to kill off any nasties before you begin carving.

You can then use this solution to spray inside the pumpkin on a daily basis.

As well as killing off any growing mould, keeping the inside of the pumpkin moist will also prevent it from collapsing.

I found that liberally spraying the outside of the pumpkin helped keep it a vibrant orange ahead of Halloween.

However, it did little to keep the pests away on the inside, so do make sure youre generous when spraying it on the interior to have the repellent effect.

Verdict: 4/5

Staying shady

While most people keep their carved pumpkins out the front of the house, leaving it exposed to the natural elements will speed up the decaying process, the experts warn.

suppliedsuppliedFor Lucas pumpkin, we decided to try and keep it in the shade as its meant to slow down the decaying if not exposed to the natural elements[/caption]suppliedThe sections that had been cut out had started to go brown, and it looked like it had seen better days[/caption]suppliedThere were also lots of pests and slugs inside the pumpkin[/caption]

So instead of putting it at the bottom of your front garden, try and put it in as dry and shaded spot as possible.

For the best results, keep it close to the front door in a covered spot, they advise, before adding that another alternative is to keep the pumpkin inside so people can see it through the window.

Fabulous Commissioning Editor Martha Cliff weighs in on spooky season

WHILE some might be waiting for Mariah Carey to slowly defrost, I couldn’t care less that Christmas is less than 100 days away.

Has everyone forgotten that there are less than 50 sleeps until the best holiday of the year?

I’ve long preferred Halloween to Christmas and spend most of the year mourning the loss of spooky season.

Not that I don’t find ways to include it into my year.

In April I marked the halfway point to the best day of the year with a ‘half-o-ween’ picnic in a cemetery (where else?). Come July I needed to get my fix again and hosted a ‘Summerween’ barbecue complete with watermelon carving and Piña Ghoul-adas.

Christmas fanatics are often horrified by my snowy-season snub, but for me December is just a slew of stress and overspending.

I don’t know about you but wracking my brains for bigger and better present ideas and spending four times the amount of time and money at the supermarket is not my idea of a good time.

With Halloween there is no expectation to spend. Homemade costumes are often head and tails above the ones sold in the shops and when it comes to decorations what is better than a carved pumpkin that can cost just pennies to achieve?

In January kids return to school bragging about what Santa brought them this year, all with the hope of outdoing each other but November 1st is a different story.

Trick or treating is fair through and through. Unless you’re bribing the neighbours, children all receive the same, and whatsmore for free, eliminating any playground bragging rights.

Above all I love the chaos over curation when it comes to Halloween. There’s no obligation to strive for perfection, in fact the rule is the sillier the better. It’s all the childhood nostalgia of Christmas but without the pressure.

So spare me the Christmas spirit, I’ll opt for a fully fledged ghost any day.

It was Lucas pumpkin we tried this hack on placing the pumpkin in the shade beneath the trampoline in the garden.

While doing so meant it was kept away from the elements, it was still sitting on the grass where most people will end up putting their carved pumpkins.

And while it looked to be ok from the outside, the inside showed that simply keeping it in the shade wasnt enough to keep the pests away with pests and slugs lining the inside.

As slugs are my most hated pest, this hack was a firm no from me.

Verdict: 1/5

Moisture, moisture, moisture

The pros explain that one of the most important things you can do with your pumpkin is to keep it moisturised not just the inside but also the bits that youve carved.

So on Millies pumpkin, we used a liberal dose of Vaseline, and wiped the petroleum jelly on the inside of the eyes and smile wed just carved.

suppliedFor Millies pumpkin, we smeared Vaseline all round the areas that wed carved[/caption]suppliedBy day five, the sections that had been prepped with Halloween looked as fresh as ever[/caption]suppliedBut it seems the hack didnt keep the slugs away from the inside[/caption]

The Vaseline will act as a barrier, and keep moisture from leaving the flesh of the pumpkin, they add.

And indeed, while the edges of mine and Lucas pumpkins looked somewhat slimy by day five, Millies looked almost as good as the day she carved it.

Another important factor to remember is that if you use Vaseline, you need to swap the traditional tea light for a battery-powered, flameless one, as the jelly is flammable.

Avoiding real flames will also help to stop your pumpkin from drying out further, they say.

So, to ensure your pumpkin makes it to Halloween make sure you dig out the Vaseline it works a treat.

Verdict 5/5