TikTok’s Favorite Grandma Shared These Unexpected Pumpkin Carving Tips

When it comes to fun TikTok follows, it’s hard to beat Babs Costello (aka @brunchwithbabs), the grandma of eight who has adopted her more than 2.3 million followers on the viral video app as her honorary grandchildren. Costello frequently shares helpful tips, tricks, and life hacks on all kinds of things from cooking and cleaning to anxiety relief.

Her latest video, however, offers up some solid tips for pumpkin carving, and you’re going to want to take notes. Along with suggesting that you sit and carve with the pumpkin in your lap instead of standing and crouching over it, Costello recommends carving from the bottom and removing the filling and seeds using a hand mixer for a quicker job. Then, she recommends using a red dry erase marker to add your carving design, so it will erase easily when you’re done.

After you carve your design (Costello’s other tip if you’re not comfortable using a knife or have little ones nearby: use cookie cutters and a soft rubber mallet for easier carving), she recommends adding Vaseline to all the pumpkin’s cut surfaces (including the eyes, nose, mouth, and anything else you’ve carved) to keep the pumpkin moist and prevent it from drying out, which will ensure it lasts until Halloween or longer.

Costello’s final tip: sprinkle in some cinnamon or other spices of your choosing, which will evoke a festive seasonal scent when you light a candle inside.

Fans have already given Costello’s tips two thumbs up, and even Jennifer Garner got in on the fun. The actress shared an Instagram video trying out Costello’s “hand mixer hack” on a pumpkin of her own, appearing delighted with the end result. She found the seeds and filling easy to remove, adding, “It’s a win!” 

If you want to stock up on some seasonal mums, Costello has got you covered there, too. In a recent video, she shared her tips for preserving your mums all season long. Along with checking for buds that haven’t yet popped, she recommends placing your mums in a bucket of water for around 20 minutes as soon as you get home. Then, when it’s time to water, instead of watering from the top of the plant, you’ll want to fill a tray of water at the base of the plant instead, since mums absorb the most water from their roots.

With Costello’s help, your fall-themed outdoor decor will look perfect well beyond Halloween.