They are definitely alternatives to using a regular messy pumpkin. You can purchase a Styrofoam ball or modeling clay at your local craft store. The modeling clay would be fun and most likely the easiest way. You can also pick up a pattern for such lanterns at the craft store, for example "Micheal's" is a great store.
Actually jack-o-lanterns can be made out of any fruit or vegetable; it's just that pumpkins are large, and easy to hollow out and carve faces on.(It is believed that the first jack-o lanterns were made from turnips)
Pumpkins are used to carve jack-o-lanterns.
No it isn't. Jack-o-lanterns are when you hollow out a pumpkin and carve a face on it and put a candle in it. You then put it out on Halloween night to show it off.
To clean a pumpkin you can wash it with a damp towel. Then you can take a carving knife. Carve out the pumpkin with a design of your liking. Make sure to take out the seeds. You can draw a design on the pumpkin first and use that as an outline when you carve the pumpkin.
The English and Irish used potatoes and beets to carve scary faces on. Once they immigrated to America, they discovered the pumpkin (native to America) and found it was much better suited to carving.
with a knife
for Halloween decorations
we carve jack o lanterns because stingy jack tricked the devil into going to hell and the smile is to represent jack's smile when he did
i decided to carve a pumpkin for Halloween
Turnips
Because it looks scary
A jack-o-lantern is a carved pumpkin, a pumpkin is just a plain vegetable.