As you explore the world of Minecraft, you will come across hundreds of different blocks. Many of these blocks may seem useless. If you have a few pumpkins in your inventory, you may not know what to do with them, but think again! In addition to crafting pumpkin pie, there are a few other uses for pumpkins.

In this guide, we are going to take a look at carved pumpkins, including how to make them and what to do with them. By the end, you should you a pumpkin expert, ready to create your own pumpkin empire. First, let's go over how to get your first pumpkin.

Updated February 1, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: Pumpkins can be quite elusive at the start of Minecraft. We've updated this guide with refreshed formatting, as well as a bit more information on how to use them, including making your own Jack o' Lantern.

Where To Find Pumpkins

Prior to carving a pumpkin, you will need to find one. Fortunately, pumpkins generate fairly frequently in the world.

Pumpkins can spawn in any biome, as long as there are grass blocks. Additionally, pumpkins will usually generate in clusters, as shown above. After exploring an area for a little, you will find a few pumpkins.

If you are near a Taiga biome, you can find pumpkins lying around villages.

Alternatively, you can also set up an automatic pumpkin farm. This farm will grow pumpkins and automatically harvest them for you. You will still need at least one pumpkin to make this farm.

How To Grow Pumpkins

Thankfully, pumpkins can be manually farmed on your base. Pumpkin seeds can be planted on a tilled and watered piece of dirt. Rather than growing on the soil, the pumpkin will appear in a nearby empty block. Because of this, pumpkins are best planted on the outskirts of your farm area so they have a place to land.

With one pumpkin, you can make four pumpkin seeds.

How To Carve A Pumpkin

Carving a pumpkin requires a pair of shears. This piece of equipment is pretty easy to make though. All you need is two iron bars, arranged as they are shown above. Shears do not have to be crafted from a crafting table. Once you have your shears, place a pumpkin down on the ground.

Using shears on a pumpkin will result in it being carved. A face will appear, and some pumpkin seeds will also appear in your inventory. You can place this pumpkin for decoration or wear it on your head.

What Do To With A Carved Pumpkin

Jack o' Lanterns

Combining a carved pumpkin with a torch will create a Jack o' Lantern. These lit-up pumpkins provide a generous amount of light in every direction. If you place a Jack o' Lantern in the floor of a structure, the light will still shine from the top. This allows you to make lit-up areas without worrying about torch or lantern placement. Jack o' Laterns are also used in our slime farm.

Wearing In The End

If you are planning to visit the End, but are nervous to see Endermen, try wearing a carved pumpkin on your head. Your visibility will be decreased, but Endermen will not be able to see your face. This means that you can look directly at them and they won't attack you.

Wearing a carved pumpkin is a great strategy for navigating the End, but be careful! You don't want to fall into the void; it can be easy to misstep when your vision is blocked by a Jack o' Lantern cutout.

How To Make Golems With Carved Pumpkins

Carved pumpkins can be used to create two different mobs; iron and snow golems, which we will go over below.

Iron Golems

To create an iron golem, place iron blocks in a 'T' shape, as shown above. After placing a carved pumpkin for the 'head', the blocks will transform into the iron golem. Iron blocks are crafted from nine iron bars. The blocks can be turned back into bars, but once you have made an iron golem, you will not get the material back.

Snow Golems

Placing two snow blocks on top of each other with a carved pumpkin on top will create a snow golem. This is basically a snowman with a pumpkin head. These mobs attack all other hostile mobs, but will not attack you. Snow golems can also be used to create a snow farm.