'I bought the biggest pumpkin available at every main…

'I bought the biggest pumpkin available at every main supermarket and one was shockingly expensive'

With Halloween fast approaching and kids off school for half term, many families will be on the hunt for pumpkins. There are now so many places offering pumpkin picking in and around Greater Manchester that parents are spoilt for choice.

But it can be an expensive trip out and with people wanting to keep costs down at the moment, lots of parents will be choosing to get theirs from the supermarket instead. That's why I decided to head to each of the main stores to see what they have on offer.

From 'monster' pumpkin, to 'XL', or 'giant' they're given many names (Manchester Family / MEN)

My aim was to find the biggest they had on sale at Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Lidl and Aldi - and see how they compare on size, quality and cost.

With supermarkets having boxes and crates of them dotted about their stores, it wasn't exactly an easy task, but I eventually tracked down their biggest.

There seems to be more choice than ever too, especially at Aldi which has a range of novelty pumpkins - everything from green ones and white ones, to peculiar knobbly ones - all priced at £1.65 each.

Aldi has a wide variety this year (Manchester Family / MEN)

As for the big ones, they're not all called the same thing by each retailer. Some are your typical large, or extra large, others 'monster' or 'giant' pumpkins.

At many of the stores, the cost didn't differ too much - ranging from £2.85 to £3 at four of them - Aldi, Asda, Lidl and Sainsbury's. Tesco was the cheapest at £1.75, but it only had a large, rather than extra large, so it was smaller than the rest.

The biggest was Morrisons' giant pumpkin. But the size difference from the others - it's not actually that much bigger than Sainsbury's monster pumpkin - does little to justify the shockingly expensive £8.99 price tag.

Morrisons did have a wide selection at the door, including white 'ghost' pumpkins for £2.99 each and 59p munchkins inside. Its large orange pumpkins are £1.99, but these are smaller than the large available elsewhere and dwarfed by its 'giant' one.

We bought the largest available at each of the main supermarkets (Manchester Family / MEN)

Quality wise it was Tesco and Lidl with a flawless rind. The others had slight marks or mud on them, albeit mud that can easily be wiped off. Asda's was a little on the green side in parts but it did say on the box that it 'will ripen up at home' so perhaps that one will last the longest.

Shape wise, the most perfectly shaped pumpkin prize has to go to Lidl - like a ball that's been sat on, making it slightly flatter on the top and bottom.

I've never before looked at pumpkins in quite so much detail and, let's be honest, kids are happy with the chance to carve up whatever they can get their hands on. But it might just give you some inspiration for where to head to for yours this Halloween.

The 'giant' Morrisons' pumpkin, £8.99 (Manchester Family / MEN)

Full list of sizes and prices

Tesco - Large, £1.75
Aldi - Extra large, £2.85
Lidl - Monster, £2.85
Asda - XL, £3
Sainsbury's - Monster, £3
Morrisons - Giant, £8.99

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "Our giant pumpkins are a larger alternative to our standard large pumpkin and remain a popular choice for customers. However we do offer a range of cheaper alternatives to suit, with our munchkin pumpkin costing as little as 59p and our large pumpkin at just £1.99."

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