The best replacement for carving is whittling.

The best alternatives to carving are rated as following:
★★★★★  whittling
★★★★★  decorating
★★★  skidding
★★  skidding snowboard
★★  linking turns
★★  skidding skiing
★  skidding turns
★  hand carving
★  pie pumpkin
★  sculpture
★  cooking pumpkin
  whittling wood

Your alternative for carving is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about carving, one probably shouldn't forget about cutting pumpkins.

Other search terms related to carving and their ratings are:
★★★★★ cutting pumpkins
You have in mind a companion for carving and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of carving in all years. Click on graph for more.
carving
whittling
decorating