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slice off one end just to the point where it's a bit shorter than your knife. Then you'll have a flat side to set it on, making it much safer to cut down, slicing it in half.

you can do the traditional slices, but what i find is fun and safer than cutting it up (if you are nervous) is to use a small ice cream scoop and make watermelon balls. tastes just the same and great if kids are involved.

if you want to spice it up, freeze them with a little bit of vodka splashed on top. really really nice!

I usually use the chef-knife method, but when I've had particularly large melons in the past, I've used a piece of wire as a garrote-like saw(wrapped around wooden dowels at either end), or a camp saw (same idea, but commercially bought with plastic handles)

I made a small slice on the top of the melon, laid the wire in it, turned the melon over and sawed back and forth until it was all the way through.

We eat at least one per week!

For parties, I've been making bowls from the water melon itself, similar to this (But with pointy zigzags: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/how-to-garnish-cooking-watermelon3.jpg

The last time I did it however, I cut too much off the bottom to make it sit flat so be careful.

We planted our watermelons in the garden a bit late this year, but hopefully we'll get some home grown melons later in the summer.

Well, it's just my hubby and I, so we've been buying Dulcinea watermelons. Easy to cut, serve, and eat!

Otherwise, I just try to buy melons in manageable sizes, since I'm the one on produce-cutting duty. I usually cut the big guy in half by placing it on a towel over our large cutting board (keeps it from slipping) and using a large, serrated bread knife (less opportunity to cut those little fingers o' mind). Once that part's done with, I'll just turn the halves on their flat sides (no more towel needed) and quarter it up, then cut the slices of each wedge in to "handy" size.