Teal Pumpkin Project
Halloween is Arizona’s favorite holiday, hands down. She loves anything scary – and revels in spiders and skeletons and ghoulish zombies. Aside from the Halloween parade at school today, we will trick or treat in our neighborhood with a few friends this evening. My favorite part of the evening is watching Arizona practice her social skills when she knocks on doors and interacts with everyone who comes to the door.
Because of Arizona’s food allergies, though, she has never been interested in Halloween candy. She can’t eat most of it anyway and just ends up giving it away. But, I do know she feels a little left out and wants to participate in the excitement of getting treats.
So, it was to my great delight when I first heard about the Teal Pumpkin Project, a worldwide movement founded by FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) to create a safer, happier Halloween for all kids.
Here’s how it works :
- Place a teal pumpkin on your doorstop : this indicates to passersby that you have non-food treats available.
- Provide non-food treats, such as glow sticks or small toys. The Target $1 bins offer lots of options – temporary tattoos, plastic spiders, Halloween themed rubber jewelry, etc.
- Display free signs or printable posters to spread awareness
Learn more about how you can support and promote inclusion for trick-or-treaters with food allergies or other conditions.
I would love to hear about any alternate Halloween treats you’ve put together!
