How to Be a Teal Pumpkin House for Halloween
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The Teal Pumpkin Project makes Halloween safe and more inclusive for people who have food allergies or other limitations. Like healthier Halloween-themed snacks for your party, it’s another way to make Halloween better for everyone!
Teal pumpkin meaning
The teal pumpkin represents the availability of alternative, non-food Halloween treats as well as making Halloween inclusive for all kids no matter what they deal with.
Participating doesn’t require much effort, and can even prove less expensive than candy. Halloween should be enjoyable for the whole family, whatever their situation. The Teal Pumpkin Project helps make that more accessible.
The teal pumpkin represents The Teal Pumpkin Project, as teal is the color of food allergy awareness.
You can paint a pumpkin teal or buy one from a department store. Target sells teal pumpkin lanterns for about $12 around that time of the year. It’s lightweight and lasts longer.
Less expensive alternatives include putting fairy lights through teal plastic cups, buying a real plastic treat bucket, and painting a poster board teal. You don’t have to put a lot of money into it. We even have a printable to help you at the end of the post!
2. Buy non-food treats and trinkets
Dietary restrictions vary too much to only offer allergy-free treats, so non-food treats are best. Even if your candy is Top 10 Free, someone could have a severe allergy to another ingredient. Personally, I am allergic to cinnamon. It’s not on any lists, but I get an anaphylactic shock reaction to eating it and even get sick from the smell.
If you choose to offer both food treats and non-food treats, handle the non-food treats safely. Even packaged food can pose a risk for cross-contamination.
The best thing about non-food treats is that you can use old Easter or Valentine’s Day trinkets. Party favor packs from the dollar store offer a variety of fun things on a budget.
Non-food treats don’t have to be boring, and many are enjoyable for kids of any age. Decorative pencils, sticker packs, stamps, snakes, erasers, and spinning tops make for great non-food treat items.
Glow sticks can be ordered in bulk and are something kids want to use immediately. You can get glasses, wands, bracelets, necklaces, and more. While they do double as a treat, glow sticks help keep children safe on Halloween by ensuring they’re seen. And you can even get packs of them or glow bracelets or necklaces at your local dollar tree.
Dump all of the non-food treats into a treat bowl or create treat bags containing a few items each for quick grabbing. If you have leftover Easter eggs, you could also put trinkets in the Easter eggs to make for easy grabbing and allow for surprises. You’ll also be memorable, as who else passes out Easter eggs on Halloween? It’s quirky.
If you give trick-or-treaters the option to choose one or both, you might find more trick-or-treaters favor the non-food goodie bags.
3. Add your house to the project map
Let people in your neighborhood know you’re a Teal Pumpkin house by adding your house to the official map. This part isn’t required, as people who walk by your house will see your teal pumpkin.
Those who know about The Teal Pumpkin Project will know what it means. People who don’t know will sometimes ask why you have just one teal pumpkin.
Ultimately, The Teal Pumpkin Project brings people together and spreads food allergy awareness. Halloween should be a fun time for everyone, not just the kids who can eat candy.
Most of all, remember to have fun this Halloween.
For some fun and healthy Halloween treats, check these out:
- Creepy meatball eyeballs
- Spooky strawberry ghosts
- Halloween veggie skeleton
- Spooky ghost pepperoni dip
- Creepy meatball eyeballs
And for some last-minute costumes to make with what you have around the house, check this out.
It’s great fun to make special days and holidays fun! For a Halloween art project, check out these Halloween shrinky dink patterns. And for more pumpkin ideas, check these out:
- Pumpkin theme for preschool
- Pumpkin recipes for kids
- Pumpkin stamp art
- Pumpkin decorating without cutting
- Pumpkin activities for kids
Teal pumpkin printable
Check this out for a super cute teal pumpkin printable you can use to mark your goodie bags or your home as a safe haven for kids that don’t have typical needs! I know they will feel included and special if you go to these efforts for their health.