Trick or treating is not for everyone. I get that. Halloween was not that big in England until fairly recently. Until I had children, I was not too keen on having random people bang on my front door all night to be honest. These days, we have jack-o-lanterns right by our front door as well as a teal pumpkin, so that allergy sufferers know that they can get safe, non-food treats when they knock on our door.
Call it peer pressure or trend, but my children have been desperate to join in with the whole trick or treating thing for the past few years, and I have been going with them around our neighbourhood.
The Teal Pumpkin Project
I found out about The Teal Pumpkin Project two or three years ago and we took part. It is pretty simple.
All you have to do is get a pumpkin and paint it teal.
You can carve it or even use a fake pumpkin that will be able to reuse year after year.
Have the teal pumpkin alongside your orange pumpkins in the window or outside your front door.
Just make sure you have two separate bowls for treats, one containing non-food treats.
Last year, we had ghost straws, mini bottles of bubbles and mini notebooks. These non-food treats were really popular and it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling to help allergy sufferers feel more included.
Unfortunately, we did not see one single other teal pumpkin in our local area last year. Let’s hope things improve so allergy sufferers and those on an exclusion diet can feel completely included.
It would be lovely if you could share this post so that more people know about the Teal Pumpkin Project.
Save me on Pinterest for later:
Hi, this week I am joining the linky with my gluten free vegan spiralized soup. Shared! Going to check out what everyone else has brought to the party:)
Sounds amazing! xx
Look at your awesome teal pumpkin, I love it! I do have some jars we painted with black crepe paper for the facial features which I use each year but painting the pumpkin has become an annual tradition here. We live on a country road which means it isn’t safe for kids to go out to trick or treat so the only possible callers are one or two neighbours. I still like to put out the teal pumpkin and have the non food treats in to support the cause and the boys love to be involved. Your decorating looks fab!
Thanks Laura 🙂 We do love a bit of community spirit, and we get a lot of children knocking here. My 4 love it!
Hi, I love your teal pumpkin I see this campaign more with the people I follow in the states. I hope it becomes more popular here. Ive share this on Twitter #freefromfridays
Same here, I really hope it becomes more and more popular for an inclusive neighbourhood event 🙂
The teal pumpkins are such a great idea I need to make sure I pop into the DIY shop this week so I’ve got the right colour paint. I have no idea if there’s anyone with allergies trick-or-treating on my road but if there is I hope it makes them feel welcome and included 🙂
We had the only teal pumpkin in our whole neighbourhood last year but it made me feel very happy, and a lot of children went for the non-food treats, probably for religious reasons. Happy 🙂 Get a sample pot, that will be enough for a whole pumpkin (did that last year, from Wilkos). x