The teal pumpkin trend is gaining momentum this Halloween. The idea is simple: put out a teal pumpkin (or sign) on your porch to indicate you support kids with special needs and are handing out things other than sugar buzzing candy.
It’s a simple and inclusive idea – that we’ve been doing for years.
A few years back my wife saw flats of mini-sized Play-Doh for cheap at the warehouse store. She scooped up 2.
Perfect for birthday party loot bags, playing around the house, and .. .. Halloween. Mostly she bought it so that there wouldn’t be boxes of chocolates sitting around the house for weeks before Halloween tempting our every move, because while the kids don’t eat the stuff, we do.
Our non-candy treats for tricks started a few years ago when I saw the letter from Fletcher’s dad on Reddit.
Fletcher has epilepsy and it’s managed through a strict ketogenic diet. Candy isn’t allowed in that diet, and that kinda blows a lot of the fun for a kid on Halloween. Fletcher’s dad wanted to pre-seed the neighbors with things his kid would love and would make the night magical. So he dropped notes and toys on doorsteps so that when Fletcher rang the bell, he could participate.
In the face of people who try to ban Halloween or scare people into not participating, Fletcher’s dad saw an easy way to be flexible and make the event all-inclusive. Fletcher’s dad’s efforts were pre #TealPumpkinProject. Now, many members of the community are in on the idea of having two bowls at the front door so everyone can get a treat for their trick.
So maybe in addition to the candy and chocolate boxes, you’ll hang a #TealPumpkinProject sign and have some small plastic farm animals, pencils, stickers, erasers, raisins, pretzels, or Play-Doh sitting by the door too. We do.