Glow Sticks For Days

That time of year is upon us again. We’ve retired our sunscreen and swimsuit cover ups for hydrating lip balm and hoodies. All things pumpkin spice have invaded every aspect of our lives and one of the best things about fall—football—has started to consume our Sundays. And likely Thursday and Monday nights if obsessing over fantasy football is your thing.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I’m in Minnesota and while Minnesota summers are hard to beat (hello #lakelife), fall has always just kind of been my fave. Yes, the season does have some negative aspects, like reminding us that we’re one step closer to booger-freezing temperatures with streets and sidewalks that can double as ice rinks. However, hoodies, hot cocoa, and Halloween for the win.

I remember as a kid, Halloween was something I always looked forward to just like many kids do. When my brother and I were really young, our mom would get us in our costumes and drive us around to family members’ homes to show off how incredibly cute we were. During that mission we got a few treats, posed for some pics and that was that. Then we turned into big kids and started trekking through the neighborhood with our friends on one simple mission.

Cue the candy competition.

It was time for each of us to hit up as many houses as possible, load up our pillowcases with as much candy as we could carry, and make our way home to dump out the contents onto the living room floor, and then…trade-sies. And if you are Type A like me, you separated them into piles by candy type and the trades you made were quite strategic.  No way was I getting scammed for your garbage candy, bro.

Now I was trick-or-treating in the ‘80s and slightly into the ‘90s. (Yep, I certainly hiked through the 1991 Halloween Blizzard that Minnesota people still talk about every single year. Google it.) The mission was all about knowing what households passed out the best candy—major bonus points for full-size candy bars—and which ones dumped pennies or toothpaste in your bag.  Side note, the households that gave out cans of pop (that’s right…”pop”) were on a total other level of awesomeness.

But guess what?  Times, they have-a-changed. While I’m positive food allergies did exist in the world during my trick-or-treating days, I’m also positive I didn’t personally know anyone who suffered. Food allergies are on the rise at an alarming rate and it is often referred to as an epidemic* so we need to make adjustments.

What should be a fun experience every year can instead be stress-inducing, excluding, and downright dangerous. It is our responsibility as empathetic, compassionate, and understanding adults to do what is in our ability to ensure that we can offer the chance for all kids to get excited about Halloween. Especially because what we can do is something so simple.

FARE’s (Food Allergy Research & Education) Teal Pumpkin Project® is something I encourage everyone to participate in**. You can get all the wonderful info at www.tealpumpkinproject.org, but the gist is that you have non-food treats available for kids with food allergies.  Or for kids with dietary restrictions.  Or for kids with feeding tubes.  Or for kids with other health issues.  Or for kids who simply like something different than a candy bar or lollipop.

Now I get it, candy is tradition. I am not, nor is this campaign, asking you to stop passing out candy if that is a tradition you chose to uphold. Our family does both. We consciously choose to pass out candy that’s free from as many of the top 8 common allergens as we can find.

I find one of the biggest misconceptions about Teal Pumpkin Project® is that it is about providing peanut/nut free candy. That’s not it. Although peanuts may be one of the allergens that gets the most attention, there are so many other common (and not as common) allergens. That’s why it is about offering non-food treats. We keep the candy in one bowl and the non-food treats in another.

This will be our third year participating in the project and surprisingly so many of the kids have been excited about the non-food treats. I’ll admit I was skeptical at first because, you know, change and all. And, you know, candy. Also, we let the kids who want both candy and the non-food treat to take both so the non-food stuff doesn’t feel like a consolation prize or something.

So, let me leave you with a couple of tips from my own experiences thus far….

1. Check out the website www.tealpumpkinproject.org for more info. It includes free print offs to show that you participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project® and can answer all the questions you might have.
2. I’ve noticed that teal has made its way into fall décor the past few years. You can probably really do it up if you want.  For our porch pumpkin I bought a plain bright teal plastic pumpkin from a crafting store and some stick-on letters to write out Teal Pumpkin Project®.
3. Keep the bag(s) the candy came in and have them handy. Some people are more diligent and thorough than others, so while they might assume a candy you have is safe, the label can be helpful in making that determination. Don’t roll your eyes if someone asks if you have the bag/label.
4. Stuff that glows is always a hit. You can check out your local dollar-type stores for a bunch of options. This stuff doesn’t break the bank.  I actually spend a lot less on these items than I do candy. And being that kids trick or treat in the dark the glow sticks can help with safety. Double whammy.
5. Know that if you participate you are appreciated beyond words by the families out there that deal with these allergies on the daily. One, for providing a safe item so their kid can feel included and two, for raising awareness. Everyone who comes to your door sees that teal pumpkin and maybe that will prompt a discussion among their family to participate next year if they aren’t already doing so.  And a bonus…if you have leftover non-food stuff you can use it again next year. There’s a money saving tip for ya!

Happy Halloween!

*The words “alarming” and “epidemic” are not my words.  These are what I see frequently used in the description of food allergies from reputable sources.

**The pic above is how I set it up each year. The print off with the info is from http://www.tealpumpkinproject.org.  There are a few different ones to choose from