Food allergies have been a part of our family for a few years now, but even in this short period of time, awareness of this condition has come a long way. Six years ago, even though my son was too young to actually go out and trick or treat for candy on Halloween, it wouldn’t have mattered because there was very little that was safe for him to eat. At the time he was allergic to all dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. Pretty much every treat had one or more of these allergens hidden away. But I am happy to say that those times are becoming a distant memory.
Part of that is because manufacturers are becoming more aware of what goes into the foods they produce. They are labeling better and making things that are safe for people with allergens to eat. The other reason Halloween is starting to be a more inclusive holiday is because of the #TealPumpkinProject. Now in it’s third year, the Teal Pumpkin Project was inspired by an awareness group run by the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee (FACET) and was then launched as a national campaign by FARE in 2014. The idea behind the Teal (the colour of Food Allergy Awareness) Pumpkin Project is this: provide non-food treats for trick or treaters on Halloween.
A happy, food allergy kiddo on Halloween 🙂
Like last year, I went out and purchased some cute things this year to make little Halloween treat bags for the children in our neighborhood who have food allergies. Along with our traditional Halloween decorations and candy (no nuts), we will be including three beautifully painted teal pumpkins, some signs announcing that we support the #TealPumpkinProject and our cool non-food treat bags. It was pretty amazing to see that more retailers have embraced the teal pumpkin campaign this year. You can now buy pre-painted pumpkins from stores like Michael’s! Even Disney World, my happy place, has embraced the world of food allergy awareness by adding it to their Halloween celebration, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. ♥
All that said it can feel a bit daunting to look for non-food treats that kids will actually like, but it is actually pretty easy. Last year I published this list of 21 ideas and this year I thought I would share some more. I literally went to the local party store just this week and picked up the items we wanted. Everything ranges from $0.20 to $0.50 per item, so the cost is not much more than that massive box of chocolate bars. It might actually even be less. We are putting four or five things in each bag, but you can give out how many you choose.
Non-Food Ideas For Trick or Treaters
1) Mini paint sets 2) Mini rubber balls 3) Noise makers
4) Mini kaleidoscope 5) Rubber ducks 6) Mini skate boards
7) Keychains 8) Squishy ball 9) Rubber ball
10) Game 11) Pencils 12) Pirate eye patch
13) Mini Rubik Cube 14) Bubbles 15) Finger puppets
16) Novelty keychains 17) Make a bracelet kit 18) Mini camera
Let it be known that I had the help of four children, ranging in age from 7 to 13 years old, in making these selections so I know there is something here that will make the food allergy kiddos in your neighborhood happy on Halloween.
Will you be supporting the #TealPumpkinProject this year?
FT&PD
Suz
I love these ideas! It’s always fun to get something different.
I love things that are fun and useful (as opposed to noisy or just gonna get tossed) so I love finding fun pencils and erasers 🙂
I love the Teal Pumpkin Prohect and how much traction its received this year. We bought some fun gifts like glow in the dark fangs, pencils and growing monsters. I like the idea of non-food items even for non-allergic kids. There is plenty of candy to be had anyway!
What great ideas you’ve gathered together, kids always enjoy non-candy items too. 🙂
Thanks for the neat ideas,i love his outfit….so darn cute!!
Great ideas. Next year I will get some pencils – already bought regular treats this year.
great ideas for next year 🙂 wish I saw this sooner! 🙂
I’ve just read a couple of articles on research done into allergies, connected to peanut allergies. It sounds very promising for the future that there might well be less children allergic due to being desensitised at an early age. I know this doesn’t help you but I found it very interesting indeed.
Great suggestions, we never know what kids get for Halloween, always have to re-check what they bring and definitely what we give during trick-or-treating!
Great ideas, thanks for sharing
Those are some great ideas for non-food Halloween treats. That way even kids with allergies can get a fun treat too.
These sure are some neat ideas for non-sugar treats
I like these ideas for non-food treats. The bubbles are fun!
I love all of your ideas and they’re such a great alternative to candy
Cool
Suzanne what a great array of gift ideas for the kiddos, all kids would love to get some of those items. Happy Halloween to all.
Thank you Mom! It is fun to find things that children with food allergies can enjoy so they do not feel left out of the Halloween fun. 🙂