Teal Pumpkin Project

As a child, I LOVED Halloween! Nothing better than dressing up as a scarecrow (because that's the only costume that would fit over a snowsuit) and getting free candy and staying up way past my bedtime on a sugar high!

But, times do change and now with Evelyn's allergies, I'm very concerned that she may end up eating something that could cause her to react. 

So, when I heard about the Teal Pumpkin Project that FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) started in 2014, I jumped on board! 

FARE's Teal Pumpkin Project promotes safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies. This nationwide movement offers an alternative for kids with food allergies, as well as other children for whom candy is not an option, and keeps Halloween a fun, positive experience for all!

This year, we purchased a bunch of cases of glow in the dark mini water bottles to hand out. I figured it was something that they could drink right away if they wanted or save for lunch the next day. But here is a great list of other alternatives. All of these can be found at your local dollarstore, party store or even online for a low cost alternative to candy and snacks. 

• Glow sticks, bracelets or necklaces
• Pencils, pens, crayons or markers
• Bubbles
• Halloween erasers or toppers
• Whistles, kazoos, or noise makers
• Bouncy Balls
• Finger puppets or novelty toys
• Spider rings and vampire fangs
• Mini notepads
• Bookmarks
• Playdough
• Stickers

Happy Halloween!!!!

Last night, Samantha ventured out for her first official Halloween! Yes, yes, I know technically her first Halloween was last year (and she made the cutest darn elephant!) but this was the first year she was physically able to go trick or treating!

Mother Nature certainly didn't make the decision easy though. With rain and crazy winds all day, I was beginning to think Samantha was going to stay home with me and help hand out candy to those brave souls who did venture out. But by trick or treat time the winds died down and the rain let up! So...we put on our rain boots and ventured out!

Though she was dressed as an owl, I think she may have qualified as a duck last night with all her rain gear on! But, she had SO much fun! I am so glad I made the decision to bring her out at the last minute.

At first she was a little timid, so we started off with some friendly neighbours that she knew and then it was impossible to get her to stay still! She was running everywhere...down the driveways, up to the doors, across the yards!

The cutest part was that when someone would try and put candy into her bucket, she would slowly move the bucket away from the person, as if they may take it from her. She wouldn't even let me carry it. That bucket had an ironclad grasp on it the whole time!

By the end, it was pretty dark and the rain was starting to pick up, so we ventured home to help hand out the rest of the candy at our house! Or maybe eat a few first...

Hoping everyone had a Happy Halloween! From my family to yours!