When you think of the colors that represent Halloween you probably think orange or black. But the color you SHOULD be thinking of is teal.
No, I’m not crazy; teal SHOULD be your Halloween color.
Let me take you back to the “dark ages” when I was a kid in Verona. Just like every other kid, I LOVED going trick-or-treating. You didn’t want to carry that plastic pumpkin (although it was cool looking), you wanted a pillowcase because you could cram more candy into it. You wanted a sturdy pillowcase and you wanted it to be chock full of as much candy as possible. When you got home you dumped it all out on the floor and enjoyed the awesome amount of sugar goodness that you had collected. And then you started to sort you stash. Most kids sorted the great (full sized candy bars) from the good (“treat” sized) and the not so good (Mary Janes or Whoopers anyone?). But I didn’t do that. I had to sort my candy into what I COULD eat and what I couldn’t. Because I had (and still have) a life threatening food allergy to eggs and that means ANY candy that had egg (or albumin) in it was off the table. There were (and are) no Milky Ways or Snickers bars for me.
With the proliferation of food allergies in Verona (and our country), think of all the kids who have to forgo treats on Halloween. But it doesn’t have to be that way and it all comes down to the Teal Pumpkin Project.
I’ve written about it before but it bears repeating with Halloween right around the corner. Started as a national campaign in 2014 by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), it’s a way to make those who can’t have a sweet treat enjoy the holiday a little more. Instead of OR in addition to handing out candy, offer some non-edible goodies like spider rings, eyeball bouncy balls or bloody finger pens. A dozen Halloween pencils can cost you as a little as a dollar! It’s a much better buy than a bag of candy. PLUS these items don’t increase the risk of tooth decay, weight gain AND left overs can be used the following year. It’s a winning proposition!
The most “difficult” thing is either printing out a teal pumpkin sign (which can be found on FARE’s website) or ACTUALLY painting a pumpkin the teal color. The color tells families with allergies that you are offering safe treats.
Remember, this Halloween, teal is the color to be.
