Happy Halloween!! Although my trick-or-treating days are unfortunately over, I thought it would be fun to share how my family handled the candy-focused holiday when I was younger, and some things you can do tonight to make Halloween more inclusive!
When I was growing up, my parents created a sort of “trade-in” system to make sure I was able to enjoy trick-or-treating just the same as any other kid. While trick-or-treating, if the house was giving out candy that was safe for me - skittles, starburst, smarties, dum-dums, etc. - I would of course opt to take those, but if not, I would take the candy I wasn’t able to eat and trade it in when I got home!
We would stock up on all my favorite candy and safe chocolates...
...and I would get to do a little home trick-or-treating to trade out all of the candy I wasn’t able to eat! Each small candy would be worth a fun-sized safe option, and larger full sized candy bars could be traded for whole safe chocolate bars or multiple small candies.
Honestly this made Halloween so fun for me as a kid, and I never felt as though I was missing out or getting short-changed, I always had LOTS of safe treats to enjoy.
And this was a huge win-win for my family, as my parents got to enjoy all the candy I traded-in ;)
1 in 13 kids have food allergies, so to make Halloween safer for other kids with food allergies like me, my family always had two bowls of candy for trick-or-treaters - one with a variety of options, and one with strictly candy that was safe for me to eat.
My grandparents did a similar thing at their house, and always had EnjoyLife chocolate bars, skittles, and starburst aside for me when we trick-or-treated there!
FARE has also driven the “Teal Pumpkin Project” which is a way to make Halloween completely inclusive. Having a teal pumpkin outside of your house signifies that you have non-food options for trick-or-treaters, such as glowsticks, stickers, fun Halloween accessories, bracelets, etc.! This can be a great way to make sure no one is left out, and everyone gets treats tonight :)
I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!! And if you do participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project, it’s not too late to add your house to the #TealPumpkinProject map so your home is easy to find for those looking for safe treats! Simply click below to do so!
Thanks for reading, and happy happy Halloween!
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