Spreading awareness is important, and over the past decade more people have been trying to do so on Halloween with different colored pumpkin buckets.
Teal
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Teal is the color of food allergy awareness. Homeowners are encouraged to place a teal-painted pumpkin and a sign outside their door if they offer any non-food treats. There will also be trick-or-treaters carrying a teal pumpkin bucket, signaling they have a food allergy.
Food allergies can be life-threatening and affect about 1 in 13 children in the United States. Allergies to dairy, nuts, wheat or eggs rule out most of the popular Halloween candies.
To buy a teal pumpkin bucket, click here.
Below is a list of non-food treats you can give out on Halloween:
- Glow sticks, bracelets, or necklaces
- Pencils, pens, crayons or markers
- Bubbles
- Halloween erasers or pencil toppers
- Mini Slinkies
- Whistles, kazoos, or noisemakers
- Bouncy balls
- Finger puppets or novelty toys
- Coins
- Spider rings
- Vampire fangs
- Mini notepads
- Playing cards
- Bookmarks
- Stickers
- Stencils
Click here to find households, events and businesses giving out non-food treats on Halloween.
Purple
Those carrying a purple pumpkin bucket are signaling they are a trick-or-treater with epilepsy. Households need to be aware of these trick-or-treaters as seizures can be triggered by strobe and flashing lights.
The purple pumpkin project started in 2012. Founder Ron Lamontagne was brainstorming ideas on how to spread epilepsy awareness after his youngest son was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2009 at the age of four. Households are encouraged to paint their pumpkins purple if they have a loved one with epilepsy.
Blue
While blue isn’t as popular as teal or purple, there might be a few trick-or-treaters on your block with a dark blue pail. According to the National Autism Association, the buckets can be helpful, especially for the more severely affected kids who are nonspeaking and for older kids who may appear to function at a lower cognitive level.
Does your family do something special to spread awareness for a loved one on this spooky holiday? Comment below what it is!