I know you're all fully aware my niece Samantha is the real love of my life - forget all that other stuff lol - but you may not know she has quite a few food allergies. And you know what - Halloween should be an exciting time for all kids - not just those without food allergies or diet restrictions. Thanks to the Teal Pumpkin Project this is slowly becoming a reality.

The initiative was launched as a national campaign by FARE - Food Allergy Research and Education - in 2014 and has since gone international.

It's a pretty simple concept - place a teal pumpkin outside your door signaling you offer non-food treats.

This may sound daunting but there are tons of Halloween theme ideas - spider rings & vampire fangs, glow sticks, stickers & tattoos, pencils & erasers, & bouncy balls just to name a few. It may sound like a pain in the ass but honestly they sell this kind of stuff everywhere & it's usually cheaper than candy or chocolate - and who the hell needs all that junk food anyway?!

As for the teal pumpkin there are tons of creative ideas on Pinterest on how to paint & decorate a teal pumpkin if you have the time & energy. Personally, I bought mine at Michaels craft stores. That way we'll have them for years. All I really did was buy some paint & put a little teal on one pumpkin's stem & their house number on the other to help create the look. It adds a little festive flair to their foyer & we'll put them on the doorstep for the trick or treaters on Halloween night.

Happy Halloween!

Cheers - Hal