Did you notice any Teal Pumpkins in your neighborhood last year? If so did you wonder what they were for? In 2014, many families joined the Teal Pumpkin Project to create a happy Halloween not only for kids who can eat any candy they want, but for kids who were missing out on the trick or treating experience due to food allergies or other reasons where candy may not be an option. Kids just want to be kids and this project allows them to do just that! It ensures a safe and fun Halloween for everyone.
Last year we were a bit late to the game and not a single child came by our house for a non-food treat. I think this was due to little effort on our part. This year we have done a few things differently in hopes of spreading the word in our neighborhood and letting families know ahead of time that we are participating with the Teal Pumpkin Project. I hope this helps you have a great experience especially if it’s your first year. We also created a fun teal pumpkin that can be used for years to come. My husband and I are total DIYers and this one is pretty much all him. I thought it was about time to share a project especially one with such a great cause and impact to the community. I’m so excited to share this Teal Pumpkin DIY with you!
Spreading the word is so important to the success of this project. Many families still don’t know about it or exactly what it is all about. Below are a few things you can do to help drive more traffic to your house and educate others.
- Put your pumpkin out a week before Halloween and even earlier with your other decorations. When people walk or drive by leading up to Halloween they will see you are participating.
- Make sure your pumpkin is in visible sight from the sidewalk.
- Download a sign, laminate it (so it does not get damaged if it rains) and put it a highly visible place from the street. I suggest putting your sign out early as well. We attached ours to a stake and put in the ground by the sidewalk. The sign is not only meant to alert people of your participation but it also is meant to educate those who may not be aware of the project and hopefully get them thinking about participating next year.
- If your neighborhood has an app or something that allows neighbors to communicate tell your neighbors your are participating and ask them to join you. Our neighborhood has an app and we were able to get multiple families to join us this year. The more people you tell the bigger the impact.
Need ideas for non-food treats and want to make sure things are safe? Below are some ideas and tips.
- Non-food treat ideas include stickers, bouncy balls, glow stick bracelets, skeleton rings, pencils, notepads and erasers. We try to avoid anything that is super small or has small parts.
- Keep your non-food treats in a separate bowl. This will ensure there is no contamination for kids with severe allergies. We have a teal plastic pumpkin we purchased at Target that works perfect.
- So kids don’t have to ask let families know when they arrive at your door that you are participating and would they prefer a non-food treat or candy.
Now lets get our DIY on!
Here is what you need:
- Faux Pumpkin: I purchased this one from Target for $13.00. Any faux pumpkin will do but I loved that this one lights up and will be more visible after dark.
- Teal Spray Paint: Rust-Oleum Lagoon is the perfect teal even though my pictures look a bit more blue. We purchased this paint at Home Depot for $4.00 but you should be able to find it at most hardware stores.
- Blue Light Bulbs: We purchased ours on Amazon, but you may be able to find them at your local hardware store.
The directions:
- Remove bulb and cord from pumpkin and place outside or in a well ventilated area.
- Apply two coats of spray paint and allow to dry for at least 30 min between coats.
- Keep outside or in your garage for at least a day to allow it to off gas.
- If your pumpkin lights up swap out the light bulb that came with the pumpkin to blue, plug it in and enjoy!
- You can use a fresh pumpkin and spray paint in the same way. However, I love the ease of doing this once and using it for years to come.
I really hope this posts sparks your interest and motivates you to get involved with this amazing cause. Happy Halloween!