Are teal pumpkins some strange mutation of the iconic Halloween squash? The short answer is no. The long answer is teal pumpkins are just regular pumpkins painted teal and placed outside of houses offering non-food trick-or-treat items on Halloween.
What? No candy? No chocolate? No munchies of any kind? Why???
Nowadays, it seems that more kids (and adults) have different kinds of food allergies. There are people allergic to things like wheat, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, sesame, fish, and other items.
Imagine being a kid with a food allergy. All your friends are out trick-or-treating but you can't go because you can't eat the treats. Not much fun, is it?
However, kids with food allergies can take part in the fun if they can get treats other than food. Glow sticks, pencils, erasers, coloring sheets, and stickers are popular with all kids. Of course, you can still have candy on hand to pass out if you'd like, but just be sure to ask the little monsters coming to your door whether they would like candy or a non-food item. And be careful of some non-food items, such as latex, because some people have allergies to those things as well.
If you'd like to put a teal pumpkin outside your door this year (or just print out a sheet with a teal pumpkin), take a look at the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) website for more information. You may just make a lot of goblins happy this year and save your front yard from getting toilet papered.
Wishing you a fun and safe Halloween from the perch.
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