Almost unbelievably, it’s come round to autumn time. After a bit of a slow start, the leaves are now creating a carpet on the floor with abundance! It really is beautiful out there at the moment, with all the vibrant colours around.
But…….Is it just me, or has this year just quite literally flown by? It’s been one of those ‘blink and you miss it’ years!!
How is Callum now 3?! He’s still my little baby boy, he can’t be 3!
How is it ¾ of the way through the year?!
How can it be half term and Halloween next week?!
Callum and Chloe are very excited about Halloween! It’s a big thing in the village we live in, and a lot of kids and houses take part, which is lovely. Whether it’s hot, cold, wet or dry, they always have so much fun.
What they don’t know, is I’ve gone and bought them some new outfits for this year, which I will surprise them with on the morning of Halloween – and I can’t wait to see their faces! They’ll look great when they go trick or treating in the evening!
When Callum was at the start of his journey with allergies, Halloween and trick or treating used to absolutely terrify me. It is one of the biggest setting for contraband and cross contamination to breach the very careful barriers that have been put in place to keep him safe and well.
Over the past 2 years, I’ve taken a lot of time to explain to Callum and also to Chloe, the importance of not eating anything given to them during trick or treating, or in fact at any other time of the year! We ask them to leave their collection bags on the side when they get in, and their ‘special’ treat is that they can look through them the next morning, and choose 1 sweet to have with their breakfast.
Some may say I’m a meanie…..!
I say, I’m a mum of a severely allergic child, and I’m merely keeping my boy safe!
Once they’ve gone to bed, I will go through the bags, and swap the things that are safe for Callum, with the ones that aren’t. Chloe tends to do really well out of it, and gets a lot of chocolate!! For anything I’m unable to swap, I have a stash of safe sweets that I replace the unsafe ones with.
Both kids are none the wiser, Callum stays safe, both children are happy with their hoard, and I’m a mummy breathing easy, knowing my baby boy hasn’t missed out on the fun of Halloween and has stayed safe for another year!
I found out last week there is currently a new project that has started in the US this year, which I absolutely love! And it would be beyond amazing if the same idea could be adopted next year in the UK – Allergy UK maybe this is something you would be happy to work with me to achieve?!
It’s called the ‘teal pumpkin project’. Participants paint their pumpkin a teal colour, so that other children know they will get non-food treats at their house, thus making it completely safe for them! No risk of foods containing allergens, no cross contamination, and no having to swap something out - which any parent to an allergic child will tell you, is utterly heart-breaking to watch when you see your little one's face fall when they realise they can't have something!
Next year, I’m going to see if I can get our village to buy into this concept. And, if I can find some suitable paint, I may even try to paint Callum’s pumpkin next week to show our support! Glow stick bracelets, little foam plane kits etc, all are just as much, if not more fun than sweets, and can be bought at a similar price.
For the look on my little boys face, knowing he's completely safe and not having to get me to swap or check anything first, to me, it's worth absolutely everything!
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