Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not for the creepy stuff, for the heart of the holiday: walking door-to-door to visit neighbors, passing out treats to friends, and wearing silly costumes for a day.

We don't get a lot of trick or treaters at our house, but every year we try have some food-free alternatives for those with food allergies or little ones. For this month's Michaels Makers Challenge, I was asked to make a craft pumpkin into something special. 

So here's what I made:

a Teal Pumpkin Project Treat Bowl to hold our candy free treats!

What is the Teal Pumpkin Project?

It is an idea started by food allergy parents to let other parents and kids know that you have food-free treats available. (Read more about the idea here.)

You can hang up this handy printable or display a real painted pumpkin. It's like a secret handshake to other parents and kids, to let them know you have food-free goodies available.

Isn't it such a great concept? You can still offer candy, but set aside a separate bowl with food-free goodies. 

It's great for kids with allergies AND mean moms like myself who kinda don't want a giant bowl of candy sitting around the house. 😉

This year Michaels sells craft pumpkins already painted teal, so you don't have to do any of the work yourself! One of these I painted (top right), the other is how I bought it (bottom left).

I painted the stems of both pumpkins to match the green crate: a simple, wooden craft crate painted with green Krylon chalky spray paint. The letter box marquee sign and letters are available in store.

They also have pumpkins with a hole already cut out! I painted it inside and out with turquoise spray paint, then made it hold all my treats.

I was able to find all of the candy free treats at Michaels as well! #score

Here's a close-up, price breakdown, and list of food-free, candy-free ideas.

Candy and Food Free Treat Ideas:

• glow sticks bracelets (a tube of 10 for $1.50)
• punch balloons (4 for $2.50)
• crayola chalk 4 packs ($1)
• light up rings ($1 each)
• farting tubes of dough ($1 each)
• original Silly Putty ($1 each)
• small sports balls
• crazy straws
• temporary tattoos
• sticker sheets
• Play-Doh (contains wheat and may bother some gluten-free kids)
• decks of cards
• silly glasses or princess crowns
• small bottles of water
• items from party store or treat bag aisle

My pumpkins ended up being on sale for 40% off, so if you buy a few of these food-free goodies with a pumpkin, (and use coupons from your Michaels app), it costs only slightly more than a jumbo bag of candy!

To kick off fall in your own home, visit Michaels.com and check out the variety of craft pumpkins available – there is every color, shape and size you could ever want! There are tons of ways to DIY your own craft pumpkin for your home, a party or even as a gift.

Be sure to check out all of the other Michaels Makers pumpkin ideas on the Michaels blog, or listed below!