Plan a Teal Pumpkin Project Halloween

Halloween is almost here – Are you ready?  I am almost ready!  

Our neighborhood is a Halloween trick or treating delight. There are sidewalks and short walkways to the houses. People drive to our neighborhood and have group trick or treating outings. I always enjoy making Halloween fun and special for EVERY child who passes our door.

For the last two years I have participated in the TEAL pumpkin project and I will again this year. The Food Allergy Research and Education Association (FARE) sponsors and promotes the TEAL Pumpkin program to have nonfood treats available.  You post the TEAL pumpkin sign and parents with children with food allergies know that you have nonfood treats. I have candy and non-candy choices and the non-candy choices are very popular with all the kids.  Parents of young children are especially love this idea. Each year more adults notice my TEAL Pumpkin sign and thank me.

Here is the sign to post where people approaching your home can see it.

You can download a sign here so trick or treaters and their parents/guardians can see that you offer non-candy treats. 

You can learn more about FARE and the program here.

Need ideas for non-candy treats?

My favorite for toddlers and pre-schoolers- Party size play-doh containers.  You can buy a 15 pack.  This is an absolute winner with young children and their parents.  One of us manning the door will also go down to a stroller to deliver one to a child in a stroller.  Try that for some big smiles. (Grandmas love to see children smile.) 

This year, Moose toys will again be providing me with these sample packs of Shopkins, Grossery Gang and Twozies in connection with their promotion of the Teal Pumpkin Project. Thank You Moose! The last time I had  Shopkins sample packs on Halloween the kids treated them like I was handing out gold coins!!!

 

Pencils, erasers, and stickers with Halloween themes are staples popular with a wide range of ages.  Here are the pencils and erasers I will be giving out this year.

 

Yes, I do have candy too. We have lots of trick or treaters.  Around 4 PM the little ones start arriving (Lots of play-doh treats) and by 5 PM the 5 - 7 year olds are out in force (stickers takeover as the #1 treat).  The 7 and up will flood our block by 6 PM (Moose collectible sample packs will fly out the door.)

I am looking forward to Halloween and i hope you have a wonderful evening also.

If you write, facebook or tweet about this, don't forget to use the hashtag - #tealpumpkinproject

You can learn more about FARE and the program here.

Enjoy Halloween, we plan to here!

Marion

Grandma's Favorites at TTPM Holiday Showcase

The TTPM Holiday Showcase for the media features large and small companies showing what will be their most promoted and promising toys during the holiday season.  It is a super fun event.  As usual, I am looking at everything from a grandparent perspective and providing my list of what a grandparent might want to be shopping for soon.

I look for updated toys that we remember from when our kids were kids, good value, things we can do with the grandkids, toys with learning and play value, and what's popular that will message the grandkids that we are not completely in the dark about what is happening in their world.  Here are some of my favorites from the TTPM showcase that fit one of more of this criteria.

Giggle and Wiggle Peppa Pig

Giggle and Wiggle George

Peppa Pig Giggle and Wiggle – Peppa and George

Everybody loves Peppa and George and even if the young  child you are buying for already has a Peppa plush, they will love these.  They are large and soft.  When you press the button on their tummy they giggle and wiggle their arms.  Kids will love seeing Peppa and George being so funny and they are sure to make your pre-schooler giggle along with them.

My First Bananagrams

My First Bananagrams

Calling all Bananagrams lovers – If you have an early reader you will want this set (Even if you are not already a Bananagrams fan). My First BANANAGRAMS features easy grip tiles,  lowercase letters and  combo-letter tiles to help with the wordplay. There are directions for multiple activities and mini games or make up your own as I have done with my grandson. The banana includes 80 single tiles and 13 combo-letter tiles. The picture I took at TTPM was blurry so this is a stock photo.

Trolls  by Dreamworks

Trolls, Trolls and More Trolls

A new Trolls movie by Dreamworks will be released on November 4^th (the ads are already heating up the airwaves).  Thus Troll toys will be super hot and probably fly off the shelves soon after the movie release.  If you are a grandparent, you probably remember the trolls craze in the 80s and 90s.  My daughter had a huge collection.  Well this is going to be one of those movies popular with parents and kids –grandparents too – as it features quite a cast of voices by celebrities young and old. This is a sampling of the Trollmania you can expect soon.

Miraculous by Ban Dai

Miraculous

You may not have heard of the Nickelodeon series Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir but your grandchildren know her.  Ladybug uses resourcefulness, creativity and her lucky charm to defeat villans and restore peace to the city.  I brought home 2 big bags of samples from TTPM, and this was the one my grandson chose as his gift 

 

Young Architect City Planner by Alex Brands/Scientific Explorer

Young Architect City Planner

Kids who like to design cities enjoy software like Sim City.  This set will give a child a hands-on experience to design and build their own design.  The set includes a grid, paper which you tape to the grid, clear blue building pieces, colored pencils, decals of building facades and windows, and traceable templates of various features in a city such as a baseball field.  Although the box cover only features a boy, this set should appeal to both girls and boys.  Ages 8 and up.

3D Wood Models by IncrediBuilds

Incredibuilds

These 3D wood models have both an old fashioned and fresh-cool look and feel about them.  The wood models come on a laser cut wood sheet with easily removable pieces and are put together without glue and tools.  Detailed instructions are provided.  There are Star Wars, Harry Potter, super hero characters, the Eiffel tower and more.  This picture shows some of the models on display at TTPM.  The package says ages 12+ but I think this is an excellent project for a grandfather and younger child to work on together. You can buy a model only or a model and book set.  It is right priced for a grandchild sleepover visit activity.

By the end of the October I should have my Holiday Gift Guide posted so look for even more holiday gift ideas for the Grandkids there.  Check out these items at Amazon – just click on the links below.

Here are links to some of my previous 2016 toy reviews:

An InLinkz Link-up