The Pumpkin Fairy
The Pumpkin Fairy Is Coming To Town…
Five years ago I ran into a little dilemma. I had to choose between the lesser of two evils – to either let my toddlers join the ranks of sugar-drugged children on Halloween night or to keep them home missing all of the fun. Either option seemed limiting, so I decided I needed to rethink this one a bit.
Later that evening I was searching the internet for costume ideas for our Halloween party. I entered “mythical Halloween costumes” into Google and the first listing that came up was a site that had a picture of a “Pumpkin Fairy” on the front page. Since my kids were really into fairies I sat there for a moment and thought about the idea of a Pumpkin Fairy. Then it hit me! The Pumpkin Fairy was the answer to my concerns with Halloween’s unhealthy candy.
Who is the Pumpkin Fairy?
The Pumpkin Fairy has a special mission in life to help children become healthier and happier. She does this by inspiring parents and their children to ‘donate’ their unhealthy candy. She asks the children to leave it in a basket near the front door of their house. Late at night after everyone has gone to bed the Pumpkin Fairy visits each house to retrieve the baskets of candy. She then leaves a special gift (book, toy…) and a healthier treat option (Organic dark chocolate or any healthier snack food) for them to discover in the morning in appreciation for their donation.
Our kids love this idea and so do we. They are happy because they get to connect with their friends in the celebration of Halloween. And everyone stays healthy!
How can you introduce the Pumpkin Fairy to your family?
- Get them excited about the evening! Tell them who the Pumpkin Fairy is and what she does.
- Buy or make them some healthy treats and/or a surprise gift from the Pumpkin Fairy (health food grocery stores sell healthier candies and treats).
- Feed them a healthy meal and dessert so they feel full and satisfied before Trick or Treating.
- Remind your kids of the magic of Halloween! Maybe share with them your reasons for celebrating the Holiday.
We also tell our kids that they do not have to share their special mission with their friends – only with the ones who ask about the Pumpkin Fairy! This may be important socially because they can feel connected without feeling too “different” from their peer groups.
We also look through their collections for any healthy snacks or treats. Over the years we are finding that some of our neighbors are beginning to hand out healthier candies in the mix. They get to keep those!
We recently added an additional component to the experience. Now that our kids are getting older we discussed how the candy is packaged and marketed by the manufacturers. We talked about the effective marketing strategies that the companies are employing – not from a negative stance, but from a positive one. We asked them to tell us why they think the companies use the colorful, bright wrapping, shapes and names. I was amazed at how much our kids could understand about marketing this way. Now they want to use the same ideas to create and market their own businesses. They are turning into future entrepreneurs!
As our children grow older we started talking about how the ‘spirits’ of fairies and other magical beings inspire us to do good deeds for them. That’s what I believe is true anyhow.
The Pumpkin Fairy is our savior. Could she be yours? We get to allow our kids to have fun, to empower them through contribution, and to teach them some important life lessons. Invite the Pumpkin Fairy into your life!
If you liked this article please share it with your friends!
Thanks for reading! Happy Halloween!
Dr. Jack Ricci
Hi Jack, this is one of my favorite blogs that I have read in a while…I’ll be sure to share this with my readers…
HI Jack, this is a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing it. My subscribers and mom friends are going to love this one!
Thank you so much for this great idea. To see how this thought, manifested into word, read by another mom and put into inspired action made a difference, check out http://netwebmarketer.com/parenting/wordpress/
Thank you again!
Christine Hiebel
http://www.PassionParent.com
Great idea! Our daughter chose not to go trick-or-treating this year and preferred to sit on the steps giving out treats and telling everyone how nice their costumes were. Thanks to the foundation we built by setting her taste preferences at an early age for fruits and veggies she will routinely choose a healthy snack over candy or sweets most days. I have a great pic of her in Disney at breakfast with an untouched brownie on her plate from the buffet while she’s gnawing on an apple. She liked the colorful sprinkles on the brownie as a visual, but much preferred to eat the apple. We can most definitely mold how our children make food choices….candy is not a fact of childhood that you cannot avoid as some people argue.
What an excellent idea, Jack!! Thanks!
awesome idea ! thanks …so where’s the Pumpkin Fairy book ..lol…hugs and many blessings ..love this!
Jack this is a great idea and it really helps to catch your kids young. The tension sometimes between allowing your kids to feel part of their peer group and standing firm around healthy choices and their health is often a tricky one. Luckily when mine were little they soon felt themselves the detrimental effects of any sugar hits and started to make their own choices. As their diets were so ‘clean’ at home it was very clear to them when they went to a party and indulged. I now have two teenage boys who make loud imitation gagging noises at the idea of a macdonalds although they eat sugar sometimes. I just get as much green juice down them each morning and set them free to make their own choices during the day ay school:)