There was much innovation around ensuring a COVID-safe Halloween last year.
Neighbours suited up and sat outside, pre-packaged candy bundles, and even rigged up all sorts of fun contraptions to deliver goodies to trick-or-treaters.
All so children could continue to enjoy the one event each year that brings much of our community together, interacting with one another, and connecting while on foot in our neighbourhoods.
The effort to make it safe and accessible for all was inspiring.
There's a way for that to continue, not just with COVID-safety in mind, but also by thinking inclusively about all trick-or-treaters — including the ones who often can't take part because of barriers seemingly invisible, or less visible, to many of us.
In an era when peanut-free candy, and now teal pumpkins and blue buckets abound, perhaps there's a way to take accessibility and inclusivity on Halloween one small step further.
The Teal Pumpkin Project, launched in 2012 by a food allergy group in Tennessee and expanded by FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), the world’s leading non-governmental organization engaged in food allergy advocacy, is one such effort.
According to FARE, the project encourages participants to put a teal pumpkin on their doorsteps to signify non-food treats are available, such as glow sticks or small toys, in addition to candy. This simple act promotes inclusion for kids with food allergies or other conditions.
Another effort, which emerged in 2018, is the use of a blue bucket to signal a trick-or-treater who lives with autism.
The blue bucket emerged as a way for families to inform those answering their doors on All Hallows' Eve that a child may be non-verbal or unable to interact in ways people often expect.
Many parents who had grown tired of explaining their children's differences on strangers' doorsteps embraced the idea they would no longer have to.
Encouraging kids to carry blue buckets has since received widespread criticism from experts in the Canadian autism community who say this singles out specific children, instead of encouraging people to accept differences in all children at their front doors.
This is where there is work to be done.
According to Treat Accessibly, an Ontario-based organization that seeks to remove barriers for children with disabilities during Halloween, 400,000 children in Canada identify with having a disability that may prevent them from trick-or-treating with their siblings and other kids because of something as simple as stairs.
How wonderful would it be for their neighbours — all of us — to be thinking inclusively, too.
In the same way nut allergies once shifted our lens on Halloween thinking, perhaps we're all ready for another small shift.
We can't expect all the kids who come to our doors to be the same, or to share the same abilities to take part.
And there are several things we can do.
According to Treat Accessibly, founded in 2017 by a family in Ontario, barriers for kids with both visible and invisible disabilities can be steep on Halloween.
The organization has several recommendations for households who want to be accessible and inclusive on Halloween.
Think around stairs, curbs, and steep driveways, which pose challenges for differently-abled kids, and can for their parents and grandparents, too.
Try delivering goodies in different ways, even if it just means moving the candy dish down a few steps.
Show understanding and acceptance for those who are non-verbal or who live with mobility challenges.
Think around sounds that may be triggers to those with sensory sensitivities, or whether a flood light instead of a strobe light may be a kinder choice for those with conditions that can be triggered by aggressive displays.
Consider putting up an "accessible trick-or-treating" sign.
Think about how a small tweak to your spookily-decorated yard could make a big difference to a differently-abled trick-or-treater.
Editorials are the consensus view of the St. Albert Gazette’s editorial board.
