Well, I did it. I went against popular culture and defied the retailing powers-that-be. And I did it without shame or apology. What did I do?
I handed out PENCILS for Halloween. Yes, I did.
I was the lone car at the trunk-or-treat to be void of sugary indulgences. And I felt a sense of happiness and satisfaction while I did it.
Craig was nervous about the idea at first. Understandably, he didn't want to stand out (we are new to the ward, and this could either be a point for or against us). When he questioned my choice of pencils, I reminded him that, since he is a dentist, I could hand out toothbrushes, accompanied by little leaflets about the dangers that sugar poses to one's dental health and immune system. To which he promptly replied, "I will NOT be the house on the block that hands out toothbrushes!........and, you wouldn't really hand out leaflets, would you??"
So pencils it was.
The night went well. I handed out approximately 125 festive pencils. And I only got turned down by one 10 year-old boy. He put his hand in my bowl, looked down, and quickly mumbled, "No thanks." That's alright, though, I don't blame him. Actually, I blame his parents for not instilling in him a deeper sense of educational importance. But, hey, no parent is perfect.
Most of the children chose a pencil and ran to their parents excitedly proclaiming, "I got a new pencil, Mommy!" while waving it through the air. Of course, most of the parents had to ask their children to repeat what they had just said. After all, they probably weren't expecting to hear those exact words, spoken with so much glee, at the trick-or-treat party.
So where to go from here...I don't know exactly. Now that I've left the candy behind and embraced small, yet meaningful, trinkets, the possibilities are endless. Next year may hold mini play-dohs or sheets of stickers. Who knows, I may not be the only one NOT handing out candy at the next Halloween party.
I hope so.
4 comments:
you rock! I would have loved to see the leaflets! Congratulations on your successful pencil campaign
Good for Melissa! Way to be strong. I hand out candy because I am too lazy to be creative:) But I might just take your idea next year, maybe with Craig's business name and number on it! I think it's great. Craig and I both like to take the kids out. I was thinking of just leaving the bowl outside and let kids help themselves. I'm sure someone will take the whole bowl! But I'm pretty sure some kid wouldn't steal a whole bowl of pencils!!
Good Job Melissa, I am too in favor of non-edible items to hand out. This year was sort of rushed so I didn't get a chance to get something really good to hand out so I just grabbed a couple bags of snickers...but I like the pencil idea or the playdough. Emma got a couple of tubs this year from people. I think that is such a cute idea!
You're the new parent in the ward that all the mothers and fathers will love. We too avoided sugar and handed our little boxes of raisins and bags of animal crackers. Okay, so there is some sugar, but not as much as there could have been.
The pencils, play-doh and stickers are all great ideas. Miles got some and is already playing with all of them.
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