Some kids will enjoy less sugary treats this Halloween.
Upper Deck, the Carlsbad-based trading card company, resurrected a holiday tradition this year by handing out cards to local law enforcement agencies to give out to kids on Halloween.
The giveaway had been ongoing since 2013 but was canceled during and after the COVID-19
pandemic. This is the first time it’s been held since the outbreak.
On Wednesday, Upper Deck employees staffed a booth in the company parking lot and
greeted local police, deputies and firefighters. They had 8,000 packs of cards to hand out, including Marvel superhero cards.
The idea was to support local law enforcement, while giving kids a healthy alternative to candy on Halloween.
“We know kids love trading cards and we thought this would be a great way to kind of bring all
of those ideas together,” said Paul Nguyen, senior marketing manager of sports products for
Upper Deck, who added that “a lot of kids” do their trick or treating at police and fire stations.
Nguyen saw many smiles on the faces of law enforcement officers in the Upper Deck lot.
“Some of the police officers today were opening up the packs and they were talking about the
players that they knew,” he said. “I don’t think they were trading (cards) but they were
definitely happy to open them.”
