diff --git a/lib/WebGUI/Asset/Template.pm b/lib/WebGUI/Asset/Template.pm
index 0f44c7ef6..6dc3fb181 100644
--- a/lib/WebGUI/Asset/Template.pm
+++ b/lib/WebGUI/Asset/Template.pm
@@ -267,7 +267,8 @@ This method sets the tags from the head block parameter of the template into the
 sub prepare {
 	my $self = shift;
 	$self->{_prepared} = 1;
-	my @sent = @{$self->session->stow->get("templateHeadersSent")};
+	my $templateHeadersSent = $self->session->stow->get("templateHeadersSent") || [];
+	my @sent = @{$templateHeadersSent};
 	unless (isIn($self->getId, @sent)) { # don't send head block if we've already sent it for this template
 		if ($self->session->style->sent) {
 			$self->session->output->print($self->get("headBlock"));