It’s that time of year again when the weather is crisp and the leaves start to change colors. Halloween is right around the corner and there is a lot of excitement in the house as we transition to a new season. If your family is like mine, fall is our favorite time of year. We didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked last year, so this year, we are even more excited to live in the moment of fall!
With a new baby joining our family, we are planning to keep it simple, yet create a festive environment for our family to experience the joy of the season change. Halloween is a huge event at our house with lots of talk of costumes, candy and decorations. We can never have too much Halloween, so we plan on doing a lot of things to celebrate this year.
Here are some of my ideas on how to create a lot of excitement around the changing of the seasons, with little effort!
Start Planning Any Special Fall and Halloween Events Early
There are so many fun and festive events hosted around the city, such as these October Events. Plan your calendar out and purchase any tickets necessary before they sell out.
Here are a few of our favorite spots and events to get of the house in October!
- Lynds Fruit Farm-The kids will love pumpkin picking and the kiddie area filled with fun and refurbished playground equipment. There is a corn maze and scavenger hunt along with a tractor train ride. If you go, check out the market and pick up a few apple fry pies to get a taste of fall.
- Hocking Hills-When the leaves change color you really can’t beat the beauty in Hocking Hills. Take in the bright orange, red and yellow leaves at Old Man’s Cave or venture off to Boch Hollow for a more secluded experience.
- Gahanna’s Goblin Trail-This ticketed event is fun for families. The event is filled with entertainment and some spooky exhibits.
Take in the Tastes of Fall
I think of pumpkin, apples and cinnamon when fall approaches, but most busy moms don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen prepping and baking the lovely flavors of fall. Here are some of my go-to fall treats that are easy to make (or pick up).
- Pumpkin Latte-I love the pumpkin flavored concoction from Starbucks but I don’t always have time to wait in the long lines that accompany pumpkin fever. So, I make my own at home. It’s easy. Warm some milk and a tablespoon of pumpkin puree, then add it to your favorite home brewed coffee. (Froth the milk before adding the additional ingredients for a fancy twist.) Add in cinnamon, vanilla extract and a little brown sugar if you like it sweeter. Viola!
- Apple Cider-Lynds Fruit Farm has a ton of homemade apple cider available in the market. They also offer other flavors if apple isn’t necessarily your cup of cider. Warm it up in a mug with some cinnamon and relax a moment.
- Pumpkin Cookies-Surprisingly, Kroger’s bakery has a very yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie that meets all the needs for a fall sweet. No mess in the kitchen to clean up after enjoying it either!
Fall Themed Activities To Keep The Kids Busy While At Home. It’s not always easy to get out of the house. Having some fun activities lined up at home can make the days run smoother. Some of my favorites are:
- Fall Themed Scavenger Hunt: You can make it up as you go searching for colored leaves, pine cones and feathers. Or, you can find a free scavenger hunt print out by doing a simple internet search.
- Dollar Store Crafts: My secret arsenal of at home activities are usually dollar store finds. Cheap and easy is usually my motive when shopping at the store for kiddo entertainment. This year, I picked up all the items necessary to make our own fall wreath. I also scored several wood hanging pumpkins that will be great for the kids to get creative and paint.
- Premade Halloween Houses and Cookie Decorating Kits. I found an M&M themed haunted house cookie set and an Oreo flavored cookie decorating kit at Big Lots. My kids are going to love putting all the pieces together, decorating and of course eating it!
Regardless of how or if you celebrate fall and Halloween this month, I hope you simply enjoy the sense of new that will come as fall approaches!
