Fall is finally upon us and I am so excited! Fall is my favorite time of year and of course, Halloween/Samhain is my favorite holiday (my birthday is also in October…yay)!

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the autumn season and the traditions that have been apart of my life. I am excited to share them with you in hopes that I will inspire you to create or add to your own traditions.

Childhood Traditions

I have fond memories as a child in the backyard of the house I grew up in. We had two huge maple trees and a chestnut tree. The chestnuts would fall off the trees and litter the ground with sharp, spiky burs. We would have to wear gloves to pick them up or sometimes we would use a shovel. It was quite the family ordeal. My grandparents lived beside us and they would come out and help too. We would dig the chestnut out of its spiky casing and collect them in a bucket. 

Once we had all the sharp burs picked up from the chestnut tree we would rake up the leaves from all three trees into huge piles that my brother and I would jump into.

The best part of the whole thing was when my mom and dad would buy us the jack-o-lantern leaf bags. We would fill them up and then sit them in the front yard as Halloween decorations.

Pumpkin carving was a staple too. My dad would really get into the carving and he would buy the biggest pumpkins and wow us with his skills. He always prepared the pumpkins for us by doing the big slicing and gutting. 

Most years we had handmade costumes. My grandmother was a skilled seamstress and made us all sorts of cool things. She would take me to Joann Fabrics and have me pick out what costume I wanted for the year. She even made costumes for my mom when she was little and some of them I ended up wearing.

Off the top of my head, I can remember a few costumes she made: a pink poodle skirt because I was obsessed with Grease, a Luke Skywalker costume for my brother, and a dual costume for my brother and I as Raggedy Anne and Andy. 

One year mom and dad even dressed up to go trick or treating with us. Dad put on a black hood cape and carried a real scythe and posed as the grim reaper. While my mom dressed up as Catwoman. My brother and I always liked trick or treat night to be a big show. We considered it to be a success if there were tons of kids walking through our neighborhood going door to door. Once we started getting older along with the other kids who lived around us the nostalgia started fading. It seemed like fewer children were knocking at the door.

I can still picture the decorations my mom put out every year. She made gravestones to put in the yard and posterboard ghosts to put in the window. My absolute favorite is her a collection of ceramic haunted houses and the little village on top of the piano. 

Adult Traditions

When I first moved out on my own I didn’t keep up with or start any fall traditions because I was a broke college graduate in a small apartment. The only thing I did was order pizza, drink and watch movies on Halloween.

 However, now that I am older, have a better paying job and have a bigger apartment I have slowly started traditions of my own. From baking to watching movies, almost every weekend in fall is booked. Below, I have listed all of the traditions I have now and the new ones I am adding this year.

Baking 

Every year I bake a pumpkin pie and apple pie (using my moms’ recipe). I absolutely love pumpkin with cool whip on top. Truly, I would eat the whole pie myself if I wouldn’t feel so guilty about it later.

 I like to bake right before Halloween when I first start craving these seasonal treats. Baking at this time also holds me over on the pie cravings until Thanksgiving. 

Home Decor Shopping & Decorating

Last year was the first year I went shopping for Halloween decor and boy did I splurge! I went again this year and picked up even more cool stuff. 

I end up decorating my house twice in the fall. Once for Halloween and then I take the Halloween stuff down and put out things that are more fall/Thanksgiving related. 

You can check back later in October to see my Halloween home tour and in November for my fall home tour.

Pumpkin Patch

Since my boyfriend and I started dating we have made it a habit to go to Trax Farm to get pumpkins, gourds, and apples. Trax is great because it also is a grocery store where you can get amazing apple cider, wine, produce, baked goods and more.

On weekends they have a fall festival that offers hayrides, a corn maze, and a chance to pick your pumpkins right off the vine.

Normally, I just grab pumpkins right out of the bins and skip the festival part but this year we are taking his nieces with us to pick out their own pumpkins and go on the hayride. 

Watching Movies

What would fall season be without watching a classic? My number 1 go-to movie during this time of year is Hocus Pocus. There’s so many other I enjoy watching as well and recently I started watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina again. 

New Traditions this Year

This year I am adding three traditions onto my long list!

A Fall Feast

The biggest tradition I am adding is having a Samhain/Halloween feast. If you are unfamiliar with Samhain it is a pagan festival that marked the end of the harvest and the descent into the dark half of the year. Many of our contemporary Halloween traditions derived from this ancient festival. 

The feast features seasonal foods and spices such as pumpkins, apples, root vegetables, allspice, and rosemary. 

I will have more to come on this as I am planning on writing a blog post about Samhain and the feast!

Passing Out Candy

Yes…really…5 years of living on my own and I have not once passed out candy. This year I am changing that! Passing out candy also provides an excuse to wear a costume because I never go to any Halloween parties.

Halloween Care Box

My nephew is two years old and have been waiting since he was born to send him cool Halloween stuff. 

Unfortunately, my nephew, brother, and sister in law live in North Carolina. So I won’t get to do all the fun traditional stuff with my nephew. Because of this, I decided to send a yearly care box instead.

This year I got him a book, coloring books, a mummy bowling game, and a Paw Patrol Halloween movie. 

Wow! What a list! I hope this gives you some ideas to add to your list to make your fall season even better! 

Let me know your traditions or if you are trying out any new ones in the comment section below!