Are you the type of person who clings to the last drop of summer even past its expiration date or do you swiftly switch from sandals to boots, sundresses to sweaters, and popsicles to pumpkin spice lattes the day after Labor Day without fail?
Whether you embrace the changing of the seasons or have to be dragged into fall kicking and screaming, we’ve got all the inspiration you need to make this autumn one to remember. Here are 10 ways to find inspiration around you this fall!
1. Get In Touch With Your Creative Side
Sign up for an art or cooking class, try your hand at knitting, or load up on metallic and fall-hued paint colors and get artsy painting gourds and pumpkins for decorative use in and outside your home.
To save money and reduce household toxins, while still enjoying all the cozy fragrances of fall, make your own scented candles and soaps—it’s easier than you think! Think scents of cinnamon, sage, cardamom, pine, vanilla, and spiced pumpkin, of course!
2. Spend Time In The Crisp Fall Air
Throw on your best flannel shirt and head outside to do something oh-so-quintessentially fall. Get lost in a corn maze, visit a pumpkin patch, go apple picking or cranberry harvesting, go on a hayride, take a fall foliage hike in a national park, attend a football game, try tailgating, find a fall festival near you, or visit a farmers’ market and bring back your fall haul to pickle and preserve!
3. Have Fun With DIY Decor
Turn your home into a harvest-time haven and adorn your door, entryway, dining room, and table with the bounty of fall. Stack your outside steps with pumpkins, gourds, pinecones, and rustic lanterns, make an autumn wreath for your front door with faux flowers, leaves, thick plaid-print ribbons, and mini gourds, and create a similar-style centerpiece for your dining table and stuff vases with dried pampas and sheaves of wheat for a final touch of fall flair.
4. Host A Dinner Party
Lean into fall with a seasonally-themed dinner party. Host a meal that calls on all the flavors of the season – root vegetables, squash, brown butter and sage, mushrooms, pears, apples – and create a signature fall cocktail or make a pot of mulled wine.
If you fancy more of a theme, consider a murder mystery night, a “friendsgiving,” or do it on the cheap with a potluck where everyone brings a dish with a seasonal star ingredient. Cap the evening off with a backyard fire and roast s’mores for dessert.
5. Plan A Fall Getaway
Who says summer deserves all the glory of the coveted weekend getaway? Book a stay at a bed and breakfast, take a scenic train ride, rent a boat for an afternoon, go horseback riding, rent a cabin, visit a winery, go antiquing, or squeeze in one last camping trip. For a little extra inspiration, here are 5 easy ways to simplify your camping trip.
6. Host A Cook-Off
Calling all cooking show aficionados! Gather your cooking connoisseur friends and host a sweet or savory smackdown. Choose a theme—think pies, chili, soups, or lasagna—and have all invitees bring their best dish for a delectable evening of tasting and competing for the cook-off crown.
7. Run A Fall 5K Or A Mud Run
After all the delicious comfort foods of fall, you’ll want to sprinkle in some much-needed movement—and what better way to do it than in the great outdoors against a gorgeous fall backdrop? Grab a pal and register for a fall 5K or an outdoor race like an obstacle course or mud run. Find one near you here.
8. Cozy Up For A Movie Marathon
Pop the popcorn and grab the blankets for a fall movie marathon extravaganza. Pick a theme—horror, comedy, or action—and settle in for a night of entertainment. Take it one step further and rent a projector for a true cinematic event.
9. Visit An Amusement Park
Now that the crowds have dwindled and the price of admission has dropped, it’s the perfect time to plan a day at a theme park and scream your head off riding roller coasters for a day. Take advantage of “value season” and pick a park near you—here are the 25 best parks in the US.
10. Start A Book Club
The cozy season is the perfect time to corral a group of bookworms and kick off a book club. Start by pulling together a group of like-minded readers, settle on a cadence for finishing each carefully chosen read, and meet up to discuss each book over trays of charcuterie. Set up a private group chat to keep the club’s momentum going and easily share details for the club’s scheduled meet-ups.
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