Falling into Autumn: Creating Lasting Family Traditions
Today officially marks the first day of autumn: time to plan some family fun!
As summer’s lazy days slip quietly away, autumn arrives with some of the year’s most enjoyable activities. There’s just something magical about green leaves turning, and fall harvests ripening into delicious family meals. Apple picking replaces pool days and we zip up our favorite boots for shorter evenings filled with crackling fire pits and sugary sweet s’mores.
Autumn is a particularly enchanted season for children.
Leaf hikes, corn mazes, fall festivals, hay rides, haunted houses, and family gatherings all abound. Scarecrows come out, pumpkins find their faces, and crickets serenade the stars. At six, my daughter still loves “cricket hunts”, channeling her best Sherlock Holmes to discover a camouflaged cricket, chirping away. Traditionally, the autumn season was spent preparing for the winter; as we largely moved away from an agrarian society, we kept the best parts: the celebration of hard work. We kept the farm festivals complete with warming apple cider and homemade pies. We kept the simple fun of finding our way through corn mazes or creating a scarecrow from worn out clothes. We carve pumpkins now for the sheer joy of it rather than to ward off evil spirits.
Autumn is all about unplugging and simply enjoying.
Whether it’s the crisp air, backyard campfires, or autumnal food, this season is full of fun and celebration: perfect for creating special family traditions. And while our kids often forget so many of the things we do for them, they remember the times we spend together, cell phones off and actively engaged.
Need a few ideas of how to make the best of fall? These are some of my favorite:
Apple Picking
Many orchards train their apple branches horizontally, making apples reachable for toddlers and older children. While the fresh apples are delicious as snacks or baked as dessert, I love cutting, peeling, and transforming them into crockpot applesauce. We enjoy the applesauce by itself and with oatmeal.
Leaf Rubbing
There’s just something about capturing a leaf through a colorful rubbing. Collect a variety of leaves and have fun! Rub them one at a time or arrange the leaves creatively into a robot, house, deer, or whatever your little one can imagine. Frame the result!
Camping
There’s nothing like a good campfire. Telling stories, playing flashlight tag, and enjoying the stars is good evening. Whether you pitch a tent at an official site, or just enjoy the outdoors in your backyard, consider getting out there while the cooler nights are perfect for s’mores and sleeping bags.
Critter Centers
Suburban animals often have a harder time surviving the winter, so setting up a wildlife center can be great! We host birdfeeders, water, corn (to bribe squirrels away from the birdseed), and suet cakes. We also collect acorns while walking for the chipmunks, and leave them in a pile. And while we bag most of the leaves, we leave a sizable pile in the back corner for salamanders and toads to find insulation under during the coldest days.
Harvest Festivals
Hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin patches and family entertainment awaits at your local farm. Harvest festivals are full of simple, old-fashioned fun. You may find acorn tosses or tea-making stations among the scarecrow stuffing and pumpkin decorating. Winter is a lean season for farms and harvest festivals offset this supporting farms through the winter months!
Cul-de-Sac Celebration
Halloween night’s constant doorbell ringing can quickly get old. Our street solved this problem by gathering at the cul-de-sac. Everyone places a “Candy at the Cul-de-Sac” sign on the door, and hauls candy, adult beverages, food to share, camping chairs, and good conversation a few doors down. Candy bowls grace a long table, fire pits crackle, and a pot luck awaits. Kids trick or treat around the table while parents enjoy a drink before continuing onward. Parents with young children trick or treat and return, letting the sugar high wear off as neighborhood kids play and the adults relax until bedtime!
Thankful Jar
During November, each day we write down something we’re thankful for. Then, during Thanksgiving, we read what we’re thankful for, counting our many blessings.
Adopt-a-Family
For many families, Thanksgiving dinners can be an expensive affair. Each year we adopt a local family and provide a complete dinner, along with a few extras. Many local organizations including churches and non-profits organize programs along these lines.
Friendsgiving
Thanksgiving celebrates the end of autumn. And while our family is blessed to have family living close, several friends have no family due to tragedy, distance, or choice. We host a Friendsgiving every year on Thanksgiving welcoming family and friends to our home to celebrate.
Autumn is a season where life slows down. Put on those favorite jeans, savor a spicy drink, and revel in it all. So whether you bake a pumpkin pie or buy one, just remember to enjoy it!
After surviving ten years as a high school English teacher, Kathryn opted to create imaginary worlds and spend her days hunting for ladybugs with her daughter. She has written for ChildGood and Babies and Breastfeeding magazines as well as various sites around the web.
