6 Cozy Fall Activities to Embrace Autumn’s Magic

It’s that time; it’s time to get cozy. Fall is one of my top four seasons; well, it’s actually tied with winter. Any season that has hot, piping drinks and sweaters is the best in my book. But there is something about when you welcome autumn: there is that crispness in the air, the cravings for classics like a slice of warm apple pie, and that irresistible urge to nest, but scheduled in with Fall-fueled escapes and outings.

My original checklist had over ten things, but that puts way too much pressure on the shoulders of the season, so I pared it down to a far more reasonable six, because one thing we don’t need on the list is stress.

Can you tackle all six?

Image via Disney+

Watch Over the Garden Wall

If the feeling of Fall could be distilled into a cider-tinged elixir but in TV show form, that concoction would be Over the Garden Wall. Patrick McHale’s epic has become required Fall viewing since its debut in 2014. It’s currently streaming on Disney+. I’d also highly recommend seeing The Blasting Company perform the show’s beautiful soundtrack during their tour this October and November, check out dates here.

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Image via Lively Ghosts

Decorate for Halloween

It’s time to pull out the pumpkins, skulls, and earthy hues. You can go all out or add a couple subtle touches, but no matter how much effort you put in, the reward of that seasonal hit of dopamine is worth it. Personally, I have my eyes on one of these pumpkin picnic baskets, which I envision using as a catch-all by the front door.

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Image via Amazon

Bake Something

Baking up a yummy treat  – either sweet or savory – is one of the biggest joys of the season. It really is the  time for comfort food, especially in treat form. While there are oodles of recipes to pull out for autumn, we’re looking forward to trying Bourbon Blueberry French Toast Casserole from Shay Spence’s BRAND NEW cookbook – Meals You Can’t Mess Up that you can order right here.

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

There is something so quintessentially Fall about a pumpkin patch; I don’t feel as if I’ve done the season right if I haven’t visited one, and for me, one in particular.  Seeing that we are a short drive from Half Moon Bay – which is known as the pumpkin capital of the world – we make the pilgrimage to Arata’s Pumpkin Farms every October. They have a haunted house, tractor rides, a huge hay bale maze, and a variety of stately sculptures; our fav is their imposing metal Minotaur. If you time it right, you might run into a strolling Minotaur handing out gold mini pumpkins in the maze.

Image via Discover New England

Go Leaf Peeping

If you live in one of those areas known for the changing of the leaves, you’re in luck. But the rest of us, if we really want that quintessential autumnal experience, have to travel. The classic destination for leaf peeping is New England, which means those of us who love Widow’s Bay (which was shot in Rockport and Gloucester among other towns) can get a two-for-one vacation visit while also seeing all those glorious colors of the season. And hey, if you throw in Salem and Sleepy Hallow, you’ll have an unforgettable Fall adventure!

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Read a Book

There is nothing nicer than getting cozy on an autumn day (or evening) and settling into a good book. Our current read is Joe Rohde’s Floating Mountains. When we need a break from the heady thoughts in Rohde’s pages, we will be flipping through The Art of Gravity Falls; nothing says Fall more than

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