Even if the weather where you live is still summer-like, the calendar is telling us that now is the time to transition into an autumn mindset. Use the fresh start of this new season to reset and plan. Make yourself an autumn bucket list and have the best fall ever!
Relishing pumpkin-spiced drinks, wearing plaid, and finding new places to display decorative gourds are important, but your autumn bucket list can be more than a catalog of happy fall activities. It’s a tool to help you be intentional about what is most valuable: the relationships in your life, the beauty around you, new experiences and familiar traditions. Read on for a few suggestions.
Play Pumpkin Fairy
This time of year, pumpkins and gourds are for sale at every turn. Take the opportunity to buy one for a neighbor, co-worker, or friend. It is a low-key and unexpected way to do something nice. Every time they see it on their porch or desk, the reminder will brighten their day.
Engage your Nose
Harness your sense of smell to send a signal of change to your brain. Make stove-top potpourri, buy a new candle, or use a fall essential oil blend around your home.
Visit an Apple Orchard
It is a festive outing, for sure, but there is something more to be gained from picking apples than great Instagram pictures. Most of us don’t have much of a connection to harvesting in our everyday lives. There’s something very special about picking your own food, and it’s a great opportunity to make memories with those close to you. Take advantage of this time of year and visit an orchard!
Host a Potluck
Don’t let the season pass without making time for the relationships that are important to you! Invite friends, neighbors, and/or family for a potluck dinner. Consider a pumpkin food theme or a flannel dress code. With everyone pitching in, the gathering doesn’t have to be a chore.
Cheers to Gratefulness
Buy some apple cider and be intentional about making a toast to the abundance in your life. You can do this alone or in a group, at a feast or just a Tuesday dinner of leftovers. Thankfulness is worth cultivating.
Be Practical, and Check in on Your Home
Take some time to change your furnace air filters and schedule a furnace check to avoid the inconvenience of meeting the first cold snap of the season with no heat. Also, think back and if you cannot remember the last time you changed the batteries in your smoke alarm do it today. Start the process of getting your home ready for winter. Once the leaves have fallen, take some time to clean your gutters or schedule someone to do it for you. Come spring, you will be so glad you did.
Decorate Pumpkins
This is a classic autumn bucket list activity that needs little explanation. If you’re looking to do something different, a quick internet search will give you plenty of ways to carve or decorate pumpkins. Any effort you expend is worth it. Let your creativity shine!
Get Lost
Make plans with your most entertaining friends to meet at a corn maze. There is not a clear explanation why wandering around in a corn field generates hilarity, but it does. It always does.
Make Apple Butter
Now that you have harvested your crop of apples, turn some of them into apple butter. This is the easiest of recipes and nearly impossible to mess up. If you haven’t tried it yet, homemade apple butter will elevate your oatmeal, yogurt, toast, or bagel to new heights of enjoyment!
Display an Autumn Memento
Go into your photo archives and find a picture from a past fall that makes you smile. Don’t worry about composition or if it meets the standards for a technically impressive photograph. If the picture brings you a happy feeling, it doesn’t matter if the subjects are squinting or out-of-focus. Print it out and put it somewhere you will see it all season long.
What else will you be adding to your Autumn bucket list? Leave a comment and let us know!
Nothing says “autumn” quite like a toasty beverage — check out this list of fall cocktails for more festive fall fun!
