SHESPEAKS Your Power to Influence

Fall is my favorite season. I think it's the refreshing weather, the colorful leaves, the sense of a new beginning with school starting...

Every season has great opportunities to create family traditions, and fall has wonderful choices. Here's a few:

1. Apple picking! You can't help but notice the variety of apples in the produce aisle at this time of year. You'll be in for a real treat if you go to the orchard and pick your own apples. Not only is wandering through rows of boughs laden with fruit delightful, but orchards are also usually busy developing their own special varieties of apples. The local orchard near us just had a test run of "Snow Sweet" apples - a blend between a Gala and a Honey crisp. They only had a few trees, and this apple sold out quickly. So it's always a tasty surprise when you hand-pick your own apples. Apple picking generally runs from September to November, with new varieties ripening about every week or two.
2. Leaf-peeping! Depending on the part of the country you're from, you'll see a myriad of color changes right about... now! Most areas of the country have a color change season where a rainbow of reds, yellows, oranges ripple through the trees. It's all very beautiful and worth taking a drive down a windy road or a hike along a trail or river to enjoy. Look up top leaf-peeping states and cities near you for the best drives and hikes!
3. Baking! When the weather gets too chill, or the dark falls too quickly, head indoors for some cozy and delicious-smelling fun! Great flavors of fall include caramel, butterscotch, oats, and pumpkin. Try pumpkindoodle (a variation of Snickerdoodle) or other combinations of your favorite cookie recipes. It's fun for kids to have certain recipes that signal the start of a new season.
4. Get outdoors! That's right, most people will spend the winter months huddled inside, so take advantage of the cool air to hike, bike, even fly kites. That's right, most people think of kite-flying in the spring, yet fall weather often brings great winds for kite-flying!
5. Host a feast! The cool evenings are perfect for an outdoor BBQ with a fire, good music, and family and friends from all over. Local farms are brimming with the last of summer crops and the first of winter vegetables, so cook up a big stew, put on a crock pot of hot cocoa, and sharpen some sticks for marshmallow roasting. Creating an annual picnic will be a memorable and much-anticipated event by your kids (and friends!).

Creating traditions for your family each season gives a heightened sense of anticipation and excitement. Parents might enjoy trying one or all five with their children. These are also great ideas for grandparents to share a special autumn day with their grandkids too!

What kinds of fall traditions do you have?