We are officially in the full swing of things at our home. The relaxing days of summer (and maternity leave) are long behind us. It seems like every day the calendar has something on it, especially the weekends. Between soccer, homework, and bedtimes there is never a moment to pause at our home. We always have so much fun during this time of year. October baseball, days at the farm and get-together’s with family and friends fill up our days.
There are some fall traditions I wanted to share with everyone. One of my favorites is our Halloween card. Every year Vinny and now Cece get a new pair of skeleton Halloween pajamas. We take pictures in them and send out Halloween cards with the picture. Who says cards are just for Christmas!? I think its a fun way to spread some fall cheer. I usually use Walmart photo to print out my Halloween cards. It is a cheaper alternative to Shutterfly. I splurge on my Christmas cards and use Shutterfly but for Halloween I want a reasonable option. Plus, Walmart does have a ton of really cute designs.
Another fall tradition we started this year is a Halloween craft night. The idea came about when we had a party at our home and all the kids got out the craft stuff and went crazy. My kitchen was full of glitter, glue, Popsicle sticks and puff balls. They had so much fun, that my sister and I thought why not have a craft party?! We have a big barn so we set up tables and crafts for the kids to do out there. We had wood ornaments to paint, glitter glue, pumpkin books to color, and stickers. For the adults, I made an apple sangria which was amazing and super simple to make. It was such a great time, I will definitely continue this tradition in the future. It’s always nice to get everyone together, especially before the craziness of the holidays sets in and people are less available.
some of my favorite photographs from Ramseyer Farms
Every year since Vinny was born we go to Ramseyer Farms. If you’re in the Northeast Ohio area you should definitely check this place out. They have expanded so much over the years and they have a ton of different activities for the kids to do. Vinny’s favorite this year was the tire obstacle course/playground. They also have corn boxes, think sand pit but with corn kernels. There are slides, hay rides, corn mazes, different farm animals, trampolines, and so many other activities. They also have the famous Lerch’s Donuts. I never leave without first getting a pumpkin doughnut. Another thing that totally impressed me this year about Ramseyer farms, is their newest addition of a “baby barn” a.k.a a place other than a restroom to nurse and change your baby. It saved me from a trip back to the car to nurse and was super convenient.
“Boo at the Zoo” and “Scare on the Square” are a couple of other local activities we do. We love to dress up, so we take every opportunity to put our costumes on. Some of my favorite costumes have been Disney’s Toy Story and Monster’s Inc. I usually try and coordinate my costume with my son’s. It gets harder every year because he doesn’t always want to be something that goes with Mommy. Luckily, this year I will have Cece to match with. Yay!!
Lastly, I have to share my absolute favorite fall tradition. Pumpkin cookies!! Every year I get so many requests for my pumpkin cookies. As soon as I start seeing canned pumpkin on the grocery store shelves, I know that means it’s officially pumpkin cookies season. I found the original recipe here but I put my own little twist on it over the years. Comment below if you try out my recipe.
I think traditions are so important for families. It’s something kids will remember and take with them to their adulthood. It builds such a strong family foundation. What are some of your favorite fall traditions?
