Fall Family Traditions

Fall is definitely here.

The leaves are changing (and falling), the weather has turned crisp and cool, and pumpkin everything has invaded nearly every facet of our lives.  I love fall.  It’s such a beautiful time of year, and there is so much family fun to be had, from pumpkin patches to hayrides to Halloween parties.  It also just so happens that my son was born in fall, making the season that much sweeter.

When people think of family traditions, they almost always immediately think of Christmas.  But in our house, it’s all about fall.  Every year in late September/early October, I pull out all our fall decorations.  I consider myself fairly crafty (or at least, I try to be), so many of our decorations are things I made; our straw wreath for the front door, our mantle decorations, decorated indoor foam pumpkins.  We also start getting our Halloween decorations ready- the pumpkin lights to hang on the porch, the tombstones for the front yard, and of course our jack-o-lanterns.

I love these rituals that we’ve developed over the years. And while my husband loves how the house looks when it’s all decked out for fall, his favorite thing about this time of year are the pumpkin cupcakes I whip up for us (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe I found years ago).  It isn’t really fall in our house without these moist, delicious cupcakes topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.  This special treat only makes its appearance this time of year, giving us yet another fantastic reason to revel in this season.  Want the recipe? I’ve shared it below.

What do you love about fall? Are there any traditions your family has during this time of year?