With Young Adult Children!

As your kids grow up, they’re a little less interested in dressing up for Halloween (unless they’re going to a fun party). You can still celebrate the holiday, for sure, but at our house these days it’s more about Autumn itself. We live in the northeast, and the trees this time of year are gorgeous and the temperature is steadily falling, inspiring us to create a cozy home, warming meals and fun family times. If your children are in high school or visiting from college/out of town, try some of these activities to create an inviting fall home and special times with your kids!

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Pumpkins! This was always a tradition for us, since we’re right in the middle of farms and orchards. Find a pumpkin patch near you! At our place, you can take a wagon ride to pick out your pumpkins. Pick up some corn husks and chrysanthemums too if they have them- you’ll need them for decorating later!

Carving pumpkins is something you have to do, right? When they were little my kids did pretty simple designs, like the triangles for eyes and noses, and crooked mouths. But when they got older they got SUPER creative. They found patterns like these and spent a lot of time on them! They actually look 3-dimensional!

Make sure to roast your pumpkin seeds- just wash and dry them well, put on a sheet pan and sprinkle with a little salt (or other seasonings- thinking garlic salt or cinnamon?), and roast at 400 degrees for like 15 minutes. So good, healthy and crunchy!

Home Decorating. We love the house to look and feel like autumn as the weather gets cooler, and the girls always help me get it together. A fun activity when they’re small is to go for walks and have them collect lots of varieties of colored leaves. When we did this, we made them into a simple but very festive centerpiece for the table. Cut out and color leaves from construction paper for the same effect, if you don’t have leaves around.

I’m a big candle person for ambiance and aroma year-round. But this time of year, you can get sets of candles specific to fall scents like pumpkin, apple and cinnamon. These make your house smell warm and cozy.

And if you store your holiday decorations, it’s time to pull out your Fall stuff like decorative pumpkins and maybe Indian corn. We store special cups and plates for different holidays and seasons, and the girls always loved pulling out these scary glasses to prep for Halloween!

So fun! 

Movies. We love some good movie nights when it gets darker earlier in the Fall. We don’t like super scary horror movies (but if you do…go for it); more family friendly ones are our speed. Think Harry Potter (all of them), Twilight, Interview with a Vampire, Gremlins, Hocus Pocus, Scooby Doo, Malificent. Some popcorn and hot chocolate goes great with this.  Get these on Prime Video!

Football! I’m an alumna of one of the biggest football universities around- Penn State! So the weekends in the Fall are pretty much full of football, whether college or the NFL (go Birds!). With my daughter still at University Park, we try to make it to at least one PSU game, like we did a few weekends ago. You can’t beat the excitement of Beaver Stadium in State College!

At home, we still make a celebration out of the games, of course keeping everything in the theme. Football-shaped chips for our dips? Yes please! And check out this serving tray!

Fall flavors. Apples are a staple ingredient for fall goodies. Orchards are another thing we’re thankful to have close by us, hopefully you can find one too. Pick up some apples and cider for sure.
Coffee. Do you and/or your daughters love coffee? We do! Obviously pumpkin spice is the traditional seasonal flavor, and creamers are plentiful this time of year. But also think about coffee syrups like they use in coffee shops. I just got a bottle in zero sugar cinnamon dolce. It’s delicious with no calories. You can make an iced (or hot) latte just like you get at a coffee shop, and MUCH cheaper. A couple shots of espresso, your choice of milk, and a few tsps of syrup. Delicious.

Some seasonal dishes we make include:

• Apple slices with caramel dip
• Apple and raisin muffins
• Pumpkin or banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts
• Spiced cider and wine (this makes the house smell fabulous). Get a jar of cinnamon sticks to serve in your mugs. They sell mulling spices specifically for this, to make it so easy!
• SOUPS! It’s time to start pulling out your favorite soup recipes (chili for a football game for sure). Check out my upcoming blog on the best Fall soups!

When they’re away, send them something that reminds them of home to celebrate Autumn and Halloween. I picked up a packet of these cute cards at the drugstore, and sent one to each girl with a gift card to Starbucks or Dunkin.

If sending a package yourself or directly from somewhere like Amazon, browse for some Halloween themed treats to send and brighten their day. Snack cakes are great- they travel and store well, come in all sorts of Fall flavors and are delicious! And hello, my daughters’ favorite- Oreos! Have you seen these cheese puffs in the shapes of skeleton bones? I thought this was hilarious, and included these in one of my special packages recently. Decorations for their dorm room or apartment are fun too- girls love to decorate their spaces!

How do you celebrate Autumn and Halloween with your adult children? Drop me a comment and let me know. Happy Halloween!!