My Perfect Fall Bucket List

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Fall (or Autumn, as some may call it) is my favorite season ever. I just don’t know what it is about it that I love exactly. There are so many reasons that I have waxed on and on about it here on this very blog: the cooler weather, the falling leaves, the crispness in the air, the red/orange/yellow aesthetic, and HALLOWEEN. It’s just a wonderful season where you finally get to get your long sleeved outfits out of the closet and wear your cardigans, flannels, and sweaters, along with some cute boots. (Did I also mention that the fashion is fabulous as well?) Everything just seems so comfy and cozy and for that reason you just want to revel in the deliciousness and loveliness that is fall.

But unfortunately, this lovely year of 2020 has kind of put a damper on going out and actually celebrating this wonderful time of year. Yes, we can celebrate from home, like we’re supposed to (stay home, people!), but there are just some activities that you want to go out and do in the fall, to really feel like you’re celebrating and being a part of this season. So while I would like to go out and take a break from watching horror movies (which I love doing), I will just have to settle for making a list of things I would love to do, if I were allowed to go out and about and celebrate the season like it’s not 2020. Here is my perfect Fall/Autumn Bucket list. (And here’s hoping I can actually tick more than a few off of this list in 2021!)

Have you read my post where I did the Hallotober tag? It was so much fun to do and very fall/autumn! You can read it here! 

My Perfect Fall/Autumn Bucket List

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Now, it’s been a few years since I’ve been to an actual pumpkin patch. Usually when I want to buy a pumpkin to carve and decorate, I just get it from the store (I have a feeling they don’t naturally grow in my local supermarkets storefront. You know, in those giant cardboard boxes). Because there aren’t a lot of pumpkin patches near me (those ones in empty lots on the corners of intersections that pop up around Halloween don’t count!). But I would love to visit an actual pumpkin patch (or at least a nursery masquerading as a pumpkin patch. As long as they have scarecrows, pumpkins on the ground, and hay bales, I’ll probably be fooled!) and pick my own pumpkin and just get that autumn aesthetic I keep seeing on Instagram. How dare some people live near pumpkin patches and actually have the access to take cute pictures of themselves there! The audacity!

Go Apple Picking

Did you know that I have never gone apple picking before? It’s a fall activity right up there with going to a pumpkin patch! I love apples and I think it’s so cool that you can actually go out to an actual orchard and pick your own apples. Think of all the things you can do with fresh apples! (Besides eat them plain!) You could make them into cider (very fall), or an apple pie (so autumn), or any other sweets and treats! Apples just go so well with fall and it’s one activity I really want to check off of my fall bucket list one day! Now, to actually find an apple orchard near me...that may be a problem...

Photo by Natalie Grainger on Unsplash

Throw a Halloween Party

I’ve had Halloween parties in the past and have attended them as well, but obviously this year you can’t really throw a big Halloween rager like I want to (not that I throw ragers. My Halloween parties are very demure- but fun!). But in the future, I’d love to throw a fun Halloween shindig, where everyone dresses up (or not. You know someone is going to be lazy and show up in a lackluster Halloween costume. They get the laziest costume award!), serve fun Halloween themed food, snacks, and drinks, and have fun Halloween activities (I don’t know what that entails in an adult Halloween party but I’m assuming part of it is consuming a decent amount of Halloween themed booze. But I’d be happy with a silly game or two!). There’s nothing like seeing your friends in costume (some go all out! I personally would go for something punny and clever) and all hanging out to celebrate a fun holiday. Plus, you get some pretty epic pictures of everyone together!

Halloween Cookie/Treat Baking/Decorating

Now, this one you can do from home and this one I have done from home this year- several times! So far I’ve only made a few treats (Halloween bark, Halloween rice Krispy treats with Oreos, and one ill-fated attempt to make cinnamon rolls look like pumpkins. They did not look at all like pumpkins, but they did taste delicious, so that was something!) this spooky season, but with only a few days left until Halloween, I’m sure I can squeeze in another treat or two before the big day arrives. Candy and sweets are such a big part of Halloween, and now that I’m too old (sob) to trick or treat, making and eating delicious sweets is the only way I can really celebrate that aspect of the holiday! (And boy, do I!)

Go Somewhere Where They Are Red, Yellow, and Brown Leaves

I may have mentioned this a few times (or many times. I’ve lost count), but I live in the desert. So, we don’t exactly have a lot of trees that change color in the fall. In fact, those trees that actually change color are not native here, and it doesn’t get really cool enough for the ones here to change color until December or January! But up north in my state, we do actually have trees that change colors (because it’s colder up north and they actually have weather, like snow and stuff) and one day I’d love to go for a drive up north with some friends and just go look at those trees (and smell them. You know that smell of falling leaves in the fall!), take some pictures, and possibly let my inner child out and make a big pile of leaves and fall into them. And then throw them up in the air so it’s like it’s raining leaves. Sigh. I’m such a desert kid.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Visit A Haunted House Attraction

I know a lot of people don’t like being scared (which I really don’t understand, but you do you), but there’s just something about going through a haunted house, either homemade or high budget, like Universal Horror Nights or Knotts Scary Farm (either of which I’d love to attend one day!) that is so thrilling and fun. Maybe because I like all things spooky and being scared, or it’s the high you get after someone scares you and you scream and then laugh, while clutching your friend (or group of friends, which you always stay in a some sort of huddle- for safety- as you go slowly through the haunted house until you all start running after you hear a chainsaw near you), but there’s just something so exhilarating about pretending there is a crazed maniac and/or demons/ghosts after you that really gets you in a the fall mood. Is it just me? Probably just me. That’s okay!

Visit (and Master) A Corn/Hay Maze

I don’t know what it is about mazes, but I love 'em. I literally drool over those beautiful pictures of hedge mazes that those fancy estates in England have. There’s just something very mysterious and beautiful about getting lost in a maze and trying to find your way out. But the best part of corn or hay mazes is that they just symbolize autumn so well (Corn I get, obviously, but why hay? Isn’t hay an all year round thing?) and the fact that you can make them into a maze? So cool! Thumbs up if they are creepy (or I’ll settle for friendly and fun. Sigh) scarecrows scattered throughout. I don’t know, I’ve never been to a corn or hay maze before! I guess I’d just be happy with some hot chocolate and a picture opportunity afterwards. (If we can make it out! Mwah ha ha!)

Have a Scary Movie Marathon

I may do this one all year round (I love me some scary movies!), but there’s just something so much more special about watching horror movies at this time of year. The slight chill in the air, the upcoming spirit of Halloween casting a spooky but delightful cloud over our head, that makes watching horror movies together a much more fun experience. It’s almost like a shared experience, especially in a movie theater, to see a new horror movie together. It’s the best to hear the audience (or your friends) cry out or jump at the exact same time, or have that one person who is running commentary and stating, “do not go in there! Ugh, I told them…” I have so many fond memories of watching horror movies with friends at home and at the theater, and sometimes the best is right after the movie when everyone is discussing the scariest parts as our hearts start to slow down, and then someone has to use the bathroom. Uh oh... They’re going to need a pee buddy, just in case. (And also check behind the shower curtain if you’re using the bathroom at home after a horror movie. Because you just never know…)

Looking for some scary movies to watch this Halloween? Well, then do I have the list for you! Here are some of my favorite horror movies that I highly recommend and you can check it out here!

Have a Bonfire Night With Friends

As cozy as bonfires are, they can also be a bit problematic. Again, I live in the desert, and any fire can turn into a wildfire if you’re not careful. But if I had a bonfire, I would be extremely careful (aka putting someone else who knows what they’re doing in charge!) and invite friends over to roast marshmallows, catch up, and tell scary stories while we’re all bundled up in sweaters and cozy, warm blankets underneath the stars. Can’t you just smell that delicious smoke in the cold air just thinking about it?

Go to a Fair/State Fairs

Like most things this year, fun things that involve groups of people were cancelled. And one of the things I’ve always wanted to go to and have only gone to once, has been shut down. For now. Fairs have always seemed like a summer activity to me, until I went to the state fair years ago in September, and it just seemed like the perfect way to kick off the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. There was so much to see and do (from rides, games, horrifying deep fried things to eat, to farm animals on display that I desperately wanted to free, but held myself back from doing that) that I could have stayed there all day! I hope when it’s safe to do so, I can go back and live out my fair dreams and be aghast at the fact that Kool-aid pickles are an actual thing. I mean....how. And why? (Cause ‘merica!)

Visit An Actual Haunted Location

I know, I know. I’m a crazy lady. Who would actually want to visit a place that could in fact be actually haunted by a spirit or maybe two? This girl! I don’t know if I’m a believer in the supernatural, but I’ve always been fascinated by it and honestly wish that I’ve had a spooky experience (think of what a fun blog post that would make!). So I hope that when it’s safe to travel again, I can go visit a haunted hotel near-ish me and stay the night and see if I find anything. I actually do have a pretty long list of haunted locations I’d love to visit one day, and there’s one in my state that’s pretty famous that I really want to stay at. Again, am I nuts? Maybe, but just think of the thrills and chills and the possible sightings or spirits I may encounter. Or not. It would be a fun and spooky adventure that I’m dying (pun totally intended) to go on! (Pray for me that nothing follows me home, just in case. You never know!)

Have you read my about my not so ghostly misadventures when I went to the Winchester Mystery House? If not, you can read it here! It's the perfect spooky blog post to read around Halloween!

Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash

And that was my perfect fall bucket list! I was able to cross off a couple this year, but that virus has certainly put a damper on 2020, hasn’t it? I hope in 2021 I’ll be able to check a few off of my bucket list and have a great and memorable fall! What are some of your favorite go to autumn activities? Do you do any of the things on my list, or do you do something else? Let me know in the comments and let me know if you suggest something else to add to my list! Also, what do you call this wonderful season: Fall or Autumn? Let me know!

And since it’s in a few days, Happy Halloween, everyone! I know it may be a bit different this year, but I hope you all can have some fun and celebrate, while still staying safe! It’s actually even better that you’re staying at home this Halloween, so all the ghosts and ghoulies can find you and haunt you. You’re welcome for putting that thought in your head! Have fun trying to sleep that night! (I know, I’m terrible. You’re welcome)

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