Five Easy Ways to Celebrate the Fall Equinox
Whether you call it Fall or Autumn, this season of the year is spectacular. The days are still warm-ish while the nights and mornings are cool. Kitchens across the northern hemisphere are filled with the delicious aroma of spices like cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. All spices that warming and get your circulation going. Though I am a winter baby, I have an extreme love of autumn, watching the leaves change each year is endlessly thrilling to me. Each year I collect leaves even though I have plenty dried ones already.
Every Autumn since my daughters were old enough to walk I have celebrated the coming of autumn. We bake with foods that are in season, read books about fall, and take walks. I thought I would compile a few of my favorite activities and books.
5 Easy Ways to Celebrate Fall
Get outside whatever the weather! Rain or shine, feel what the day has to offer. Go out at different times of the day as well. Morning feels very different compared to 2 pm or sunset.
Collect Nature things and bring them inside. This is defiently a kid favorite. However, I know some very sofisicated adults who also love collecting bits of nature (puts her hand up). Bring in dried acorns, lichens, mushrooms, beautiful colored leaves to be pressed. We always make a nature table. (You can see one our versions from many years ago here on the Sparkle Stories Blog)
Bake something with warming spices. This could be as simple as carrot walnut muffins or more complicated like a spiced apple cake.
Visit your local you-pick orchard. This is definitely high on our list. All though we don’t necessarily make it there on the Equinox, but close to it. Picking apples to preserve is absolutely one of the funnest actives our family does together. There is really no comparison to eating an apple right off the tree when the weather is cool and crisp.
Read fall books! This is mainly for families with small kids. But there are some books I have that I still read every year to myself or on the rare occasion my girls feel nostalgic, they’ll ask me to read them out loud.
Woody, Hazel and Little Pip by Elsa Beskow
Christopher’s Harvest Time by Elsa Beskow
Tales of the Mushroom Folk by
Hard Scrabble Harvest by Dahlov Ipcar
The Ox Cart Man byDonald Hall
Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor
We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season by Wendy Pfeffer
Bonus Tips:
If leaves have started to fall, rake them up and start jumping in them! Yes, adults too!
Make a warm drink! Like my DIY spiced tea blend
Do you celebrate the fall equinox? If so what do you do? I love to know. If you are interested in my spiced apple cake recipe. Let me know. I will gladly write it up for you all.
