Now that fall is officially here (although you wouldn’t know it from the weather we had this past weekend!), it’s a great time to celebrate the arrival of a new season. There are a number of creative ways you can do it, so let your imagination run wild. We found ways to incorporate music, art, cooking, and crafts into any celebration. Share with us your ideas to celebrate fall!
Music
Is there a song that automatically conjures up fall images for you? The Mamas and the Papas “California Dreamin,” which begins, “All the leaves are brown / and the sky is gray,” came to mind for us, but that’s a little depressing! So we went in search of happier tunes and found a great list on NME’s (New Musical Express, a British weekly music journalism publication) web site. Our favorites from the list include Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September,” Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” and Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” And for the little ones, we happened upon this fun little ditty on YouTube, which had visuals we really enjoyed: “That’s How a Pumpkin Grows” by Brian Vogan.
Art
Just as music can bring about autumn feelings and memories, art can transport us into fall with images that evoke the sounds, smells, and feelings of fall: The crunch of leaves under our feet, the heady smell of decaying vegetation, and the crisp, chilly air. The Guardian, one of the best-known British daily newspapers, lists their favorite fall art pieces in the article entitled “From Monet to Constable: famous paintings of autumn - in pictures.” We also found a few works that, while they may not be the work of the classic Masters, bring fall to us in beautiful ways…
FALL MARATHON by Leonid Afremov
CENTRAL PARK IN THE FALL BY Thomas Kinkade
2011 FALL BIRCHES by Anonymous
Crafts
If you have a free week, you can search all over Pinterest for literally thousands of great fall craft ideas. We also like the web site from DLTK, which has a more manageable list of 10 easy autumn crafts. We especially like the Autumn Tree Craft and the Autumn Squirrel Wreath.
Food
We saved the best for last! We all love to eat, and fall brings along with it an exciting variety of flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon, and squash.
We got a real kick out of this Fall Scene Plate, which seems to combine food and art! And these Fallen Leaves Cookies are too adorable to forget. The web site Milk and Cuddles gives us delightful recipes for Candy Corn Cupcakes and Orange Pumpkins, too.
To make use of everyone’s favorite fall vegetable, the pumpkin, MOMables.com has a list of “25 Awesome Pumpkin Recipe Ideas.” We agree that they all sound pretty awesome, but we especially like the Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix (originally from the countrychiccottage.net), because it would be an easy one to make with kids. And if you want to take the “squash game” up a notch and try another variety with your children, scholastic.com has a nice list of kid-friendly butternut squash recipes that is sure to have at least one idea to tempt you!
