And just like that, it’s my favourite time of year. Autumn feels like Spring’s sister: The time of year for change, an ending and a beginning. While the long family beach days and evenings of barbecues are behind us, the mist is rolling in for these dark, early mornings and a different kind of family time is ahead. I give the house a freshen up… Cosy evenings introducing the children to some classics from my childhood, soft slippers and the smells of stews wafting through the house.
Ah yes, I certainly have a soft spot for October.
With the Hunter’s Moon on 9th October and Halloween on 31st October, this is a month for taking a deep breath and appreciating the world’s magic, a time for the granddaughters of the witches they could not burn. Also, a month for chunky knits, berry lipsticks and a significant increase in carbohydrates (Along with, let’s be honest, a significant decrease in the removal of body hair. Below knee shaving? You’re my people.)
As I sit here typing, surrounded by recipe/ nature play/ craft books, watching the rain lash against the window and challenge the guttering, with my youngest doing a jigsaw by my feet (after a 5am wakeup thanks to the howling wind) the world feels as ready for candles and porridge as I am.
To make the most of the month while I wait for this little baby bump to appear, here’s my plans:
What we’ll be eating…
Savoury & Wholesome
Soup in a pumpkin (Squashy Bottom Pumpkin Bowls recipe from a Riverford recipe book, I’ve linked a similar one from their website)
Jacket Potatoes with Chilli
Sausages with Root Vegetable Mash & Onion Gravy
Shakshuka
Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Risotto (adapted from a recipe in an old Annabel Karmel book I bought when I had my eldest, sixteen years ago now!)
French Onion Soup
Sweet & Essential
Apple pie
Monster Mix
Chocolate Skeleton Biscuits
Toffee Apples (these will be a familiar face throughout Autumn – they’re always on the list for September, October and November for good measure)
Meringue Ghosts
Apple cider donuts
Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake (cream cheese frosting optional, but encouraged)
What we’ll be doing…
Children’s Activities
Our homeschool year begins this week, and as I’m quite seasonal in my teachings, we have plenty of crafty things planned to keep ourselves busy with nature treasures collected on our adventures. If your haven’t seen over on my Instagram, I highly recommend this book for keeping little explorers enthusiastic about getting outside throughout the colder seasons. I’ve repurchased it for each of my children every year since it was released in 2018!
Scavenger hunt
Make a leaf bowl
Witch/ Wizard hats decorated with foraged treasures
Leaf garlands for the bedrooms
Make our own broomsticks using a branch, foraged twigs & twine (with a read aloud of Room On The Broom over a teapot of hot chocolate & warm biscuits)
Decorate pumpkins (paint, glitter, sequins etc – the usual suspects! We’ll use them for Jack-O-Lanterns later in the month)
Witch’s Potions (identifying the potion ingredients in our nature book, large saucepan as a cauldron)
Conker Necklaces (need a bucket of conkers with holes drilled through and shoelaces to thread – a really good one for fine motor skills)
Make Bonfire Bread (a personal favourite from this lesser known book of nature play, I don’t think there’s a single page we haven’t done and come back to year after year!)
My Projects
Leaf wreath (I’ll use the frame I created for this project – I’ve used it again and again, I just change it up for the seasons)
Knit a baby blanket (this little bundle is due at the end of March, and despite not being the most skilled knitter, seeing the children wrapped up cosy in my creations has a distinct Weasley-esque charm)
Making chutneys & jams – I’ll gift some to friends and family, and we’ll get through plenty on cheeseboards in the coming months!)
What we’ll be reading…
My Reading List
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (I love this jammy little find – it’s a beautiful copy and so affordable!)
The Hobbit (I’m still reading my battered old copy from school, but am considering investing in a fancy copy as I’m trying to convince my 12 year old son to read this with me – he always ends up loving our bookclub choices, but he’s really put off by Tolkien’s language. I’m working on it!)
The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place
The Cafe Between Pumpkins & Pie (from what I’ve heard, this is essentially a cheesy Hallmark read, but packed with cosy autumnal vibes. I’m reading a couple of heavier classics though, so I think this will feel like birthday cake for breakfast.)
Read Alouds For Homeschool Mornings & Chilly Afternoons
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (This gives me such a pang of nostalgia as I adored the book series as a child. My four year old, Killian, is currently quite obsessed and listens to it constantly on his Yoto – a screen-free audio player)
Pumpkin Ginger & Spice by Margaret G Otto
Children’s Books
Brambly Hedge Autumn Story (A stunning collection of old-fashioned, wonderfully illustrated stories of adventures for woodland creatures living in a hedgerow)
Pick A Pumpkin (A beautifully illustrated colourful book depicting Halloween traditions)
Jack-O-Lantern (This is an excellent one for starting a conversation about lifecycles)
What we’ll be watching…
Films
The Mummy (The first and second – and I mean the ones with Rachel Weisz and Brandon Fraser, not the dreadful Tom Cruise version!)
Hocus Pocus 2 (it’s being released on Disney + and has pushed me over the edge and made me subscribe. I’ve been tempted for a while as they have National Geographic available on there, but I simply can’t miss out on the lighting of the black candle in 2022!)
You’ve Got Mail
Scream (I’m a wimp, and will be absolutely terrified for at least six months despite having watched it every year since I was a teenager. But you’ve got to watch at least one slasher movie in October… right?)
Van Helsing
Practical Magic (which I also watched last month, because I couldn’t wait – but it’s my viewing of choice for 31st October every year!)
Twilight (with my preteen will join me for and my husband will retreat to the bathroom for a two hour long bath until it’s finished… this will likely result in a pizza delivery!)
Beetlejuice
Family Movie Nights
(Making use of the bags of Monster Mix we’ll have made!)
A Nightmare Before Christmas
Hotel Transylvania
Coraline
The Addams Family
The Little Vampire
Television
Gilmore Girls (continuing from last month)
Charmed
Sabrina The Teenage Witch (something all my children love, ages 16, 12, 4 and 2)
The Good Witch
What we’ll be listening to…
Dracula by Bram Stoker (I also have a beautiful hardback book of this, so will likely dip in and out of both as I clean/ fold laundry/ do those mindless tasks that I’ve learned to really enjoy now there’s so many things in a day that require me to actually think. AirPods in and audiobook on = bliss.)
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets as a family, in the car. The Stephen Fry version, of course. They were the soundtrack of my childhood!
Where we’ll be going…
Pumpkin Picking! (We go to the same place every year, I spend far too much on every child wanting a pumpkin and buying 42,000 various gnarly squashes to decorate my home and keep the slow cooker busy! They also do phenomenal cups of soup and cupcakes out of a food truck there, so it’s a glorious day out and my husband resists making too many comments about the validity of ‘decorative vegetables’… most of the time.)
Farmer’s Markets! I love the autumn buzz at a farmer’s market, with gorgeous seasonal produce and it’s the one time the children get excited about vegetables – which means they’re more likely to actually try them.
A corn maze
Drive In Cinema (the very best time for going, on a dry day, armed with snuggly blankets)
Trick or Treating
What we’ll be playing…
Football in the leaves (I’m not a natural when it comes to any kind of interaction with sporting equipment… it’s a bit of a lifelong joke in my family. But I’ll happily get wrapped up and kick a ball around with my toddlers if crispy leaves are involved!
On my to-do list (chores)…
Autumn clean (wash the cushion covers, wipe skirting boards – kids love helping with this for some reason?! – and packing away spring/summer decor
Get the blankets & throws down from the loft, wash, dry in the last of the warm sunshine & scatter about the home
Lesson plan & work out autumn homeschool rhythm
Experiment with new recipes with seasonal produce – write out favourites on recipe cards
What we’re wearing…
It’s tricky to decide on just one thing, but my favourite part of autumn is probably seeing happy, flushed pink faces poking out of chunky knits. Despite the colds (my eldest son has been back at school for two weeks and already brought home – and shared – the first cold of the year!) and the soggy clothes that seem to occupy all the radiators in the house, it’s just so charming. Here’s a few bits I’ve invested in to keep us cosy
These Rubber Chelsea Boots are keeping my autumn outfits chic while not needing to resort to wrestling with full wellies. They look great, and mean I don’t get soggy feet on the school runs!
I didn’t try very hard to resist matching my toddlers in this Fair Isle cardigan – they’re the picture of autumn!
This cosy knit reminded me of something young-mum Rebecca would wear in This Is Us, with jeans and a scoop-neck t-shirt… meaning it was something I was going to fall in love with in minutes!
And that’s a wrap on our October list. I’ve found that making a list really helps me to make the most of our months with a young family… time is a slippery thing, isn’t it. While the days are sometimes long, the years are certainly too short for my liking – and making lots of cosy memories with bellies full of hot chocolate serves us well. I’m hoping, now I’m in my second trimester, I’mm be able to work my way through this list quite happily!
Let me know in the comments if you’ll be trying anything off here, and whether you would like a list for November. Also if there’s anything I’m missing out on, the internet community is my favourite place for inspiration.
Enjoy October, darlings!
Love, Helen
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