40 Quotes to Celebrate Autumn

The official first day of Autumn is almost here! Are you ready for the changing leaves and cooler temperatures? If you are searching for the right words to add to your social media posts, check out the following quotes for autumn.

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  1. “Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.” — John Howard Bryant
  2. “Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.” — Yoko Ono
  3. “I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” — Henry David Thoreau
  4. “Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile.”  – William Cullen Bryant
  5. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” –  L.M. Montgomery
  6. “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”  – Unknown
  7. “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love—that makes life and nature harmonize.” –  George Eliot
  8. “If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.”  – Victoria Erickson
  9. “Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.”  – J.K. Rowling
  10. “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
  11. “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” — Albert Camus
  12. “It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.” — Sarah Addison Allen
  13. “I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.” — Lee Maynard
  14. “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
  15. “Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.” — Samuel Butler
  16. “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” — John Donne
  17. “Go, sit upon the lofty hill, and turn your eyes around, Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. The summer sun is faint on them— The summer flowers depart— Sit still— as all transform’d to stone, Except your musing heart.” -Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  18. “Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves / We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” — Humbert Wolfe
  19. “I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.” –  Dodinsky
  20. “A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye.” –  Unknown
  21. “And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves…” — Virginia Woolf
  22. “If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.” — Kyle Lake
  23. Why did dusk and fir-scent and the afterglow of autumnal sunsets make people say absurd things?” — L.M. Montgomery
  24. “Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard.” — Walt Whitman
  25. “The tints of autumn…a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.” — John Greenleaf Whittier
  26. “Autumn is as joyful and sweet as an untimely end.” — Rémy de Gourmont
  27. “Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like / they’re falling in love with the ground.” — Andrea Gibson
  28. “Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.” — Delia Owens
  29. “Autumn lingered on as if fond of its own perfection.” — Winston Graham
  30. “And I rose / In rainy autumn / And walked abroad in a shower of all my days…” — Dylan Thomas
  31. “Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” — Lauren DeStefano
  32. “The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider.” — Jane Hirshfield
  33. “It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.” — P.D. James
  34. “Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable…the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street…by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese.” — Hal Borland
  35. “Just as a painter needs light in order to put the finishing touches to his picture, so I need an inner light, which I feel I never have enough of in the autumn.” — Leo Tolstoy
  36. “Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” — Jim Bishop
  37. “There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” — Joe L. Wheeler
  38. “I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin, and crisp sunburnt leaves.”– Ann Drake
  39. “Winter is an etching, Spring a watercolor, Summer an oil painting and Autumn a mosaic of them all.” — Stanley Horowitz
  40. “Autumn dresses up in gold; the richest season of the soul.”— Angie Weiland Crosby

Happy Autumn!

52 Hashtags for Autumn

Are you ready for the fall season? The first official day of autumn is just around the corner! The changing seasons are a perfect opportunity to add photos to your social media platforms. When you use hashtags, your posts receive more attention. If you are looking for inspiration, check out the following hashtags for autumn.

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  1. #Autumn
  2. #Autumn2022
  3. #Fall
  4. #Fall2022
  5. #FallIsComing
  6. #ILoveAutumn
  7. #AutumnEquinox
  8. #SummersEnd
  9. #OfficiallyFall
  10. #FallVibes
  11. #AutumnVibes
  12. #Harvest
  13. #Gourds
  14. #Scarecrow
  15. #Pumpkin
  16. #PumpkinPatch
  17. #PumpkinLatte
  18. #PumpkinSpice
  19. #September
  20. #October
  21. #1stDayofFall
  22. #FallTravel
  23. #AutumnCamping
  24. #FirstAutumnHike
  25. #FallDecor
  26. #FallTrees
  27. #AutumnColors
  28. #AutumnLeaves
  29. #LeafPeeping
  30. #AutumnBonFire
  31. #FallsBeauty
  32. #FallAdventure
  33. #Football
  34. #Tailgate
  35. #Homecoming
  36. #AutumnMood
  37. #AutumnMoments
  38. #Apples
  39. #ApplePicking
  40. #Orchard
  41. #AutumnSunrise
  42. #AutumnSunset
  43. #AutumnLandscape
  44. #AutumnNights
  45. #CoolNights
  46. #Cozy
  47. #Family
  48. #Friends
  49. #FallLove
  50. #FallBride
  51. #AutumnGoals
  52. #WinterIsComing

50 Drawing Prompts to Celebrate the Fall Season

The first official day of autumn is almost here! Take advantage of colder, rainy days by embracing your inner artist. If you need inspiration, check out the following drawing prompts to celebrate the fall season.

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  1. Autumn themed self-portrait
  2. Traditions
  3. Sunflowers
  4. Scarecrow
  5. Trees
  6. Colorful leaves
  7. Pinecones
  8. Acorns
  9. Nature scene
  10. Harvest
  11. Farmer’s Market
  12. Harvest moon
  13. Friendship
  14. Leaf fairy
  15. Mushrooms
  16. Wild animals
  17. Autumn hiking
  18. Trails
  19. Boots
  20. Cabin
  21. Tractor
  22. Lanterns
  23. Hayride
  24. Haybales
  25. Water
  26. Falling leaves
  27. Frost
  28. Wind
  29. Book
  30. Owl
  31. Fox
  32. Hedgehog
  33. Crow
  34. Squirrel
  35. Hot Cocoa
  36. Pumpkins
  37. Squash
  38. Apples
  39. Bonfire
  40. Family
  41. Autumn sunrise/sunset
  42. Stars
  43. Moon
  44. Distance
  45. Warmth
  46. Family
  47. Spirit
  48. Socks (design your own)
  49. Cozy
  50. Last day of fall

7 Halloween Facts

Who remembers dressing up for Halloween as a kid? Together with your cousins, siblings, and neighborhood friends, running from house to house to get the most candy was a major part of Halloween. Annually on October 31st, millions of people celebrate Halloween. The history surrounding this spooky holiday is fascinating.

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1. Halloween’s Roots

Halloween has roots dating back to the ancient Celtic Festival. In Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, the celebration, known as Samhain, marked the end of the year. The pagan new year began on November 1, the start of the winter season. Bonfires, feasts, and animal sacrifices were a major component of the two-day celebration.

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2. Halloween Costumes

The tradition of dressing up in Halloween attire also stems from the Samhain festival. People would dress up to scare away ghosts. Unlike the material found in today’s costumes, the festival goers would wear animal heads and skins.

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3. Trick-or-Treating Tradition

Modern-day trick-or-treating is a concept from an activity known as “souling.”  As part of the Samhain festival, poor children would go from door to door to beg for food or money. In exchange for the small tokens, the children would pray for any recently departed loved ones connected to the home.

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4. Jack O’Lantern

The long-standing tradition of carving a pumpkin originates from the Irish folktale of Stingy Jack. After tricking the Devil repeatedly, Stingy Jack was left to walk the Earth throughout eternity. The Devil could not claim his soul. And God would not let such an unsavory person into heaven. The story continues with Stingy Jack walking the Earth with just a piece of burning coal to light his way which he placed inside a carved turnip. The Irish called the sight of Stingy Jack’s ghostly figure, “Jack of the Lantern.”

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5. Orange and Black

Halloween décor has a principal color theme, orange and black. The colors date back to the time of the Celts. The orange represents fall colors and the flames of bonfires during the celebrations. Whereas the color black represented the darkness of the upcoming winter season and death.

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6. Bobbing for Apples

The childhood party game had a different meaning in the 18th century. The ritual was meant to find a woman the suitor. Each apple was assigned to a specific gentleman. When a woman bobbed for an apple to take a bite, the outcome would be a date.

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7. Candy Corn or Chicken Feed

The original name for the tri-colored Candy Corn was chicken feed. George Renninger, an employee from the Wunderlee Candy Company was the first to sell the candy in 1880. Every year Americans purchase over twenty million pounds of Candy Corn.

Halloween is an interesting holiday with many traditions and lore. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Reference:

http://www.History.com

Halloween Photography Tips for Lasting Memories

The old saying, “they grow up so fast” is true. Capturing childhood moments is essential for lasting memories. Halloween is one of those holidays, many children outgrow quickly. Do not let the opportunity go, take the time to photograph your children at Halloween.

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How to Get the Best Halloween Photos

1. Pre-Halloween Photo Shoot

Before Halloween, let your children try on their costumes.  Use this opportunity to plan a photo session.

  • Go to different places in your community to pose.
  • Use your child’s costume as a building block for finding the perfect place to pose. For example, Spiderman can easily pose on playground equipment.
  • Allow your child to get into character. Encourage impressions.

2. Be Patient

The big night is here, time for all the Halloween fun. Remember as you begin to take photos, be patient. Children are going to be excited about trick-or-treating or other Halloween events.

3. Document the Process from the Start

Do not wait until your children are dressed to take photos. Start snapping photos as soon as you begin to get ready for trick-or-treating. Often, the best photos come during the process of getting ready.

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4. Feature Props

Your photos need to include every part of your Halloween celebration.

  • If your child’s costume has props or special features, focus on them in a photo or two. The details always make the costumes.
  • Include decorations in your photos, your carved pumpkins or other yard decorations.
  • Take Halloween photos with your pets.
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5. Group Photo

Along with individual photos, get a group photo before trick-or-treating begins. Make sure to include yourself in one of the photos. Pose together before the sun goes down. Remember to use natural light to get the best photo. When you can, skip the flash.

6. Trick-or-Treating Photos

The main event is here.

  • Take numerous action photos of your children going from house to house. Avoid using flash.
  • Use streetlights or porch lights to add a glow effect.
  • Find a bright light to create silhouettes of your children in costume.  
  • Get photos from different angles.
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7. Last Photo of the Night

When returning home, get one last photo. Ask your children to show off their candy collection. Of course, some younger children may be asleep by the time you return home. Do not forget to get a photo. This is a perfect picture opportunity for the end of the night.

8. Get Creative with Editing

When editing photos, use special effects.

  • Use fog effect.
  • Convert to black and white photos.
  • Make certain colors stand out. Orange is a Halloween color. Turn photos of pumpkins black and white but keep the bright orange colors.
  • Use the soft-focus option to center on your children.

Happy Halloween! When out trick-or-treating, remember to have fun.

8 Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating

Are you going to pass on trick-or-treating this year? Do not worry, you are not alone. Many families forego trick-or-treating for numerous reasons. Chilly weather, scheduling conflicts, health and safety concerns, or the time of trick-or-treating are often big factors. Even without trick-or-treating, your Halloween can still be lots of fun.

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Trick-or-Treating Alternatives  

  1. Halloween Party: Throw your own Halloween party. Halloween costumes, treats, themed music, and games are a perfect combination for a night of fun.
  2. Bonfire Night: With or without costumes a bonfire night is a fun activity for the entire family to enjoy. Just be careful around the fire and don’t forget the S’mores.
  3. Movie Night: On a cold, rainy Halloween, cuddling under blankets, sipping hot cocoa, and watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a perfect evening.
  4. Candy Scavenger Hunt: Hide the candy. No, seriously hide the candy for a scavenger hunt. Kids love to search for “hidden treasures.” A candy scavenger hunt is a superb way to celebrate Halloween.
  5. Craft Day: Spend the day doing Halloween themed crafts. Even your local dollar store has Halloween themed craft products. Make masks, draw haunted scenes, or paint fake pumpkins for a day of Halloween fun.
  6. Community Event: If you are concerned about safety, attend a community sponsored event. Trunk-or-treat, pumpkin walk, or Halloween at the zoo are great sponsored events for Halloween.
  7. Halloween-Themed Baking: Bake Halloween treats together. Deliver treats to neighbors. Or use the Halloween-themed goodies as part of your movie night.
  8. Halloween Pail:  A Halloween bucket is like an Easter basket. Grab a Halloween themed bucket and fill it with your kids’ favorite treats. Controlling the amount of candy is the best part. Add books, magazines, small toys, or other themed goodies to fill the bucket.

Yes, trick-or-treating is a fun part of childhood. When the weather or other issues get in the way, finding the best alternative to trick-or-treating is a fantastic way to celebrate Halloween

A Game of Halloween Charades

Are you looking for a fun interactive game to celebrate Halloween? Charades is a classic, easy-to-play game. Start by sorting your guests into two teams of equal amounts. Pick a timekeeper. Generally, a person has 2 to 3 minutes to act out the phrase. But if you have younger children, you may need extra time.

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Halloween Charade Ideas

A Halloween-themed game of charades is easy to plan. Simply write out book titles, movies, phrases, or words on pieces of paper in a bowl. If you need some inspiration, check out the following list of Halloween charade ideas.

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  1. Hocus Pocus
  2. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  3. Witch’s Cauldron
  4. Ghost
  5. Black Cat
  6. Graveyard
  7. Werewolf howling at the moon
  8. Skeleton
  9. Scarecrow
  10. Carving a Pumpkin
  11. The Monster Mash
  12. Mad Scientist
  13. Thriller
  14. Stirring a cauldron
  15. Vampire
  16. Frankenstein
  17. Bats flying at noon
  18. Full moon
  19. Visiting a haunted house
  20. Zombie walk
  21. Halloween candy
  22. Caramel apples
  23. Bobbing for apples
  24. Monster
  25. Mummy
  26. Mask
  27. Fangs
  28. Night of the Living Deas
  29. Pumpkin patch
  30. Trick-or-treating

Charades require a little acting but gain a lot of laughs.

32 Classic Movies to Watch for Halloween

Are you looking for something to watch for Halloween? Go old school. Classic monster or alien movies are a fun way to enjoy a cozy night in.  Pop some popcorn, cuddle under a blanket, and enjoy one of these old-time favorites.

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(Please note: As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases).

  1. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
  2. Abbot and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
  3. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
  4. Dracula (1931)
  5. Frankenstein (1931)
  6. The Mummy (1932)
  7. Son of Dracula (1943)
  8. Werewolf of London (1935)
  9. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
  10. The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)
  11. The House of Frankenstein (1944)
  12. The Wolf Man (1941)
  13. The Mummy’s Tomb (1942)
  14. House of Dracula (1945)
  15. The Mummy’s Curse (1944)
  16. The Phantom of the Opera (1943)
  17. The Indivisible Man (1933)
  18. The Indivisible Man Returns (1940)
  19. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
  20. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
  21. Them! (1954)
  22. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  23. Island of the Lost Souls (1932)
  24. The Thing from Another World (1951)
  25. The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  26. The House of Dracula (1958)
  27. Nosteratu (1922)
  28. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
  29. The House of Usher (1960)
  30. The Birds (1963)
  31. It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
  32. 20 Millions Miles to Earth (1957)

Do you have a favorite that is not on the list?

Happy Sweetest Day

Happy Sweetest Day everyone! May we all be like the founders and spend the day being kind to one another.

Thank you for following my blog.

23 Quotes for Sweetest Day

Happy Sweetest Day everyone! Are you looking for something extra special to say on this holiday? Whether you need to write something on a card or want to add to your social media posts, check out the following quotes for Sweetest Day.

Quotes for Wishing Someone a Happy Sweetest Day

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  1. “The best portion of a good man’s life – his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” – William Wordsworth
  2. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” — Seneca
  3. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” ― Elbert Hubbard
  4. “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.” ― Alfred Tennyson
  5. “Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can’t get any better, it can.” ― Nicholas Sparks
  6. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” –  Mark Twain
  7. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ― Lao Tzu
  8. “Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.” ― Joan Crawford
  9. “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” — Maya Angelou
  10. “Chocolate is the answer. Who cares what the question is.”  – Author unknown
  11. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -Dr. Seuss
  12. “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” ― Oscar Wilde
  13. “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
  14. “Open your heart – open it wide; someone is standing outside.” -Mary Engelbreit
  15. “My thoughts are free to go anywhere, but it’s surprising how often they head in your direction.”  – Author Unknown
  16. “Friends are kisses blown to us by angels.” – Author unknown
  17. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. -Ralph Waldo Emerson”
  18. “A hug is a great gift – one size fits all, and it’s easy to exchange.” -Author Unknown
  19. “Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” ― Zelda Fitzgerald
  20. “The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough is love.” ― Henry Miller
  21. “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
  22. “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.” ― Orson Welles
  23. “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections.” ― John Lennon

Enjoy your day!