A Life In Review

This season is one of my favorites here in New England. The leaves turn to shades of orange, red and yellow, the air is crisp and everything smells like pumpkin. Every year I see the fall bucket lists and always say that I’m going to make one, but there are so many. Each list has me wondering if all of those activities are actually worth adding. This year instead of sharing yet another Fall Bucket List with you, I decided to review some of these fall activities and weed out the one’s that I’ve actually done and can vouch are worth an add (I also added in a smaller list of things to skip).

Here are things to add and things to skip on your fall bucket list!

Add These:

• Apple Picking– There is nothing better than the smell of fresh apples in the fall. If you go early enough in the picking season, you get your choice of the best apples. This also makes for a great photo op!
• Fall Foliage Drive: This is a must, especially if you live in or near Vermont. Vermont has the most beautiful places to drive and look at foliage. It’s like driving through a Thomas Kinkade painting.
• Pumpkin Carving Contest: This activity combines your creative side with your competitive side, it’s essentially the perfect fall activity, and something you can do with just family, or family and friends.
• Visit a Pumpkin Patch: If you can combine this one with apple picking then it’s perfect, if not, you can grab a cheaper (and just as nice) pumpkin at Walmart. I do enjoy taking pictures at the patch though.
• Find a New Pumpkin Recipe: Most fall bucket lists have you baking pumpkin bread, but this year, challenge yourself to find a new pumpkin recipe to make (along with the bread of course).
• Visit a Festival or Fair: Our little town used to start September with a town fair. It was the turning point from summer to fall for us. If you can find one, it’s worth visiting for a few hours with the family.
• Take a Hayride: Nothing screams FALL, more than going on a tractor hayride. If you can do this at a pumpkin patch, you can cross off two things at once from your list.
• Halloween Movie Night: Last fall, we had a night of Halloween movies (check Disney+ for a bunch). It was so fun and definitely got us in the fall mood.
• Go to a Football Game: Football season is the American start to fall, so why not catch a game and check this off your list! It doesn’t have to be an NFL game, feel free to support the kids in your town while they show off what they worked hard on all summer.
• Drink some Cider: Find yourself somewhere that makes fresh apple cider and get some (Starbucks doesn’t count). If you are anywhere near Mystic, CT do yourself a favor and hit up Clyde’s Cider Mill.

Skip These:

• Apple Picking– This one has made its way to both lists, because if you go to a patch too late in the season, the apples are smooshed on the ground surrounded by bees. It’s not a pleasant experience and there are no good photo ops to be had while running from bees.
• Making Candy Apples: Unless you REALLY like candy apples, this one is pointless. Yeah they are cute, but they make a huge mess and its a waste of time if you’re not going to eat them.
• Do a Corn Maze: Unless they’re serving alcohol, there is nothing fun about a corn maze. Yeah they’re cool when you’re 12, but as an adult, being trapped in a maze full of screaming kids seems more like torture than fun.
• Jump in a Pile of Leaves: Again, unless you’re under the age of 18, this is not an activity for you. Don’t risk throwing out your back (or knees) for a second of fun and an hour of clean up.
• Bob for apples: Okay, this was gross before we went through a pandemic. Now it’s just stupid. Please, PLEASE, skip bobbing for apples.
• Decorate the Front Porch: This isn’t necessarily bad, but so many people decorate their porches for fall and then forget about it, leaving rotting pumpkins out front for months to come. My theory is, if you never decorate the porch, you never have to deal with a rotten pumpkin!
• Knit a Cozy Sweater: This one gets added to fall bucket lists a lot, but I think it should be saved for winter when you are stuck inside.

That’s it for my list, but I know there are so many more things to do. What are you planning to add to your Fall Bucket List this year? (Comment below to give others ideas!)