The Fall Traditions We Refuse to Skip Every Year
9/7/20265 min read
There’s a moment every year when you can just feel it. Maybe it’s the first cool morning when you reach for a sweatshirt instead of complaining about the heat. Maybe it’s the first leaf that turns orange. Or maybe it’s the completely reasonable decision to buy a pumpkin-scented candle when it’s still technically 78 degrees outside.
Whatever officially starts fall for you, once it happens... there’s no going back. Around here, fall isn’t just a season—it’s a whole mood. It’s cozy evenings, comfort food, Halloween movies, pumpkin patches, changing leaves, and traditions we look forward to all year long.
And while life gets busy—work, kids, schedules, errands, laundry that somehow reproduces overnight—there are certain fall traditions we simply refuse to skip. Because sometimes the smallest traditions become the memories we treasure most.
1. Decorating for Fall... Even If We’re “Too Early”
Is there really such a thing as decorating for fall too early? We’re going with no. The second we start craving cooler weather, out come the pumpkins, cozy blankets, fall signs, candles, and anything remotely orange. There’s something about changing the house for the season that makes everything feel a little more comforting. And yes, sometimes fall decorations and Halloween decorations start blending together. That’s not a problem. That’s called seasonal efficiency.
2. Going to the Pumpkin Patch
You can buy a perfectly good pumpkin at the grocery store. We know this. But where’s the fun in that? There’s something about wandering through a pumpkin patch searching for the one that makes fall feel official.
Bonus points if the day also includes:
- Apple cider
- A corn maze
- Hayrides
- Caramel apples
- Farm animals
- Cute family photos that required approximately 47 attempts
Even when the kids are tired, someone is hungry, and you somehow leave with six pumpkins when you planned to buy two... we’ll do it again next year.
Every. Single. Time.
3. The First Official Fall Drink
Everyone has one.
Pumpkin spice latte.
Apple cider.
Hot chocolate.
Chai.
Coffee with enough seasonal creamer to technically qualify as dessert. Whatever your drink of choice is, there’s something special about that first cozy drink of the season. Preferably enjoyed while wearing a sweatshirt and pretending we don’t have 17 things waiting on our to-do list.
4. Making at Least One Fall Recipe
Fall food just hits differently. Suddenly we want soups simmering on the stove, bread baking in the oven, chili in the slow cooker, and desserts involving apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, or preferably all three. Do we suddenly become domestic goddesses every September? Absolutely not. But will we convince ourselves that this is the year we’re going to bake everything from scratch? Also yes. And honestly, even one homemade apple crisp counts.
5. Watching Our Favorite Fall & Halloween Movies
Some movies simply cannot be watched in April. Okay... technically they can. But they’re better when the lights are low, the blankets are out, and Halloween decorations are glowing in the background. Whether your fall watchlist includes nostalgic Halloween classics, cozy rom-coms, scary movies, or the same comfort show you’ve watched approximately 900 times, rewatching old favorites is part of the magic. Sometimes knowing every single line is exactly the point.
6. Taking a Fall Drive
This one is simple—and maybe that’s why we love it so much. Get in the car. Grab a coffee. Turn on your favorite playlist. And drive. Here in Wisconsin, watching the trees explode into reds, oranges, and yellows never really gets old.
No elaborate plans.
No expensive tickets.
Just a chance to slow down and appreciate the season before those beautiful leaves are suddenly all over the yard waiting to be raked.
7. Lighting the Fall Candles
You know the ones.
Pumpkin.
Apple cinnamon.
Vanilla.
Caramel.
Bonfire.
Anything with a name like Cozy Autumn Evening in a Cabin While Wearing an Oversized Sweater. Okay, we made that last one up. But we’d buy it.
Lighting a fall candle at the end of a long day instantly makes the house feel warmer and cozier —even when there are dishes in the sink and laundry sitting in a basket nearby. Atmosphere: achieved.
8. Doing Something That Reminds Us of Childhood
One of our favorite things about seasonal traditions is how easily they bring back memories.
Walking through crunchy leaves.
Carving pumpkins.
Watching the Halloween specials we loved growing up.
Eating candy we haven’t thought about in years.
Going to a local fall festival.
There’s something comforting about revisiting the things that once made us ridiculously excited. And now, whether we’re sharing those traditions with our kids, our friends, our partners—or simply enjoying them ourselves—we get to create a new version of those memories.
9. Carving Pumpkins
Does it make a mess? Yes. Do pumpkin guts somehow end up everywhere? Also yes. Will at least one pumpkin look nothing like the picture we were attempting to recreate? Almost certainly. But pumpkin carving night stays. There’s just something about putting on a Halloween movie, spreading newspaper across the table, grabbing the carving tools, and seeing everyone’s pumpkins glowing when they’re finished. Perfect pumpkins are optional. Memories are not.
10. Actually Slowing Down Enough to Enjoy Fall
This might be the tradition we need most. Fall goes fast. One minute we’re celebrating the first day of September, and the next we’re wondering how Thanksgiving is already approaching. When you’re balancing work, family, appointments, school schedules, household responsibilities, and everything else life throws at you, it’s incredibly easy to rush straight through the season.
So every year, we try to remind ourselves:
You don’t have to do everything to make the season special. You don’t need the Pinterest-perfect porch. You don’t need twelve elaborate family outings. You don’t need homemade everything. Sometimes fall looks like ordering pizza, putting on your favorite Halloween movie, lighting a pumpkin candle, and curling up under a blanket after a long week. And honestly? That counts.
Traditions Don’t Have to Be Big to Matter
The traditions we remember most usually aren’t the expensive or perfectly planned ones. They’re the little things we repeat year after year.
The same movies.
The same recipes.
The same pumpkin patch.
The same decorations pulled out of storage.
The same drive to see the changing leaves.
Those ordinary moments eventually become the things we say:
“We do this every year.”
And there’s something pretty special about that.
So this fall, keep the traditions you love.
Start a new one.
Let go of the ones that have started feeling more stressful than fun. And most importantly, give yourself permission to actually enjoy the season instead of trying to make every moment perfect. Because before we know it, the pumpkins will disappear, the leaves will be gone, and we’ll be pulling out the Christmas decorations. Although... if you know us, those might already be waiting nearby. Your Turn!
We want to hear from you!
What is ONE fall tradition you absolutely refuse to skip every year? Pumpkin patch? Apple picking? Halloween movie marathon? Fall decorating? A favorite recipe? Share yours with us—and send this post to the friend who starts celebrating fall the second September arrives. And be sure to follow Slacks to Sweats Podcast for more cozy conversations about holidays, nostalgia, everyday life, working-mom chaos, and making room for the moments that make each season special.
From slacks to sweats, we’re making everyday life a little cozier—one season at a time.