SUBURBAN * POP

Nerd alert! October 1st and our Halloween calendar is hung up and filled. Ready to inhale the best time of year. I used to be a lot more crafty than I am now (current level: 0% craftiness) and this calendar is a relic from that era that still gets brought out every year because my, now older, kids still go bonkers for it. I know I’m in the small group of weirdos who has an advent calendar for Halloween, but I’m always curious to see what other weirdos pack into theirs, or at least how other families celebrate/soak up fall, so today I’m sharing exactly what’s in our 2017 calendar. I’ve talked about this before and shared more ideas, and still have the usual sentiments: keep it simple, keep it consumable. Don’t add useless busyness or physical junk to your life :)
In no particular order, October 2017:

• costume planning
• skeleton PJs (hidden under the couch for tomorrow)
• family movie nights (Harry Potter and Spooky Buddies, by request)
• devour a box of Halloween Jo-Jo’s
• bike the Bob Jones Trail to the beach
• take a drive up the coast to Cambria and Ragged Point
• handprint bats
• visit everyone’s fall favorite, Avila Barn
• SLO farmer’s market
• hiking
• pumpkin patch
• My Little Pony movie, hopefully at the drive-in
• fall drive through the vineyards, hopefully in the Tbird
• afterschool Starbucks and park date
• bake pumpkin cookies
• rent one of those goofy four person bikes in Pismo Beach
• family game night with junk food (fam favorite: Sorry)
• weekend camping trip (TBD…but may include a hotel and exclude a tent?)
• carve pumpkins
• fluff and fillers (reserved for especially busy days): pencils, erasers, and stickers

Sadly because I fiercely love crisp weather and changing leaves, but totally perfectly OK because I don’t want to live anywhere else, October is actually our hottest month here in San Luis Obispo…hence some regional ways to celebrate the season (our list embarrassingly reads like a Central Coast visitor must-do list). Obviously if you live in a place where there is major fall color, your calendar should revolve around chasing that peak!

You’ll notice an absence of baking and crafting in ours, activities that used to dominate our family’s calendar. A few reasons for that: 1.) again, my kids are older and not super into cutesy crafts these days 2.) one of my kids is back in school (other is still homeschooling with me, hearts) so cramming activities after a long day isn’t fun for anybody 3.) I prefer to bake the usual fall time stuff when we actually have time/want to eat it instead of having our calendar dictate our food and 4.) I’m in a HATE COOKING phase right now that honestly may be the new me, and I’m embracing the new me…If you aren’t that into Halloween (who are you and WHY???) but want to get a head start on Christmas, check out my Christmas Advent post here. Eeek, I’m excited! And such a dork. Too soon to start saying happy Halloween? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!