The calander has officially declared us in my favorite season and I think this calls for a celebration. Any excuse for a celebration, especially this year right? Fall is crisp, has a new beginning feel and it’s the kick off to the holiday season. It’s a time to pull out the crock pot and put away the grill, a time to cozy up with your family for game nights and movie marathons. It’s a time to put a holiday spin on those arts and crafts projects. This post has all that and more for you! So keep reading!
First up on the list is to get the kids involved. This year we are all finding ourseleves scrambling for anything to keep the kids entertained. And what better way than a good ol’ Halloween arts and crafts project? This one includes making spiders with a few supplies (and you probably already have a few on hand), not too much parental involvement and a lot of room for creativity. So lets get to it.
Supplies Needed:
paper towel or toilet paper tube (cut horizonally into shorter sections)
paint
pipe cleaners
scissors or hole punch
googly eyes
glue
The kids started out with paint. I cheated and used an easy version of tempura paint because it’s not as messy as classic paintbrush and paint. They still had a bawl painting their “spiders” all sorts of colors and while my first thought was to have them use black, their color combinations were a moment to let their creativity shine.
After the paint was dry, they glued on the googly eyes and decided how many their spiders would have. The next step was to poke 4 holes (with scissors or a hole punch, which I took care of) on each side of the tube. They used the pipe cleaners as the spiders legs. Push them through the holes and then turn and bend them to make the legs. They were very fun to make and the kids played with them for days after (although not all the googly eyes have stuck on).
Nothing says fall like a good soup recipe and let’s be honest, does it get better than Panera’s autumn squash soup? Well my friends, it does when you have the copycat recipe and can make a big batch at home! This recipe is from FakeGingerFakeGinger.
Ingredients
coconut oil
onion
garlic
butternut squash
pumpkin puree
vegetable broth
apple juice
honey
curry powder
cinnamon
heavy cream
pumpkin seeds
Instructions
Heat cocounut oil in a dutch oven, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until you can smell the garlic. Add cubed butternut squash, pumpkin puree, vegetable broth, apple juice, honey, curry powder, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the butternut squash is fork tender. It’s best to use an immersion blender (you can use any type of blender) to blend until smooth. Stir in heavy cream and heat through. Garnish with pumpkin seeds before serving.
Pumpkin is the essential smell and food of fall so it would be rude of me to exclude it from this all things fall post. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins scream fall and will have you reaching for seconds (and possibly thirds). They are from moneysavingmom These don’t last long in my home, everyone is always grabbing for them. So, you are welcome for this one.
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz) can pureed pumpkin (or two cups cooked and pureed fresh pumpkin)
1 1/2 cup oil (vegetable, Canola or olive)
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1-2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
Beat eggs, sugar pumpkin and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Now that your belly is full, grab a cozy blanket and snuggle up with your family on the couch to catch these classic autumn movies! Everything from football films to chick flicks, they’re all here.
1. October Sky
2. Hoosiers
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. Remember the Titans
5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
6. You’ve Got Mail (freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils anyone?)
7. Rudy
8. Love Story
9. Friday Night Lights
10. Good Will Hunting
I hope this gets you excited to enjoy the new season. I know I am. From Halloween to Thanksgiving, this is the season that is all about spending time with those we love. Those we are thankful for. So I hope that, even in these uncertain times, you get the chance to connect with friends and family to celebrate the new season. And I hope it gives you a renewed energy for whatever 2020 has in store for us for the rest of the year!
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