Autumn in our house is anything but quiet, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Between September and November it feels like we’re constantly celebrating because nearly all my family and friends’ birthdays fall in those months (mine included!). It’s basically one big festive blur of cake, candles and wrapping paper before Christmas even arrives.
And then there’s Halloween… my absolute favourite. The moment TK Maxx rolls out the Halloween aisles I’m there like a moth to a flame. My dream is to decorate the whole house from top to bottom in pumpkins, bats and witches. Every year I beg my husband to let me buy one of those giant spooky inflatables from The Range, and every year he has to pull me back before our garden looks like a haunted fairground.
Halloween night itself is one of my happiest traditions, even when the kids have had too much sugar before bed - I just embrace the chaos as always. I take my two boys trick-or-treating around our local streets, their excitement bubbling over at every door. And yes, I'm that mum... "What do you say?!" "Don't run on their grass!" "It's your brother's turn to knock!". But when it’s grown up time, and I get to have some time with my mum-friends, there’s nothing better than a girls’ night in binging True Blood, eating crisps and planning the next mum's night out.
In the last couple of years I’ve added another autumn ritual into the mix: gardening. I’ve gone a bit plant-mad, growing my own vegetables and filling the garden with flowers. Autumn weekends now mean planting bulbs for spring, cutting back, clearing away the last of the summer blooms and making everything snug for winter. It’s tiring work but so rewarding, and I know come spring I’ll be grateful for every muddy-handed Sunday.
That's all on top of squeezing in a day out pumpkin picking, trying to get some nice family photos and paying for an over priced pumpkin at the end.
So yes, autumn is busy, a little bit chaotic, but also so full of joy. Pumpkins, parties, garden mud and cosy nights — it’s everything I love, all in one whirlwind season.
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