27 Ways to Make it Feel More Like Fall in Hot, Humid Florida!
Disclaimer: We are not paid to promote any restaurant, hotel, activity, product, or attraction. All opinions are subjective and based on our personal experience. Your experience may be different.
17. Carve lots of pumpkins
Carving the perfect Jack O’Lantern does not have to feel like a chore. Throw out the super hard stencil designs that come with your carving tools and instead have fun being creative. I recommend carving a handful so you can decorate both inside and outdoor to really amp up the Halloween ambiance. Hosting a party would be even more fun. Save the seeds for a tasty snack and the filling for pumpkin recipes! Trader Joe’s sells really great carving pumpkins at a really affordable price (under 10 bucks), so stock up!
18. Treat yourself to a pumpkin flavored dessert at your favorite chain
Every year in late September, the chains begin rolling out their seasonal treats. It seems they add more and more every year in response for the rising demands for these tasty pumpkin creations. A few of my personal favorites include: the Pumpkin Cheesecake at Olive Garden, the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Sugar Cookies at Panera Bread, Pumpkin Muffins at Dunkin’ Donuts, Pumpkin Pancakes and donuts at First Watch, and the Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin at Starbucks.
Also be sure to check around local bakeries and coffee shops for even more fall specialties! I am not a huge fan of sweets but I do love everything pumpkin flavored as soon as late August-early September rolls around. It just gets me in the mood for the season.
19. Go pumpkin crazy at Trader Joe’s
Although many grocery stores offer specialty pumpkin products this time of the year, no one offers such an extensive selection as Trader Joe’s. And the best part of all is that all products are free of artificial colors, MSG, and GMO’s. Basically anything and everything you could possibly think of that could possibly have a pumpkin variation is offered at the popular natural retailer.
A few must try pumpkin products this season include: Autumn Harvest pasta sauce, Pumpkin Samosas, Pumpkin Muffin Mix, Pumpkin tortilla chips and salsa, Pumpkin coffee, Pumpkin Ice Cream, and Pecan Pumpkin instant oatmeal. And be sure to try the super rich and decadent pumpkin body butter – the perfect pumpkin scent will keep you thinking about fall all day long.
20. Sign up for a themed 5k
Find a Halloween or Thanksgiving themed 5k to get yourself into the holiday spirit. Running in the USA is a great race finder site where you can search by date, distance, etc for a race in your area. Asides from a great workout and the feeling of accomplishments that goes along with training for a race, you will usually get to enjoy a few freebies post race.
One Turkey Trot that I participated in gave runners free pumpkin pie post race – now there’s some motivation to burn those calories! So get out there, get in some exercise while the weather is a bit cooler and enjoy a nice fall themed race.
21. Get crafty
Get creative with all sorts of fall inspired craft projects. Shops like Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics will keep you more than busy all season long with fun seasonal craft projects. Also look to Pinterest for some inspiration! Spruce up your home with your handmade creations; your handmade fall decor is bound to be much more affordable and unique than anything you would buy in a store!
22. Watch seasonal programs like Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween
Several cable networks offer a seasonal lineup of holiday movies and specials so there is no need to waste your money buying a bunch of DVDs that you will only watch once a year. The best include ABC Family’s (now Freeform) 31 Nights of Halloween and SyFy’s 31 Days of Halloween.
On Freeform, you can enjoy family friendly nostalgic faves like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and Casper, while on SyFy you can scare yourself silly with scary Halloween favorites likeNightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Child’s Play.
23. Go ghost hunting
Pick a spooky town near you and sign up for a ghost tour. Many tours now let participants take a crack at ghost hunting themselves by allowing you to test out real ghost hunting equipment like EMF meters. I highly recommend the Ybor City Ghost tour in Tampa, frequently rated amongst the best in the country. Ybor City has a long history of ghost sightings and is one of the most haunted towns in the state.
The tour will take you through the Cuban Club and the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn, 2 of the most haunted places in America. Many guests have claimed to see ghost orbs, and have reported changes in their EMF frequencies while touring these creepy places. After your ghost tour, you must check out Columbia, one of Florida’s oldest and best restaurants!
In addition to Tampa, St. Augustine, Key West, and Jacksonville have haunted histories with numerous reportedly haunted old buildings and paranormal sightings. So skip the haunted houses, and participate in a real ghost tour through some of the creepiest places in America.
24. Binge watch a scary series on Netflix
Netflix has more than enough spooky series to keep you busy all year-long, not just for Halloween. For the biggest frights check out a chilling ghost series like Supernatural or Ghost Adventures. I could easily watch Ghost Adventures all day: Zak and crew are really entertaining and capture some pretty cool evidence of the paranormal. Other great picks include Stranger Things, The Witches of East End, and American Horror Story. A few good thrillers include Revenge and Dollhouse. For those who can’t take a big scare, the retro TV series Goosebumps, So Weird, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch are all awesome.
