It’s 2020, so we’re leaning into anything we can to bring joy into our homes (which is literally the one arena where I feel like I have control this year), and Halloween makes our family happy!

In addition to our usual decor, the girls both made their own paper haunted houses to add to our spooky vibes this month, and I LOVE THEM. (The houses and the girls, of course.)

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Eek! I have been waiting for October for exactly 11 months now, and IT’S HERE!

The bits of fall decor around our house make me giddy inside, so the donning begins first thing in September around here…or earlier, if I’m feeling festive (which, let’s be honest, I usually am).

We have a rhythm to how our home looks in the autumn: In September, I put out generic fall decor (a few pumpkins here, a golden leaf there) with a few college football pieces (Go Dawgs!). Some of that decor stays and some goes when October arrives, but all of it becomes spooky with the addition of black cats, bats and cauldrons. (We even have a few really scary elements donated by my dad that go out for Halloween night only because, well, our girls are four and six still.) Then, come November 1st, the cobwebs are wiped away and the September decorations come back with a few Thanksgiving-y additions, usually including lots of corn stalks because #whynot.

Each round of decor takes about 30 minutes (maybe an hour if I’m trying something new), but the idea is to not make it so much of an undertaking that it becomes a chore. So yesterday, after church, the girls and I put on Halloween Baking Championship on the Food Network and pulled out the October decor boxes from the basement. (It’s kinda’ like our version of turing on The Grinch and trimming the tree.)

Even though this season’s set of decorations is up for three months, October’s details are always my favorite by far! I love the minor changes our decor undergoes over the three months of autumn leading up to Christmas, and I’m always sad to see them go on Black Friday. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next suburban mom haha, but fall is my favorite time of the year.) Until then, here’s to enjoying the best time of year!

Only 30 days to go!