Take the Fear out of Halloween with Nature Connections

Families enjoy time together picking juicy red pomegranates at Hillside Poms. Photo credit Amber Thompson.

Halloween is all what you make of it. On one hand, it can be about the frightening ghosts, vampires and skeletons, or you can choose to focus on connecting to nature during this holiday and fall season to feel happier and calmer. Halloween can be scary and anxiety-provoking for many children. However, if we prioritize fun, positive activities involving nature—like going to a pumpkin patch—we can truly give our children a Happy Halloween.

Here are some fun fall activities to help you and your children experience nature during Halloween time.

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Nothing feels more like autumn than pumpkin patches, hayrides and corn mazes. Kids love running around outside in a corn maze and searching for the biggest, brightest pumpkin to take home with them. Check out our Harvest Happenings in this issue for fun autumn seasonal treats your family will enjoy. And, of course, your children will have a blast carving the pumpkins and displaying their works of art for neighbors to see.

Head to a U-pick Farm

This is a great time of year to visit a local farm to pick your own produce of the season, whether it be apples, pears, raspberries, squash or whatever is available where you live. It is a wonderful chance for the entire family to enjoy a few hours strolling around an orchard or farm taking in the sights, fragrances and miracles of nature. A u-pick adventure will help your kids learn about healthy food and the environment, while supporting your local community. Plus, locally grown food tastes better, is more nutritious and stays fresh longer. The best part is that you can go home from the farm and spend quality time together in the kitchen creating tasty meals from the food you hand-picked yourselves. Check out the Harvest Happenings section for apple festivals in the North State. And be sure to visit Hillside Poms, (see Harvest Happenings) to pick beautiful, juicy pomegranates for your holiday table!

Decorate with Nature

Everyone wants to out-spook their neighbor with the best Halloween decorations, but this won’t exactly set a serene tone for your children. Instead of the frightening decorations, (which are also most likely NOT environmentally sound), look for natural ones like colorful gourds, apples, sunflowers, dried fall leaves, wheat and even a bale of hay. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with carving pumpkins into all types of jack-o-lanterns to set the mood. If you can’t find natural decorations in the area near you, many of the farms listed in Harvest Happenings have natural materials for sale or to gather around the farm.

Experience the Fall Foliage

One of the most incredible aspects of nature is all the colors we can find. During autumn, colors pop out all over as the leaves begin to change. When we experience the vivid natural colors during this season, we are filled with awe. This special emotion helps us feel happier and calmer and is worth seeking out. One way to fill your kids with some awe (instead of fear) this Halloween is to go for a hike or family road trip to observe the gorgeous hues of changing leaves. The fall foliage can be so soothing as well as inspiring. Bring along a camera and snap lots of photos of the gorgeous leaves. When you return home, encourage your children to draw or paint pictures based on what they saw. You can also organize an online slideshow of your photos or print them to create collages. Another fun idea is to collect some of the fallen leaves and bring them home for art projects.