31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 3: Activities

I think one remembers best the different family activities, that turned into yearly traditions.

Here's a list of some such:

* Make a Samhain countdown calendar.
Most of the ideas presented on that Pinterest board are for Christmas, but Samhain colors are black and orange (and brown as soil, and all the other colors of autumn leaves and root vegetables, all the shades of yellows and oranges to brown and red) and symbols are pumpkin and skulls - or what ever you like.

* Make an "October Daily" album to journal your holiday.

I know it's a bit late now, as October started already a couple of days ago, but read this: "Why Memory Keeping Matters?"
And then you can read this: "Struggling with Project Life? Four tips to get back on track"

- in a couple of years, nobody, not even you, will remember what didn't happen the first three days of October 2013. You'll look at your October Daily 2013 book and "remember" that, sure, you photographed your hands on October 1st, and took a portrait of your husband/cat/kid the next day...
Besides... you do remember what happened two days ago. If not, I'm sure nothing happened, and you miss nothing by not having photographed it either :-D

- Why would it need to be "daily"? Why not "October 2013"? Just take the photos you want to, and fill the rest of the pages with what you like, like pictures, stories, ideas and anecdotes. Maybe a couple of quotes too. This is enough to create a nice, sort of a personal, private magazine just for you; something to look at every year at October, to get you to holiday mood.

Also, there are dozens of "photo a day" -lists for October. It's just to pick one, pick a few, and choose one to snap a photo on, and paste on your "October Daily" album. It really doesn't need to be harder than that.

October Photo a Day by Bicyclette
October Photo a Day by Fat Mum Slim (whose name I always read as "fat muslim")
31 Days of Kid Photos - adjust it to your needs
October Photo 366 instagram challenge
Photo a day challenge in October
HelloBeautiful's october photo-a-day contest 2012
October Photo a Day challenge
October Photo-a-day challenge
Anytime Fitness' October Photo a Day
30 days photos; October
October Photo-a-day
A Grande Life October photo-a-day
The Idea Room's October photo-a-day challenge
October 2013 photo-a-day
where the bluebirds nest: october photo challenge
LoveItHard instagram challenge
October photo challenge
October Photo Challenge
Photo a day October
You get the idea.

- Remember that this is totally voluntary and no-one is going to judge what you do, except you yourself, and it has no meaning to anyone else but you (and your family - but that's about the same thing, isn't it :-D). So if you don't have scrapbook papers you like, or other materials, and it feels icky to even think about it, don't do an October Daily album. If you want an October Daily album, even though you don't have the exact materials you'd like, make an art journal and create your own papers and patterns.

Here's my Pinterest board about journaling and scrapbooking etc. and here about different surface treatments etc.

* Have an "elf on the shelf" tradition adapted for Samhain.
Make a story of a "Santa Claus" or "Easter Bunny", who sends his/her little helpers to keep an eye on kids to see if they deserve being showered with gifts on Samhain. Great Pumpkin, perhaps? Or Jack Skellington? (And then make a little shelf sitter monsters, like Shock, Lock and Barrel.)

* Go "Boo-ing"

"Boo'ing is "Reverse trick-or-treating." You fill a basket or bag with goodies, toys or anything festive for Halloween and leave it on the front doorstep of a friend or neighbor. You must include a "door sign" and "poem/instructions" so that the recipient knows what this is there for and how to pass long the favor. The recipient will place the door sign on their front door to let others know that they have had a turn being "boo'ed". Then the recipient gets a turn at this. Pretty soon the whole neighborhood is filled w/ homes with doors that have the signs up!"
- Anders Ruff

* making and sending the Samhain cards.
Make this a tradition, gather your friends and make the cards together, around a big table filled with all kinds of card making materials and tools, with good food and nice music in the background. Then you can write the envelopes together and have a good, long walk to post them.

I love the gatherings of friends doing crafts together, chatting about and munching something nice. "Pottery evenings" are a usual activity in Sweden. I love the descriptions of 19th century family evenings, where all the members of the family crafted something, and one of the family read a good book aloud, another perhaps popped pop corn, small kids played with kittens or wood shaving from daddy's carving or with mom's scrap basket.

You could gather to make Samhain decoration, or gifts - if not for Samhain, then for Yule. It's only two months away, it's high time to start thinking about Yule presents.

I find this article interesting: "How to host a Pinterest crafting party?"

You could be making soaps, bath bombs and other such things together. You could make candles.  Potpourri. 
Make mask for your shadow self. Make your Halloween outfit. Make a besom.
There's a lot one can craft at this time of the year.

Morgan Weistling - The Quilting Bee

You could go with the family or friends (or all) to the forest to pick mushrooms and things that can be used for crafting, like pine cones and acorns, or autumn leaves.

You could go picking pumpkins and have a pumpkin carving evening with friends, and serve hot pumpkin cider.

You could have a day with planting flower bulbs for Spring, and end it with hot chocolate and a good Halloween movie.

It's beginning to be time to start thinking about feeding birds over the winter, so you could have an evening with bird feeding theme, and make birdfeeders and birdfeed together.

* Have a favorite Autumn things party - like this "fall-iday favorite things party". Of course you'd have a color theme for clothing, like autumn leaves; and autumn themed foods.