Autumn Hygge – Our Traditions

In Autumn I start to turn in on myself. We still go outside a lot, the crisp air and crunchy leaves are as good for my soul as they are for the children’s. But in the evenings and the quiet times throughout the day, I start to slow down and find myself repeating steps I’ve taken hundreds of times before, returning to old friends; books I’ve read before, rewatching films we love, cooking those old and much-loved comfort food dishes.

There is something about Autumn that makes me repeat what has come before, finding comfort in the repetition, like a warm safety blanket after the freedoms and spontaneity of summer. Below I have listed a few of the things we do every year, things that I didn’t even realise were traditions until I sat down and thought about it.

Rereading well-loved books

I wrote a blog post about which books I love to reread every autumn here. These books, for whatever reason, are ones that always bring me comfort. I used to feel guilty about rereading books, there are so many out there to read, and so little time to do so! But now I realise I’ll never get through them all, and a warm evening in, tucked up under the blanket, returning to old friends I know so well, is a huge comfort to me.

Pumpkin picking

We started doing this many years ago and it is something we have continued to do now that we have children. It’s something we have also encouraged other family members and close friends to join in with – not something they would have chosen to do themselves but I think they ended up enjoying it, mostly due to my unrelenting enthusiasm to rummage through muddy fields and find the perfect Cinderella pumpkin, the perfect trio to stack on top of each other for the front door and the perfect Charlie Brown pumpkin to rescue. Paul must really love me to put up with it!

Watching sunsets

I love doing this at all times of the year but in autumn it gets a lot easier as the sun comes up later and goes down earlier. At the end of the season, the sun goes down early enough that we can grab a thermos of tea, tuck the children into the waggon and head off for a family sunset-watching session and then come home to a big hot meal, baths, books and bed – my idea of a perfect evening!

Leaf kicking

For as long as I can remember I have spent the whole of autumn kicking leaves. I have strong memories of walking to school as a child and everyone taking complete joy in the crunching of leaves underfoot. We grew up in a tiny village in the West Country and it was a footpath walk to our school, lined by hundreds of trees, many of them horse chestnut, and they went the most wonderful colours and the leaves made the perfect crackling noise underfoot. We now go out of our way to find good leaves for the children to play in throughout the season. Nothing makes me happier than a welly clad child jumping happily in the leaves.

Pie making

I have a bit of a thing about pies. No idea where it has come from, but I adore making them. They aren’t perfect, and Mary Berry wouldn’t be impressed as they usually have a soggy bottom, but honestly, I just love them. Luckily my family and friends don’t mind eating them either! I love to decorate them and even treated myself to some leaf-shaped cookie cutters a few years back which I often use to decorate the top.

Apple and blackberry is my favourite for this time of year (it’s a classic for a reason) and I think I could happily make it every weekend until I was asked to stop. Summer is a particular fan of my vegan chicken and mushroom pie and whilst proofreading this post has announced that the two combined would make a great dinner party – anyone would think she’s hinting at something!

Epic hot chocolate making

This started a long time ago when Summer and I decided that normal instant hot chocolate powder and water just wasn’t good enough. We treat ourselves to take away ones every now and again but I’m a homebody so I wanted something decedent to enjoy at home after a long walk in the leaves; whipped cream, marshmallows, sprinkles, gingerbread biscuits, the lot. What’s not to love about a good, fully loaded (and vegan!) hot chocolate.

Weekly Sunday walks to watch the leaves change

As we always say, you don’t need to constantly be on the go or doing something new to find the joy and magic in your life. Since having the children we go to basically the same two places for our Sunday family walks (which happen every week whatever the weather). The joy of going to the same place frequently is that you really get to see the seasons and in autumn that means the beautiful scene of leaves turning from greens to reds and oranges and golds until they finally fall off in a grand finale of colour.

Fairy toadstool spotting

This is something we absolutely adore doing with the children. Again, it’s normally done on our Sunday morning walks and it is absolutely magical. We tell stories about fairies and other magical creatures as we go and our little ones will walk an incredible distance in order to see “Just one more Mama!”.

Evening sewing

I love sewing but very rarely make the time for it that it deserves. In the Autumn, however, it seems to be the natural thing that I turn to in the evenings. It brings me such comfort to spend an evening slowly working on a project, it really is the best sort of mindfulness and often leads to homemade decorations or gifts.

Firepit and log burners

Need I say more? There is something comforting the world over about a log fire and we feel so incredibly lucky to have a log burner in our living room. We spent a long time saving to have it put in and passed on other things we could have done with our money but I don’t regret it for an instant!

I love to sit and read or sew in front of it in the evenings and if it’s on in the day the children will sit and just watch the fire. They also love to eat in front of it so we’ll often have a little log burner picnic on the living room floor. The firepit I love to do on colder evenings when we typically have hotdogs or burgers for tea and big mugs of cocoa or tea as well. A magical way to spend the evening outside when it’s cold and dark, and hopefully it’s memory-making times for the children.

Apples

Baked, in pies, in cake, in toffee, apple festivals the lot! We especially love to pick them ourselves, all bundled up in scarves, before taking them home to cook with.

Watching murder mysteries

I love to rewatch the old Miss Marple at this time of year, or Foyle’s War. Anything set in the past with a good mystery to solve is right up my street and foggy evenings at home or Sunday afternoons when the sea fog comes rolling in are the best times to snuggle up and enjoy them.

Hot puddings with Sunday lunch

This is definitely Paul’s favourite part about autumn. All the Eglish favourites come out; pie, sticky toffee pudding, steamed sponge pudding… comfort food at its finest. Seeing your family so full and content is the best feeling in the world.

As you can tell I adore autumn. Is it your favourite season too? What are some of your favourite things to do during this beautiful time of year? We’d love it if you left a comment here or on Instagram (@foxandlockes).

Livvy and Summer