Our Fabled Nest

The ‘ber months are my favorite! I love all things cozy, comfy and snuggly! Crimson leaves dancing through the autumn air, puffs of smoke lazily rolling out of chimneys, hot cider and cocoa, nourishing soups, hearty stews – it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Over the past few years, we have been making a point of celebrating Halloween/Samhain for the whole 31 days. It doesn’t have to be expensive… but maybe just a teensy bit over the top. A simple Halloween movie each night really sets the spooky mood. Then we take it up a notch with a few puppy friendly crafts, fun food ideas to go along with certain movies, a pumpkin carving competition, Halloween haunted gingerbread house, a spooky pumpkin hunt, a little scavenger game and even some seriously cute Halloween inspired desserts, dinners and treats!

Let’s start with the movies! Hubs has his favorites, and I have mine. We are polar opposite, and I think that’s what makes our movie nights even more fun (ish)…. he loves those slasher horror flicks. My idea of “horror” movie would Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, The Haunted Mansion and of that like. After we’ve gathered our list of “horror” movies, we write down a movie for each night. With our list being vastly different, one night is literally Scooby Doo: Zombie Island and the next is Friday 13th… you know, with me hiding my face.

Movies on our October Countdown

Our countdown is hanging on our living room wall with all sorts of Halloween banners and decor! Our countdown is multiuse cream color with black numbers but at only 24 pockets we have to overlap some of the tags. We have little chalk tags that we can use for our grateful tree during the month of November and then for our December countdown too! These little chalk tags work amazing for our Halloween/Samhain countdown too. Either write the movie or activity on each one and place it in a slot on the countdown. I swap a bow and banner for each so it can look festive for the appropriate season without having to store a lot or spend extra money. Halloween, for example, has a retro banner and orange and black bow. November will have a bow with pumpkins, colorful autumn leaves and a harvest banner. Pine for December with a plaid bow and little organic candy canes in the pockets.

With watching a Halloween inspired movie each night, we get the opportunity to craft some really unique snacks, desserts and treats to kind of match the vibe of the movie…. it is so much fun! There are a million options! I do try to go the healthier route BUT October only comes once a year so why not spoil us!? Something Wicked this Way Comes has a carnival scene, so, we are making Maple coated Popcorn with Cotton Candy Mocktails. Simply add cotton candy to a glass and pour zero sugar lemon lime soda over. If you start drinking it as soon as you pour the soda over, it will remind you of Pop Rocks! Age doesn’t matter when it comes to October! My inner child has an absolute blast enjoying the fizz and I love noshing on yummy snacks on movie nights! Scooby snacks are always a must for any Scooby Doo movie, and we will be making these out of snickerdoodle cookies… you could also grab a box of Scooby snacks at the store! Any of the vampire movies require some kind of “blood” drink. I love Aldi for these options! Both dark cherry, cranberry and several berry choices means there is something for everyone! We keep ours nonalcoholic and usually mix the juice with a carbonated beverage like sparkling water or zero sugar lemon lime soda… I am not the one to ask about alcohol so I wouldn’t have a clue as to what to recommend! Raspberry filled donuts and hot chocolate are always a favorite choice for the Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror. Both of those items are classic Simpson foods! It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown needs as much pumpkin as possible. I keep it simple with pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin flavored coffee. We are planning a foodie graveyard for our Haunted Mansion movie – hubs is taking the lead on this and I am so excited to see what he comes up with! We always do gummy worms, gluten free carob cookies crumbled for “dirt” and our avocado pudding as the base. I have found tombstone toppers along with zombie hands and shovels. All are going to be perfect to create a delicious graveyard!

Chex mix is another must! I love the savory and hubs prefers the sweeter mixes, so we make several batches of different flavors! Either a quick google search or find a ton of festive recipes here! Chex mix is always a relatively safe gluten free snack and can more often than not be easily swapped for peanut free too! On our list are smokey bbq chex mix, pumpkin pie chex mix, apple cinnamon chex, pumpkin pie chex and a savory thyme rosemary chex mix. I love how easy they are to throw together and within an hour an easy snack is ready! If eating peanut free, make sure the ingredients don’t contain cottonseed oil or peanut oil. Double check the ingredients weren’t processed on the same equipment. Same with gluten free… it’s safer to double and triple check if you are sensitive or allergic to those ingredients.

Autumn crafts always create a nostalgic atmosphere, and I love that I am able to share that feeling with my little family! I do know they are dogs…. but at the same time, they seem to enjoy being a part of whatever is going on. Noone is ever forced to be crafty, but they always have an exciting reward for their efforts. And we end up with some really festive decor or art! I found these pumpkin kits (two unicorn and two owl) at Target. I also found these adorable “Boo” Ghost tea light candle kits too. For these crafts, a simple method we discovered of toss the paint on the item, place in an oversized Ziploc baggie and seal. Smear the outside with something delicious. Atticus loves fresh applesauce, Forrest and Laveena love sun butter and Magda likes a little bit of honey. We hold the bag while they lick it. This helps distribute the paint and when they are finished, we take it out of the bag and make a huge deal of their artwork…. our crew goes nuts and loves the attention! Target also has three packs of little wooden Halloween characters too. Same method as above for the fur kids will make something super sweet! Let dry and add a candle or sit on the mantle. Carving pumpkins is a must! We buy two kits every year. Five dollars and under but again, doesn’t have to be pricey or fancy. We take the girls and boys on separate pumpkin picking and corn maze excursions. I love watching them step around the pumpkins, sniffing until it’s the perfect one! Last year, Laveena was dead set on a massive pumpkin… and of course that’s what she got! If we don’t make it to the pumpkin patch, Lowes is dog friendly, and they typically have a plethora of pumpkins to choose from! Other fun things are homemade rice crispy treat pumpkins. Messy? Sure, but you know what? I know I will laugh my tail off and we will have a blast making them! I mentioned above Halloween Pumpkin hunt. This one is 100% for the fur kids but I am sure even human kids would enjoy. Fill the Halloween “eggs” (just like the Easter eggs just orange with pumpkin faces) with your kiddo’s favorite treat. We are using Beef Liver since it has a stronger smell, and a crowd favorite. Hide all over the yard or house and let them seek! This is by far my favorite activity for my tribe! I love seeing how excited they are when they find one. I purchased our Halloween eggs at Target and they were relatively inexpensive at $3 for a 24 count. These would be super cute at a Halloween party! A Halloween scavenger for both humans and fur kids alike, could lead to a pile of treasure! Pinterest has a ton of rhymes for leading to the next clue and even some for purchase through Etsy. We typically get them involved and have the scavenger hunt lead to a new chewy or toy…. it’s adorable and easy way to keep their minds occupied. I will hide the clues and treasure for the hubs to find with the four fur kids in tow… hubs usually has a bag of his beloved gummy worms hidden too! Along with a few other Halloween treats that I know he will love! He becomes rather theatrical with each find all the while getting the kiddos all riled up on their little search. “Dressed to Kill” is more for the girls since they both love wearing their tees and dresses but I always purchase the boy’s a new bowtie or bandana. These girlies always twirl around and make the biggest deal of their new shirts. Laveena will typically coo and go on until you mentioned the “new” shirt about ten times. Girl is serious about the attention! We have a coffee table dedicated to just them – it’s the perfect height and I scored it for twenty bucks on Facebook marketplace. This is the perfect place for the kiddos to “help” with pumpkin muffins, Halloween shaped cookies, treats and all of those Halloween goodies! I hope our little post inspires you to really soak in the magic of October!

Cheers to our next adventure!