Up until this year I never really enjoyed fall. Until now I have mostly spent my adult years in Ireland. If you’ve ever been to Ireland, you will know it rains there… a lot. Therefore “fall” or how we Europeans call it Autumn was never a really pretty time of the year there. It was wet (more than usual), cold & windy. Fallen leaves turned mushy. Since moving to Vancouver, I am very excited to once more celebrate each season of the year as it should be and fall is no different. Here are some of my favorite activities – I’d love to hear all about yours!
- Long walks in the park
Honestly, is there anything better than grabbing a cup of coffee and going for long autumn walks with a friend? I found that this year in Vancouver, autumn is getting a relatively good weather. The sun is shining and birds are singing. I love to get up early and feel the crisp fresh air fill my lungs. I also enjoy the streets and parks more with less people around. Its so peaceful. Not to add that starting your day early sets you up for accomplished day! Trees turn the beautiful golden & red colors and that makes for beautiful photographs.
2. Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Do I need to say more? I think it is perfectly acceptable to drink pumpkin spice lattes every weekend, even though they are a calorie bomb. But they taste so good. To date my favorite one is from Starbucks. There’s nothing better!
3. Thanksgiving
European countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. In Canada Thanksgiving is in October which is the perfect time to “officially” start fall season and colder weather. In America Thanksgiving falls at the end of November & I feel that’s too late and too close to Christmas.
Thanksgiving is about friends and family coming together (this year in smaller groups of course); cherishing the time they have, love, laughter and share a delicious meal. There’s something so comforting about having roasted dinner. I feel that may be a very Irish thing.
Taking a moment and deciding what you’re truly Thankful For is also a beautiful thing. It allows you to pause and really do a review of all the good things that happened to you this year. I know this year is anything but ordinary, however I feel like we as human beings are being thought to appreciate the little things in life. This year, despite having my family so far away, I was thankful for my close friends in Vancouver – “my Vancouver Family”.
4. Halloween Activities
Every year we carve out a pumpkin, we get pumpkin candles to spread the scent around our house, we drive around neighborhoods to see who decorated their house best. We also try & book an actual Halloween activity. This year we went to the Haunted Corn Maze in Abbotsford and it was scary! Who said you cant have fun and be petrified as an adult? I feel like we forgot about all the things happening in the world for a little while.
5. Pumpkin Patch
This is also something that Ireland doesn’t really have. I feel like the Irish climate isn’t suitable to grow pumpkins. This year we went to Laity Pumpkin Patch in Maple Ridge. You can read all about it here. Mainly the pumpkin patches have activities for children, however they are a great background for those perfect Instagram Photos. I went with two of my close friends and we had a blast.
In the current situation where world seems to be crumbling around us, where we hear of tragedies happening every single day, when we think this year couldn’t get any worse and it does…. Its important to cherish and appreciate the small things you still can do. It’s so so important for your mental health; we are extremely lucky Canada isn’t on lock-down and we are able to move freely, unlike many other countries. Therefore I urge you to make the most of what you have, while you still can. I’d also love to spread some positivity through my site, I’d love to hear what were you Thankful for this Thanksgiving?
Joanna Stich 
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