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5 Autumn Date Ideas

Autumn is our favourite season of the year. Not because we met at this time (we didn’t – June had that honour), there’s just something special about this transitional season. Everything just feels a little more right.

The days grow cooler, shorter and life becomes a little cosier all around. Blankets are rescued from the cupboard. Hot chocolate and marshmallows become an acceptable drink again. The trees show their last brilliant display of the year in a spray of fiery leaves that line the chilly streets. Autumn ushers in the holiday season, and yet we’re still blessed with sunny days.

Once late August rolls around, Aindrea decks the house out in autumnal decor and burns pumpkin spice candles like there’s no tomorrow. It’s always been her favourite time of year, and through her enthusiasm, Rich has grown to love it, too. It’s *our* time of year.

We always like to do as much as we can to make the season as special as possible, and some of our most treasured dates have taken place in the autumn. So what better inaugural post for this website than to share some of our favourite date ideas from the season? 

(Bear in mind that when we say date, we don’t necessarily mean a traditional dinner and movie date – when you’ve been married for a while, any conscious effort to spend time together counts as a special date!)

1. Bake together

Baking and autumn go hand in hand. A tasty, home baked treat is the perfect complement to a cosy evening together. Baking together can be a great way to really interact with one another and get creative. There’s also just something so sensual about preparing food together, tasting together, and indulging in your creation when it’s all finished. For best results, bake a pumpkin-y or cinnamon-y treat – and sip mulled wine while you work.

2. Visit the pumpkin patch

We don’t have children, but that doesn’t stop us visiting the pumpkin patch on our own to pick out the perfect decorative and carving pumpkins. In the past few years, pumpkin patches have finally begun to gain popularity in the UK (much to Aindrea’s delight), and we usually make a nice morning out of our trip. We often grab breakfast at one of our favourite places before hitting the patch, then take our time picking the perfect pumpkin we want to carve. Aindrea can’t resist buying the smallest ones she can find, and Rich always goes for the hefty ones. Once it gets closer to Halloween, you can turn this into a second date by carving your pumpkins together. 

3. Experience the colours

This one is largely dependent upon which part of the world you live in. Since we live in the UK, we’re pretty lucky when it comes to experiencing the beautiful autumn colours. We love visiting the different parks in the area on a sunny weekend and just going for a long walk, taking in the beauty of it all, hot drink in hand. Take the time to snap some pretty photos, or choose a few special fallen leaves to press in a book. This is a perfect late morning or afternoon activity that can be followed up with a meal out.

4. Picking autumn candles & decorations

We fully support you going all out! Then, when you get home, put on some music (we suggest Spotify’s Autumn Acoustic playlist), and sip at some hot cider or hot chocolate while you put the decorations up together.

If Aindrea had to name her top 5 days of the year, “the day we pick out our autumn candles” would be somewhere up there. In fact, sometimes she’s so eager to do this that she leaves Rich out completely (to little objection)! But going shopping for autumn candles and decorations can be a brilliant way to spend a couple hours together. Working on building a home together is a wonderful way to spend your time, so visit your favourite home goods store and pick out things like:

• ceramic pumpkins
• delicious smelling candles
• twiggy wreaths
• scarecrows
• fairy lights
• a crow on a skull under a dome.

5. Autumn movies

We’re really into movies. We love them so much that we have a life insurance policy that gives us free tickets every week, so we are often at the cinema.

But we also love making movie nights at home a big deal with popcorn, sweet treats and something special to drink. And, in the chillier months, getting the fireplace going. It really sets the mood and makes another night at home feel special. Some of our favourite autumn movies include:

• You’ve Got Mail
• Hocus Pocus (Rich humours Aindrea with this one…)
• Stepmom
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Of course, if you really want to make your October something to remember, you can try the Horror Challenge we put ourselves through a few years ago. One horror movie every night for the entire month of October. It’s a big commitment, but it was really fun! Read about it here.

We hope you like the sound of some of these date ideas. Autumn is such a wonderful time to be in love, so make sure you take advantage of this beautiful season and plan some special autumnal dates!