More Tea Parties | Content Warnings
Hello, fam! We’re sharing some of our favorite things to do in the fall. Settle in with your own favorite seasonal snacks and join us for tea!
Do you have any fall traditions?
Raspberry:
I’d say my biggest Fall tradition is forgetting about Halloween costumes until, like, the week before and then finding out my workplace mandates costumes. So that’s always fun haha. Other than that, I feel like it isn’t Fall if I’m not drinking gallons of tea (preferably chai lattes) and admiring beautiful fall foliage.
Pineapple:
Nothing in particular! I just spend a lot of time with my family. Things change year to year as the fam changes, but I like to spend the holidays with them. I really enjoy getting into Thanksgiving and Halloween spirit, but I don’t really have any particular traditions about how to do that.
Apple:
I can always tell fall has started by the food. My mom makes the best pumpkin muffins. I eat so many in a single sitting—and with hot chocolate? Y’all. She also makes a fantastic apple pie. It’s my nana’s recipe and my absolute favorite pie, so every year my mom tries to teach me how to make it. Unfortunately, none of this recipe is written down and she does that whole “no measuring cups, just vague pouring motions” thing, so I still have no idea how to make the pie on my own. This does lead into my other favorite tradition, though, which is eating desserts for breakfast. Pie? Chocolate covered caramel apples? Technically fruit, right?
What are your favorite fall books and movies?
Raspberry:
I feel like Fall is when I really get into Dark Academia the most. I love reading books about schools and angst and mystery around this time of year, and I almost always reread and rewatch The Dead Poet’s Society. Is the teacher kinda not the best because he does have a curriculum to teach and he just isn’t? But does it still make me cry and feel the angst of teens undergoing a confusing time of adolescence and growth and loss? Yes, to all of the above. Also, Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown are always on my must-watch list no matter how old I am. They are classics, and yes I will die on this hill.
Pineapple:
Hmm… I don’t know if I have favorite fall books. I guess I should find some. Rec your favs in the comments please lol. I just like horror in general, obviously, but that isn’t just reserved for fall!
I like watching horror movies, too. Nothing in particular–I like watching new ones and the classics. I can enjoy a Fall Hallmark movie every once in a while more than a Christmas one honestly. I do try to watch Cartoon Network’s Over The Garden Wall during this season since it’s one of my little sister’s favorites, plus it’s sooooo good.
Apple:
I don’t think I go too spooky with my book and movie choices for fall. I do love a bit of light-hearted sleuthing, though. Scooby-Doo movies from when I was little are a super fun go-to. I might do some animated Batman stuff, a few comics—oh, and I’ve been loving that new batfam webtoon! Watching Case Closed with my uncle and my sister is also pretty standard this time of year. If I throw in anything closer to horror, it’s usually a zombie rec from Pineapple or even better: something she’s written.
Do you have any favorite fall tropes? What about least favorite?
Raspberry:
I’m very on the fence with many things “Fall.” Was I once the kind of person who was like “oh no, it’s pumpkin spice season”? Yes. Do I miss it now that I’m in a country where pumpkin is not a spice; it’s found in hearty stews? Also yes. I love/hate horror movies centered around Halloween as a holiday, but honestly that’s when I love watching horror, so it fits.
Pineapple:
I think just the aesthetic of Fall is so freaking cute!! The sweaters, the mugs, the pumpkins?? I love it. I think Fall Balls are cute and going to a pumpkin patch and then carving jack-o-lanterns is cute. Halloween is cute, unless it’s spooky, which is good too.
I do think it’s a little tired that spooky stuff ONLY happens in the fall. Like come on. Spooky stuff can happen other times. In Asia, spooky season is actually in the Summer. The season is only really mentioned in horror movies if it’s an inciting incident or if it’s around Halloween, really. I’d just love to see more horror year-round, I guess.
Apple:
You can probably tell from The Faery Bargain, but I love when characters share a scarf or a jacket in cool weather. I also love that “pretend to be my date for this dinner with my family I don’t want to go to” trope, especially in fanfiction. And, speaking of fanfiction, coffeeshop AUs have always felt really fall to me. Last but not least: big, old houses or crumbling castles. Maybe a monster lives there. Maybe the main character falls in love with the monster. You know.
What’s your favorite fall activity?
Raspberry:
In my current location, I love going out and seeing the foliage. Pre-COVID, I would go hiking in the mountains and take pictures of the trees. Now, I’m usually hiding in my house because I’m vaccinated but scared of this awful mutating virus. I love being outside in the Fall, especially cause it’s the only time of year when it isn’t hot or cold or making my allergies go crazy. I also usually end up baking and contemplating writing poetry around this time of year. What can I say? This season brings out the tea-drinking, studious, dark-academia nerd in me.
Pineapple:
Summer is my favorite season, but I actually really like going out to look at Fall and Halloween decor! I like shopping in general, but I think fall decor is so cute. Some places start putting up Christmas lights early and it’s fun to go see how malls and things are decorated. I didn’t go out anywhere the last couple years obviously due to COVID, but we’ll see how things are looking for this year. I’m not sure yet. Where I like there’s a lot of evergreen trees, so we don’t really get the color-changing leaves but I do still like to go out for walks when it’s cooler and the sun just looks a little different. I like watching movies and shopping around and looking at pretty things, but I like doing that year round. Just now I can do it in a sweater.
Apple:
Aside from spending time with my family (and eating), pumpkin patches are for sure my number one fall activity. Enjoying the nice weather, buying pumpkins after picking out my favorites and possibly naming them, getting apple butter in cute little jars. I went to a corn maze once, too, when I was a kid, and the weather was definitely not fall enough yet. Everyone was sweltering. The clues to get through the maze went straight over our heads. We thought we’d never get out. For some reason, I would like to go again someday.
What about you?
What are your favorite fall traditions? Any book or movie recs? How about a trope you love to see? Let us know in a comment below or over on twitter @jaamwriting!
JAAM Writing 
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