September 23rd harkened the first day of autumn with 95 degrees and blazing sun. The temperatures in October hit over 100 degrees multiple days a week. Not a single leaf has changed from green to burnt orange. It can be hard to feel like it’s fall in Arizona, especially coming from a Northern state. But the strangeness of the Arizona season does not mean that you have to sacrifice your fun fall experience! Here are a few ways to embrace fall here, even if the trees and weather outside do not reflect the season.
Decorate your room
The best way to embrace fall is to make it feel like fall inside your room! Orange leaf decorations and tiny pumpkins are always a perfect accent to any fall-themed room. Even if you do not have any explicitly fall decorations, just putting fall colors like oranges, golden yellows, and reds in the room can make it feel more like the season.
Cook fall-flavored foods
Fall may have the best food spread of any season, between stuffing, potatoes, turkey, pies, breads, and more. Embrace fall by cooking up some fresh fall recipes! Use more pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, and spices in baking! Cook some sweet potato, squash, and peppers for some hearty flavors! There are so many simple fall recipes on the internet to try for yourself and your friends.
Wear fall colors
Dressing in warm sweaters in direct 100-degree sun may not be feasible, but that does not mean you have to sacrifice your fall fits! Wear the colors of the season in clothing that still fits the weather. Instead of wearing the cool blues and beach clothes of the summer, try wearing more oranges, reds, yellows, and forest greens. An outfit can feel like fall without layers if the colors reflect the fall color scheme.
Read a book
The busyness of the fall season may keep it from feeling like a break from the heat of summer, so take some time to slow down by reading a good fall book! From classics like Frankenstein for Halloween to Twilight for some fall-romance fun, curling up under a blanket with a good book will help you embrace the spirit!
Watch a fall movie or TV show
One of the quickest ways to feel like fall is to watch some classic seasonal movies. Pour some apple cider, grab friends, and embrace the season by watching it on your screen! From watching cult classics like Practical Magic, witty Gilmore Girls, or laughable Hallmark fall movies, watch what makes fall to you!
Go to a pumpkin patch
Phoenix in the fall offers plenty of fall fairs with tractor rides, pumpkin picking, and corn mazes, and there is no better way to embrace fall that bringing home your own little pumpkin friend! Events like Arizona Fall Fest, Schnepf Farms, and Vertuccio Farms offer a fall experience in warmer weather. Here are more fall festivals in different areas of Arizona.
Fall may be less of a season in Arizona and more of a state of mind. Even if the weather remains at a pleasant 80-90 degrees, you can embrace the chill breeziness of fall by spending time with friends doing all these activities!