Welcome or welcome back to Merrimack everyone!! Brat summer is officially over and fall is here! As it gets colder, I hope everyone is getting more excited about fall activities and the spooky season. Personally, coming into my senior year, one of my goals is to make the most of the year and create so many memories with my friends, so I put together a list of things to do this fall season on campus and off. I thought I would share them with you because who doesn’t love fun fall friend dates, right?!
Cozy Nights In:Â
Here’s a list of a few ideas for friend dates in your dorm. This can be as simple as wrapping up in a cozy blanket, making some popcorn, and watching a movie with friends. I also included some ideas for friend parties which include food/entertainment!
Movie Night
Some of my favorite Halloween movies are Hocus Pocus and Halloween Town (both available on Disney+). These movies are guaranteed to get you excited for Halloween night!
Sitting on the couch watching scary movies with my friends is also a favorite activity of mine. I would recommend the movie Scream (available on Hulu, Prime Video, Max, and more!), which I think is a great classic that you and your friends will enjoy.
This could be just me, but I am always in the mood for a romance movie and one of my favorites to watch in the fall time is When Harry Met Sally (available to rent on Prime Video).
Friendsgiving
I know at this point I’ve said everything is my favorite, but really my favorite thing to do with my friends is to sit down and eat a meal together. A potluck dinner is an easy way to split costs and efforts towards a Friendsgiving. Some ideas for food to bring could be any appetizers, side dishes, desserts, and drinks.
Homemade Treats
Gather your friends and bake some fall treats! This can be as simple as caramel apples or buying cookie dough from the supermarket, or you can go all out and make fall pies or even spiced cookies. If you don’t have a kitchen available, it could also be a night to get pre-baked goodies to eat with your friends (Tripoli’s near the engineering building has amazing pastries!).
Pumpkin Carving
Get yourself some pumpkins, which you can get at most supermarkets or farms. Pumpkin carving tools can be kitchen utensils you have in your dorm, or they are also available in most stores and Amazon. There is inspiration all over social media, but Pinterest is one of my favorites to use.
Fall Crafts
If you couldn’t tell by now, I love any activity that involves getting creative. Craft nights with my friends are one of my favorite ways to do this. Some fall-inspired crafts could be anything from pumpkin painting to gratefulness jars. Any craft can be made fall themed by including aspects of fall such as foliage, Halloween, sweater weather, etc.
Outings:
As much as I love staying in and hanging out with my friends, there are times when I crave an outing off campus or even just out of the dorm buildings. I compiled a list of fall outings that you can go on with your friends this semester.
Athletic Games
- One of my favorite parts of going to an athletics-involved school is that there is always some sort of athletic activity happening on campus. Here is a list of the next three home football games, so you can grab some blankets and hot chocolate and watch the Warriors at Duane Stadium. Homecoming this year is on September 28th and it is a super fun day where people get together with their friends and families to tailgate for the football game. This is probably my favorite day on campus, so I definitely recommend that you join the festivities!
- September 21 @ 1PM vs UMaine
- September 28 @ 1PM vs Dartmouth College (HOMECOMING)
- October 19 @ 1PM vs Stonehill College
Hot Girl Walk
We have all heard about hot girl walks and these truly are an amazing form of self-care that you can invite your friends to join you in. A place that I love to go on walks is around Downtown Andover, where you can stop to get a little sweet treat, as there are many little shops in the area. I also love to go on hikes with my friends to one of the nearest hiking trails which are at Weir Hill and Den Rock Park.
Festival
Coming back to spooky season… if you love haunted houses, scary trails, and more spooky festivities, then I highly recommend taking a trip to Canobie Lake Park for SCREEEMFEST. The opening day of SCREEEMFEST is in just a few days on September 21st and is open every weekend following up to November 2nd. If haunted houses aren’t really your speed, at Smolak Farms in North Andover each weekend there are fall activities such as hay rides, apple picking, and flower arranging available for everyone!
Pumpkin Patch
I know we all love the idea of putting on a cute sweater and going to a farm to go apple picking. Why not do this with your friends at Smolak Farms in North Andover or Crescent Farm in Haverhill? Enjoy walking through the apple orchard and the perfect fall weather with your friends at these farms.
I hope you can take some inspiration from this list to try new things and make new memories this fall semester. Happy fall/spooky season!