In some parts of the country, the Changing of the Leaves has officially begun. While we’ve never officially been “leafers” – the moniker assigned to folks who travel specifically to peep the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows at the height of an area’s foliage season – we admire the leafer culture and how nicely tourism boards support such an active outdoor movement. Many states even host websites providing color keys to report each county’s current foliage conditions, much like a UV index map or allergen forecast.

Knowing when to decorate for fall is a bit more complicated. Letting go of summer and its precious barbecues, baseball season, and stroll-worthy sidewalk sales can feel bittersweet, simply because there’s no season quite like summer for nine months each year. Thank heavens autumn provides such a lovely transition filled with pies, pumpkins, and a multitude of reasons to wear gauzy scarves. If decorating for fall is on your list this week, start by carefully storing your warm-weather things and sweeping the summer sand and spiderwebs from your house’s crevices. Once your template is nice and blank, surround yourself with décor that pays homage to autumn’s favorite attributes.

1. Settling into a new school year

Now that September has passed and your child’s teacher can match those cute little faces to his or her classroom roster, it’s necessary to keep your kids pumped about school until their first holiday break. Instead of fussing over undone homework and an abundance of time spent in front of the television, ask your kids to take control over their own to-do lists and promote the lifelong joy of finishing work to make room for play. Add a desk to your son or daughter’s workspace and use reusable, removable chalkboard wall decals to show him or her how to list and check off assignments, practice calculating math problems in preparation for test day, and prioritize the steps toward completing school projects. Should your child ever decide to rearrange the room or move upstairs once a sibling has gone off to college, simply unstick the chalkboard wall stickers and restick where needed.

2. Camping

Fall brings ideal camping weather – it’s not too hot or too cold, and the bugs are packed up and heading underground for their own unique holidays. If you can’t make it up to Lake Lovelylake for the weekend, try your own backyard, or better yet, a makeshift tent city in your very own home. To recreate a dusky campground atmosphere, hang reusable glow in the dark wall decals just above the nearest window and assign each child his or her own battery-operated lantern. Make parent-supervised s’mores on the stovetop without worrying about mixing open flames with volatile pillow fights. As long as there’s warm snuggles and recreated starlight, it doesn’t matter where you are – those camping memories will stick.

3. Halloween

Odds are, your kids have already chosen their costumes for this year (or narrowed the list down to a mere 20 possibilities). You might have already carved a pumpkin and chosen your house’s official candy giveaway, too. One of many jobs parents assume during the month of October is keeping the kids from exhausting their excitement too soon, which is why we created a peel and stick Halloween wall décor kit with unlimited pumpkin-designing potential. Instead, put the knives away and spend those impatient afternoons going nuts creating jack-o’-lanterns, arranging bats, and dreaming of a candy corn rainstorm. Our wall stickers kit is removable and reusable, so you could always volunteer to transfer it to your child’s classroom and win some points with an equally overextended teacher.

4. Local leaf-peeping

If you don’t have time to head toward Maine before the oranges and reds turn to browns and darker browns, fear not – most towns can boast some nice fall foliage, even if it doesn’t quite qualify as a tourist attraction. Autumn is the best time to don a light jacket and plan a nice family stroll for an afternoon of tree-gazing and deer-spying. If your kids need help getting in the mood, decorate their bedrooms and playrooms with removable deer wall decals in vibrant colors. Designing an homage to nature with reusable wall stickers is so incredibly easy, the kids could give you a hand as you spruce up their spaces.

5. Thanksgiving

If you’re planning to host Thanksgiving dinner, now’s the time to get that kitchen redecorating project underway. Pick out a paint color, hit the hardware store, and consider creating a fall-tastic focal wall that complements your chosen color. One of the easiest ways to accomplish instant décor is by adding removable peel and stick wallpaper to one wall. Depending on the size and shape of your designated space and whether or not you’ll need to trim out squares for letting electrical sockets show, you could add some serious cute to your kitchen or dining area before lunchtime. If only the holiday menu were so easy…

What’s your family’s favorite autumn activity? How do you like to decorate your home for a positively fabulous fall season? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

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