October ushered in slightly cooler weather for us here in the Boro, which means autumn really is around the corner. Enjoy crisp, cool mornings, pumpkin sightings, football games, and more. Make it an awesome autumn with those you love. Try out some of these wacky, but real holidays and create some unique family ones, too. Happy Fall, Y’all!
American Cheese Month and National Pasta Day – Combine these two celebrations with a fun recipe to cook with the family. Gather everyone in the family to make a yummy dish of Four Cheese Chicken Fettuccini. Cook eight ounces of fettuccini according to the package directions. You can celebrate the day by choosing whatever swirly, curly, or straight-shaped pasta your family enjoys most. Drain cooked noodles. In a large pot, combine one ten-ounce can of cream of mushroom soup, one eight-ounce package cream cheese, one and one-half cups whipping cream, one-half cup butter, and one-half teaspoon garlic. Cook on medium heat until melted, stirring often. Once cream cheese is melted, stir in one cup of grated Parmesan cheese, one cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and one-half cup shredded Swiss cheese. Cook until melted. Add two and one-half cups chopped, cooked chicken. Heat through. Add cooked pasta to sauce and transfer to a greased two and one-half-quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
Bat Appreciation Day – Make a fun craft to enjoy the season. Cut a six-by-six-inch square from black construction paper. Roll the paper into a tube shape and tape the edges together. Cut two bat-shaped wings out of black construction paper, about five inches across at the widest point. Tape or glue the wings to the back of the tube on top of the taped edges. Cut two white circles for eyes and two smaller black circles for the pupils. Glue the black circle onto the white circle and glue the eyes in place. Cut two white triangles and glue in place for front teeth. Cut two black triangles for ears. Cut and glue two pink triangles slightly smaller for the inside of the ears. If desired, glue a wooden craft stick inside the bat tube to use the craft as a puppet
Do Something Nice Day – Well, this one is a no-brainer. Find something or more than one somethings to do as a family for a neighbor, family member or friend. Make it an extra-nice something to brighten that person’s day or lend them a hand. And why stop with one day? Pick several people to do something nice for and enjoy sharing kindness all month long.
World Day of Architecture – Look online to learn more about the amazing beauty of architecture. Find pictures of doric columns, ionic columns and Corinthian columns. Find pictures of these architecture examples, too: gable, flying buttresses, turret, decorative shingles, pointed arches, friezes, pediments, rose windows, gambrel roof, flat roof, hipped roof, dormer window, bay window, and any other unique structure of style you can find. Then, take go for a scavenger hunt with the family one afternoon to find examples of these architecture styles in Statesboro. Then find a restaurant with a unique or fun architectural style and enjoy dinner together before going back home.
Hug a Sheep Day – If you happen not to have sheep handy for a quick hug, then enjoy a few of these sheep books together for bedtime stories! The Good Shepherd and the Stubborn Sheep, by Hannah E. Harrison; Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Rudyard Kipling; Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw; Sheep Go to Sleep by Nancy Shaw; Hide ‘n’ Sheep by Jennifer Sattler; Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox; Barnaby the Runaway Sheep: A Parable of the Lost Sheep by Maria Antonia; and Those Magnificent Sheep in their Flying Machine by Peter Bently.
Have an incredible October with the ones you love. Enjoy the beauty of the season and share lots of memory-making moments with the family. You’ll be so glad you shared and stored up those special minutes, long after the seasons change yet again. Happy fall to all!
Statesboro native Julie Lavender is celebrating this October with the release of her new book coauthored with her hubby. Look for Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime wherever books are sold.