This week, the daily high temperature in Fresno dropped down to the low 80s and that, my friends, is the sign my coworkers and I have been waiting for to celebrate one of our favorite annual traditions: Falliday!
If you’re like me and absolutely love fall, may I politely suggest you consider adopting a Falliday tradition with your coworkers, family, or friends, too? Setting up your own Falliday is easy, but it creates great memories in a stretch of the year when there aren’t many holidays to look forward to.
There are three key elements to Falliday:
- A fall-themed feast
- Decorating your space for fall
- Doing a fall activity together
While these three elements stay consistent, the way you approach each one is completely customizable, depending on the preferences of your group.
Fall-Themed Feasts
In our office, we host a fall-themed potluck. Not everyone in our group enjoys cooking, but Trader Joe’s has a great selection of fall foods that often appear on our table. Those who do cook are quite good at it, and we love tasting their creations. Plus, we have one amazing coworker who always prepares the most delicious and creative mocktails.
This cheesy, corn-flake covered potato dish is my go-to contribution. It’s cozy comfort food at its best, and everyone requests it year after year. (Pro tip: I add chopped bacon and thinly sliced green onion for extra flavor.) I also like to bring these Pumpkin Muffins, which are always a big hit.
If your crew is short on kitchen time (or interest), you can go the soup route instead! Everyone grabs a yummy soup from a local store or restaurant (local restaurants for bonus points, of course). My personal suggestions include Moto Deli’s new Pumpkin Ginger Soup, Heirloom’s Chicken Posole, or Otherside Café’s Creamy Butternut Squash. A crusty loaf of fresh bread makes the perfect side.
Competitive types can even turn it into a soup throwdown. Vote on which soup is the best and award the winner bragging rights until next year!
Decorating Your Space for Fall
Whether you’re celebrating in the office or at home with family, Falliday is the perfect excuse to make your space feel cozy and festive. Fresno’s seasonal shifts are pretty mild (which I don’t mind, since I’m not looking to shovel snow anytime soon), but decorating for the season helps mark a fresh phase of the year and reminds you of all the things you love about fall.
Decorating doesn’t have to be costly, either. Some simple, budget-friendly ideas include:
- Collecting pinecones, pods, and acorns to display in vases or jars
- Arranging branches in tall vases
- Stringing together large leaves to create a garland (extra pretty if you use different types of leaves)
- Thrifting neutral or earth-toned ceramic pieces and arranging them with candles and greenery on entry tables or coffee tables
- Using fall-scented candles or essential oils to bring warm spice scents into your space
If you’re decorating as a group, making the decorations together not only speeds things up but adds to the fun. Then you all get to enjoy the cozy results for weeks to come.
Fall Activities
The final step in rounding out your Falliday is enjoying a fall activity together. Fair warning: after indulging in your comfort food feast, you may be tempted to vote for a group nap (which is exactly how we felt in the office this week!).
Generally, though, our office likes to do a craft. This year, I ordered ghost-themed paint-by-number sets. Each kit comes with six canvases, brushes, paints, and guides for about $25. We only got them started during lunch, but they’ll be fun to work on over the next few weeks, and we’ll have them ready to hang just in time for Halloween.
In past years, we’ve made Halloween-themed yarn ghost garlands and designed our own fall wreaths using faux leaves and wreath forms from Michael’s.
Not into crafting? No problem. You can choose your own fall adventure:
- Play a game of flag football
- Take a walk to spot changing leaves
- Break out a favorite board or card game (Telestrations, Hues & Cues, or Uno with house rules, anyone?)
- Work on a puzzle together while sipping post-meal coffee or tea
Whatever you choose, spending time together doing something fun is the perfect way to cap off the celebration.
Falliday has become one of my favorite traditions because it’s simple, fun, and easy to make your own. With a good meal, cozy decorations, and an activity that fits your group, you can bring the joy of fall into your workplace, your family time, or your friend group.
Disclaimer: None of the links or mentions in this article are sponsored or affiliate links. They are simply places and products I enjoy and wanted to share.
Leave a Reply