…say that 3 times fast. All jokes aside, fall in Findlay is a wonderful place to be. It is my favorite time of year in my adopted hometown (but, I may say that every season!). The air is crisp, its the season for the best sweet treats, and there are opportunities around every corner for new family traditions, and it is all capped off with Halloween!
Step 1: Gather your home decor – and don’t forget the pumpkins!
My kids are obsessed with Halloween and they like things spooky. Our house currently has a 15 foot spider web hanging from our roof with a huge spider perched in the middle, 10 tombstones arranging a spooky cemetery with bones poking out. Our sidewalk is lined with ghosts and our front porch is littered with skeleton creatures that they bought with their allowance money last year that change spots daily because they also like to play with them.
Is this normal? I would like to take this time to apologize to my neighbors. But it is all in the spirit (pun intended) of Halloween.
But, if you’re looking for a more classy motif this Fall there are plenty of places to get your beautiful pumpkins, bales of straw, corn stalks, mums, gourds, and more. Check out these locations to shop local for your home and fall decor, and please allow me to live vicariously through you as I look at your beautiful homes!
And after you have your homes looking spooky or sweet, show off your family’s hard decorating work by entering the House Decorating Competition by Hancock Leadership Alumni Association!
Step 2: Stock up on sweet treats
Personally, my favorite part about Fall is the treats. Treats that you can probably have any time of the year just taste better when the weather has turned. We can’t wait for October to arrive because it means Dietsch Brothers’ Caramel Apples! While Grant prefers the original, we order one of each kind and LOVE the new premium flavors!
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- Caramel Apples the size of your head (if you are four) can be found at Dietsch’s!
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- Be sure to check out the new premium flavors!
Pumpkin Spice Lattes aren’t just for grown-ups. It is a special treat when they get “coffee” (aka a pumpkin spice steamer) but they feel so cool when they get to carry their own cup on a walk downtown. And, of course, we have to get cookies to go with our coffee! Luckily, Findlay is home to so many great coffee shops and bakeries that know how to make your kids feel fancy, full, and sugar-filled this fall.
Pumpkin Cookies from The Baker’s Cafe is the perfect fall treat!
Step 3: Take in the Fall color
Like so many people we have been spending so much more time at our parks the past seven months, and we’ve loved seeing the leaves beginning to change. Riverside Park is an easy and fun walk for the family, we can choose to walk along the river or go on the Story Walk, and we always have to go to the observation deck and see the kayakers coming in from their Float Trips.
Story Walk is a great way to enjoy the Fall Color and take in a story!
Riverbend Park, Litzenberg Memorial Woods, and Oakwoods Nature Preserve all have trails that immerse you in nature and are fun year-round, but especially in the Fall. If you have some ambitious hikers in your family give the 20-mile Heritage Trail a try!
Oakwoods is a favorite of our family’s and is a great spot to see beautiful leaves!
Step 4: Make memories at all the seasonal events
In a year where so many events have been cancelled it is especially gratifying that so many of our favorite fall events are happening, in one way or another! A family favorite of ours is a visit to Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, whether a daytime visit to the Pumpkin Train or an evening visit to the Halloween Express. NWORRP is decked out in Halloween decorations that the kids can enjoy as we ride around the track on the quarter-scale train ride. During the Pumpkin Train you can get off the train and pick a pumpkin for an additional fee, although it isn’t required, and in the evening all the lights come on for a (not so) spooky experience all ages will love. Plus, make plans to ride the Trick-or-Treat Train on October 24 or 31.
Open train cars at NWORRP are recommended for tall people, a recommendation my very tall husband did not take!
Of course, a trip to the pumpkin patch is more than just picking out your pumpkins. We normally take a couple trips to our favorite pumpkin patches; one to pick out pumpkins and another to just have fun! Homestead Fall Farm has so many activities, including a Corn Maze, Punkins and Putters, and Barrel Train rides. And a visit to Conine’s Country Market is always fun for the hayrides and seeing all the animals on the farm.
A hayride at Conine’s is always a fun time!
The Hancock Historical Museum is doing so many awesome events in October that will be fun for the whole family. Families can search the museum’s campus for hidden pumpkins beginning October 14 and continuing during regular hours until October 30 as part of the Pumpkin Hunt and enter to win a prize when you have found them all. Plan to visit the museum on October 17 and 25 for special Halloween crafts and activities for just a $1 admission. For something extra special make reservations now for a Halloween Tea with plenty of spooky fun – don’t forget your costumes!
The Hancock Historical Museum has so many great Halloween events in October!
Lastly, trick-or-treat, of course! Traditional Trick-or-Treat is still the plan, with safety measures being put in place. The City of Findlay’s trick-or-treat will take place on Halloween, from 6:30 – 8 p.m., you can see all the villages trick-or-treat times here. If you are looking for alternatives to trick-or-treat this year, Blanchard Valley Center and Kan Du Group have put together a Drive-Thru Halloween event on October 23. Dress up in your costumes and stay safely in your car as you drive thru and see decorated vehicles, listen to spooky music, and even receive a goodie bag. Then plan to drive through the community and check out other decorated spots, like the village of Mt. Blanchard, who always gets in the holiday spirit!
Step 5: Get your Costumes Out and Have Fun!
Need a couple more things to do to round off spooky season? Smarty Pants Findlay always has the perfect book, game, or activity that fits any occasion and Halloween and Fall are no exception. Pick up some cider at Conine’s or JK Juices and have a Family Game Night with something fun from Smarty Pants. Or, get your creative juices flowing with a Halloween at Home bucket from Painters’ Pottery! These buckets come with fun Fall and Halloween themed trinkets and everything you need to paint a memento to remember Halloween 2020, all from the comfort of home!
Have Halloween fun at Home with a paint-at-home bucket from Painters’ Pottery
If we haven’t already given you enough ideas of how to celebrate all of October, we have more ideas! The HLAA house decorating contest is just one small part of all the fun they have planned this month. Encourage your kids’ creativity and go all out for the costume contest – open to humans and pets! There is also a picture coloring contest and pumpkin carving and decorating contest too, you can see all the details and learn how to enter here.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Halloween and the fall we hope you have a wonderful time and make plenty of memories! Share your fall adventures with us on social media by tagging Visit Findlay!