It's time to fall for fall (yes, I went there). This doesn't just have to mean apple picking, pumpkin patching, and your annual flirtation with pumpkin spice everything (although, you are likely on your way to get a latte now, so sip and open your mind), Get bold and have some bizarre fun. Fall is the season of transformation so let's transform your mind a bit too to get a bit silly and think outside the box.

1. Pumpkin Palooza: No-Carve Chaos

Want to keep that pumpkin plump and perfect? Or maybe you just prefer that nobody in your house use a knife and go to town for hours? Well, host a “Pumpkin Palooza” where carving is strictly prohibited. Only “non-invasive” pumpkin surgery is allowed. Try an assortment of paint, stickers, feathers, yarn, glitter, or even chic tiny pumpkin outfits—think “Project Pumpkin Runway.”  Casually invite your most judgmental friends over to be judges and have categories like “Best Dressed Pumpkin,” “Most Likely to Get Squashed in High School,” (leave my name out of that one, would ya) and “Pumpkin with the Best Bumpkin.” Winner gets the Golden Gourd Trophy (a bedazzled mini pumpkin on a pedestal - who wouldn’t want that).

2. Leaf Sommelier: The New Snobbery

Instead of fancy wine sommeliers, leaf sommeliers are in. Organize a "Leaf Tasting" event where you rate and review leaves with all the seriousness of a food critic on a Michelin tour. Swirl the leaf in your hand, take a deep inhale, inspect it from different angles, and declare, “Ah, yes. Notes of bark and a smooth finish of damp ground with a hint of... squirrel?” Ok, this one is getting a little out there but, to keep with the theme, hand out laminated awards like Leaf of the Year that nobody wants or asks for. I guess make sure there is a garbage can on their way out. 

3. Philosophical Haunted Walkway

Haunted houses are so 2023, aren't they? Enter the “Philosophical Haunted Walkway,” where the only thing scarier than ghosts is your mind and those deep, existential questions. Line the path with eerie decor and hidden speakers whispering things like, “What if life is just one big crazy corn maze?” or “If a leaf falls in a forest and no one’s around to Instagram it, does it really matter?” To really spook your guests, hand out mirrors at the end and tell them to look deep within. The horror! Have them commit to coming to the next party because there is a chance they might not after this one.

4. Gourmet S’mores Deathmatch

The pressure is on for a s’mores showdown so fiery that it will put the “Great British Bake Off” to shame. Line up a s’mores bar for your goblin guests with ingredients like ginger snaps (ok, yum), bacon, matcha-flavored marshmallows (is this a thing?), and whatever else you can grab from your cupboard. The goal is to craft the most avant-garde s’mores possible. Score each delicious work of art on “Originality,” “Flavor,” and “Likelihood to Attract Bears.” Have a trophy ready for the Golden Graham Guru. What an honor.

Not to brag, but I've been a little strange since I was an embryo. I clearly have the upper hand here but am sharing my ideas so you too can be strange and unusual this season. Spook yourself and spook it up some. Enjoy, my little pretties....