31 Ways to Celebrate October and the Halloween Countdown!

October is my absolute favorite month of the year.  The weather is just starting to cool, the fall leaves are changing colors, the sweet smell of pumpkin is in the air, and then there is Halloween!  I can’t help but feel both excited and refreshed when this time of year rolls around.  Something about October makes me feel so alive and at peace in my own skin.

It always seems to go by too quickly though, so much excitement and in the blink of an eye it is gone.  I suppose like the adage says, time flies when you are having fun.  This year, I don’t want to miss a thing!  So I’ve made a list of 31 wonderful ways to celebrate October and would like to share it with the rest of my fellow Pumpkin Heads!

1. Get your culinary talent going with 31 Pumpkin Filled Recipes.   
2. Horror Movie buffs can work their way through the 31 Scariest Movies of All Time.
3. Get your ghost gear ready and visit the 31 Most Haunted Places in America.
4. Curl up in your favorite reading nook with 31 of the Scariest Books. 
5. Photography Admirers can check out these 31 Haunting Images of Abandoned Places. 
   

   Abandoned home in Nebraska

6. Try your hand at 31 of these 33 Awesome Pumpkin Carvings.
   

   Nittany Lion Pumpkin

7. Or get crafty with 31 Most Amazing No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas.
8. Don’t throw all those pumpkin seeds out, whip up these 5 Mouth Watering Pumpkin Seed Recipes.
9. Spend some time with the little monsters in your life with 31 Days of October Crafts.
10. Let these 31 Terrifyingly Creepy Vintage Halloween Costumes inspire your plan for this Halloween.
11. Kick back and try 31 of these Must Try Pumpkin Beers.
12. Take a drive through the Top 14 Foliage Destinations in the U.S.
    

    Fall Foliage at Penn State University

13. Find your way through 31 of these Corn Maze Locations.
    

    My niece having a blast in the Mount Vernon Hay Maze

14. Make sure to visit a few pumpkin patches, perhaps one of these 5 Best Pumpkin Patches in America.
15. Get a good scare at The Top 31 “Must See” Haunted Houses.
16. Enjoy the fall harvest at one of these Great Apple Picking Orchards.  Couldn’t resist adding this Apple Picking list from Travel and Leisure too.
17. Get your blood pumping with a Zombie Run or download the addictively entertaining Zombies, Run! app to kick up the stakes in your training.
18. Try out some of these great Hard Ciders.
19. Do it yourself, Make your Own Hard Cider!
20. Brew your own Pumpkin Ale!
21. Drink your beer from a DIY Pumpkin Keg!  Lol, I love my pumpkin beers.
22. Start planning your Halloween Party with 31 Halloween Party Ideas for your inspiration.
    

    My husband and I at our neighbor’s awesome 2012 Halloween party.

23. Get creative with your party food with 31 Ghoulish Treats For Your Halloween Feast.
24. Make one of these 31 Halloween Wreaths for your front door.
    

    The Halloween wreath I made last year.

25. Real your Fur Kid into the festivities with 57 of the Greatest Pet Costumes.
    

    My sweet little Zippo as a pumpkin

26. Read up on your history with 13 Facts You Never Knew About Halloween.
27. Take “Trick or Treat” literally this year with 50 Amazingly Epic Pranks.
28. Learn how the heck that superstition about black cats started and other Black Cat Folklore.
    

    Our black kitten, Onyx

29. Don’t forget your pink, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
    

    Kent and I at the Diva Half Marathon in memory of my Aunt Maddy.

30. Enjoy one of the Great Autumn Hike in National Parks.
31. Have the Happiest Halloween and countdown 364 days until next year!

Do you have a favorite way to celebrate October?  I’d love to hear your ideas and stories, just comment below!