Like nearly every other white girl from the suburban Chicago, fall is my favorite time of the year – but not because of Pumpkin Spice Lattes (I actually hate them), flannels, or an abundance of Instagram-worthy pictures of me holding a pumpkin or throwing leaves. I love watching the leaves change from green to yellow to red, and hearing them crunch under my feet as I trudge to my 9:30 AM every other day; I love everything there is about Halloween, from attending the
world's scariest haunted houses" (according to Buzzfeed, anyways) to dressing up in the most obscure costumes possible with my best friends. I also equate fall with a sense of togetherness, in that it includes both a brand new school year, with all my friends at my side, and Thanksgiving/prepping for the upcoming holiday season.

Moreover, I tend to participate in fall activities that instill this kind of warmth inside me, where I can make the most of the short couple months the season holds out of the year. Here are 10 of my favorite things to do with both family and friends, or just anyone I feel particularly close to throughout the fall season.

1) Going to the scariest haunted houses we can find - "Basement of the Dead" in downtown Aurora is one of my favorite hometown haunts!

2) Corn mazes – we typically place bets on who we think will get lost first!

3) Scary movie nights

4) Tailgating before football games/other sporting events

5) Start Christmas shopping – no, I'm not kidding

6) Bonfires – my brother & my dad normally try to use as much firewood as possible & sometimes they get pretty crazy

7) Go to a fall festival – I attended the Indian Summer Festival last year, and it was so cool

8) Go record shopping – this is something I've always associated with fall!

9) Go apple picking

10) Host a Halloween party