by Kat Apf

Created on: May 10, 2008   Last Updated: April 12, 2009

My husband and I grew up in the Northeast where Fall is truly spectacular. We met and fell in love in the Fall, under gold, orange and red leaves in the middle of Harrimen State Park in New York. Both of us loved Fall before we loved each other. It was always special to both of us. We ended up getting married, five years later, in the Fall.

Sixteen years later, with two kids in tow, we moved all the way to Arizona. And that's where our Fall family tradition started. My family missed Fall so much. I wanted a way to re-create the season and one day, I happened on a package of silk Fall leaves at the arts and crafts store and bought them.

We started small. Just a table in the corner with those silk leaves scattered across it. But each year, I'd end up finding more Fall decorations. One year it was leaf-shaped candles, another year it was a silk garland of Fall leaves to hang over the windows, another year I bought a beautiful leaf-shaped, crystal votive candle holder. Our Fall decor has grown. Though we now live in a state with seasons, we still decorate for our favorite season.

We've moved often since our first Fall away from the Northeast. It doesn't matter if the current state has seasons or not, every October brings out our collection of Fall decorations. The routine is one day in the beginning of October, while the kids are at school, I decorate the place up for Fall. This past year, I found some gorgeous garland with fake acorns attached to silk leaves in the grocery store. I always try to have something new to decorate with that no one in the family has seen before. When they get home from school, we have cider and pumpkin cookies and muffins while admiring our family room all decked out in the glory of Fall.

This tradition has always brought us together. My daughters will tell our young son, who doesn't remember living in the Northeast, stories about raking leaves and picking pumpkins when they were young. He loves to hear the stories of the time before he was born and the things we did as a family. It helps all my children remember where we came from. I hope my children will continue this tradition with their own families. It's unique, unusual and a lot of fun. And I hope they pass it along to their own children.

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