Just as Anne of Green Gables once said, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
October is a magical month. A time for crisp air, dark nights, and crimson leaves that cranky neighbors love to rake on Sunday mornings. It's also a time for tricks and treats — and something that has a fair share of both — is fall itself.
How can we help spending money on fall when the aisles are packed with orange and plum packages that say enticing things like "Pumpkin Waffles" or "Pumpkin Cheesecake" or "Pumpkin Hand Sanitizer" -- you know?
And in contrast to the Christmas/Holiday season of budgets and regimented lists — Fall shoppers have more money in their pockets, less people to spend it on, and more orange things to grab last minute at the checkout line. It's a real phenomenon. And the super markets and big box stores are actually concerned less with selling you a rustic wooden sign to hang in your dining room, and more concerned (still) with selling the regular boring stuff.
That's why you might find a box of leaf and owl patterned Kleenex in the candy aisle, or discover an orange vacuum tucked right next to the costume displays.
We're especially tempted to buy items that make our homes feel nice and warm — because there's an effectiveness to selling autumn/seasonal home items & decor around a holiday that is tied so closely to home itself.
I too fell prey, I fell hard, and it all happened this past weekend at the pumpkin patch. I'm a sucker for the fall experience — every year I'll hit haunted houses, pick apples, eat cider donuts, and of course visit the magical land where there are plump orange dots as far as the eye can see.
What I thought was a simple trip with my boyfriend to get one or two pumpkins for our porch, had a very different ending. It ended with trying to stuff a bale of hay into my midsize sedan (don't worry, we made it fit).
Don't be fooled by the local charm of these places, they know how to sell Fall. And as you get in line with your wheelbarrow, already filled with more pumpkins than you probably need (because you had so much space in the wheelbarrow!) they'll surrounded you with signs for quick deals to snap up while you wait. And it's a long line.
Mums are 3 for $20, with their beautiful baskets of color within arms reach. Small gourds, pumpkins, and squash are piled high and 3 for $2. They even call the mini-pumpkins "crunkins" so I needed those.
And finally, there are the bales of hay. Just $6 to recreate the feeling of being on this lovely farm in the nice cool weather.
So maybe you're not like me. Maybe your feet are planted firmly on the ground, far away from the temptation of buying into fall. But I dare you to go to that farm, and come back with just a single pumpkin or two.
In the end, this trick was really a treat. Because you're probably smart enough to only buy a little over what you need, and it's not really a trick if you know exactly what you're doing.
This is my porch now. I regret nothing.
If you live in Richmond, Virginia be sure to check out Gallmeyer Farms next weekend, you might just make the best accidental purchase you ever did.