a few fall faves! GRAND ways to celebrate the season!
- Our Grand Lives
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
Thursday, October 2, 2025
There’s something magical about flipping the calendar to October
Do you agree?
The air turns crisper, the sunlight softens,
and the world seems to settle into a cozy rhythm!
While it’s still unusually warm here in Minnesota
we’re ready for October’s crunchy leaves, sweater weather
and all the charm it brings!
In today’s post, we’re sharing a Few Fall Faves
and each celebrates the season at hand!
We've got
A Little Something for the GRANDS
AND
Something Grand for the LITTLES!
Our ideas are varied…
A sweet treat and a delicious mocktail/cocktail for the adults
and
a fun treasure hunt for the young ones!
While we are at it,
we’ll also highlight a few
all FALL FAVES, too!
Are you planning a fall gathering for family or friends?
We’ve got two faves to add a festive (and delicious) touch!
Caramel Apple Bites!
Recently, Laura discovered this autumn treat
and made it for an afternoon get-together with retired colleagues!
Not only was it quick and simple to make,
the bite-sized, chewy, sweet and salty snack
will definitely bring back memories of biting into a caramel apple
(without all the sticky mess)!
INGREDIENTS
• 2 apples - Granny Smith or Honeycrisp work well
• lemon juice or lemon-lime soda
• I package pretzel “Snaps” (I’ve also used mini pretzels)
• 1 package Rolo chocolate candies, unwrapped
• toothpicks
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash the apples and chop them into small chunks (no need to peel the apples). To prevent the apples from turning brown, squeeze a small amount of fresh lemon juice over the apple chunks (or toss with lemon-lime soda). Stir gently so all of the apple chunks are covered.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
3. Place the pretzels on the baking sheet and cover each with a Rolo.
4. Bake until Rolos are slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Spear each apple chunk with a toothpick. Then gently press each chunk into a melted Rolo.
6. Let your Caramel Apple Bites cool and firm up before transferring them to a serving tray!
The pretzel-chocolate combo is always a yummy one (and a well know one, too)!
But the addition of the apple chunk brings this sweet to a new level!
A delicious fall treat… Ready in no time!
Apple Ginger Fall Fizz!
This delicious drink comes to us, compliments of Laurie!
It’s versatile and can be served as either a mocktail or a cocktail.
It tastes wonderful both ways!
And it is easy to make!
INGREDIENTS (Mocktail Version)
• 3 oz still apple cider
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ice cubes
• 6 mint leaves
• 3 oz ginger ale
• Cinnamon sticks for stirring
DIRECTIONS
1. Place apple cider, lime juice, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and a few ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. If you don't have a shaker, anything with a tight lid will work, such as a mason jar or drink bottle.
2. Clap the mint together in your hands to release the scent, and add to the shaker. Shake for about 20-30 seconds until ingredients are combined.
3. Pour into an ice filled glass and top with ginger ale.
4. Stir gently, garnish with mint, dried citrus or a cinnamon stick, and serve.
Would You Prefer a Cocktail?
If desired, add brandy or whisky to the above mocktail!
Either blends very nicely with this drink!
Let’s Get BOOzed!
Laurie has one final idea for the adults in the crowd!
It’s October and time for the adults in our family to start getting BOOzed!
I started this fun game last year with my extended family after being the recipient of
a lovely bottle of gin left on my own porch from a friend.
One more way to keep your family laughing and bonding together!
Read all about it here!
And now, we’re switching gears,
and sharing a recent fave as well as a few Instagram ones, too…
All FALL FAVES for the Littles in our lives!
An Autumn Treasure Hunt!
During a recent visit, Laura and her Littles went on a nature walk,
hunting for treasures!
I found this fun way for Little L to look for treasures during our walk!
Before we went for our walk,
I created the chart below on my computer and printed out a copy.
(Feel free to screenshot it and print out a copy for you and your Littles, too.)
Then I taped my copy to the inside lid of an egg carton.
Having the egg carton with the prompts of what to look for
worked so well with my three-year-old Little!
She was very proud each time she discovered something new!
And she was able to do most of the “hunting” independently!
Before we knew it, her collection was complete
and Little L had fun sharing her discoveries with her auntie, too!
So many treasures!
Fall Faves from Instagram!
Finally, we have three past faves for you…
Favorite fall posts from our Instagram account!
LET’S MAKE FALL LEAVES!
Make some leaf templates and paint away!
Your Littles - even young ones - will find success
as they paint fall leaves!
Find our Instagram post here!
HAPPY FALL!
SCARECROW APPLESAUCE CUPS!
Surprise your Little(s)
with this unique fall snack!
Learn more here!
I SPY! PUMPKIN PATCH!
If you’re planning a trip to the pumpkin patch,
check out this Instagram post
OR
for even greater details, this blog post!
HAPPY HUNTING!
We hope you’ve found a FALL FAVE here…
an idea or two you can take and use to create your own season
filled with fun and heart-holding moments!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!
If you have any great fall ideas of activities or experiences
you’ve found impactful with your own Littles,
PLEASE SHARE!
We learn so much from this community!
Please consider sharing your thoughts, ideas and insights with us
by commenting at the end of this post!
We may take a few days to respond,
but we always return every message we receive!
We’ll be back next Thursday with a new post!
Laurie will be sharing all the highlights
from the Fall Painting Party she recently hosted!
You won’t want to miss it!
In fact, you may want to subscribe to our site,
so you don’t miss a thing!!
As we step into this new month,
let’s welcome all the cozy, colorful, and heart-filling things October brings.
May it be a month of sweet memory-making for us all!!
💗 We are delighted to join the following link up parties and blog hops! 💗
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