Today, the bright daylight hours and the dark nightly hours are of equal length. It's autumn! From now on, the days will get shorter, the nights will get longer... until the longest night, Winter Solstice (taking place on December 21st) will mark the beginning of the Winter season.

Today is Autumn Equinox: the night and the day are in perfect balance. It marks the moment of the sun entering Libra (my star sign!), bringing harmony and stability, and which is ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty. All good things, and definitely things we need in these uncertain, difficult and turbulent times.

Autumn is when the air starts to feel crisper and smell muddier, when the colours of nature are intensifying before they change colour, when the light is low and magical, when the days get wetter and the weather gets windier. It is the time to harvest apples and nuts and pumpkins, to make pies and soups and stews and to cosy up the house with rugs, pillows and blankets. Fall is so cosy!

To celebrate this First Day of Autumn, I thought it would be nice to make a list of all the little things, family traditions and crafts we love doing in fall. Most of the below we have posted about before... But there are some new ideas and things I want to try as well.

Going through old posts and getting this list together has been so inspiring. Yes, we are entering the darker and colder months, but there is so much to do and make. Many of these activities are super simple and made with whatever nature supplies us with.

Fall truly is fabulous! Enjoy! :)

15 favourite fall activities

1. Decorate the house with fall decor -- set up an autumn table and make a fall leave wreath for our front door

2. Make beeswax candles (we always have a candle on our breakfast and dinner table during the dark months)

3. Try to make pumpkin spice latte

4. Start a knitting project (I love the look of this jumper!)

5. Cook soups, curries and stews (I LOVE LOVE LOVE making this pumpkin curry and this pumpkin soup)

6. Clean out my closets (!!)

7. Go apple picking and make Dutch Apple pie (we've done this already last weekend!)

8. Take a walk outside, have an autumn picnic if the weather allows, and collect pretty leaves, acorns and chestnuts

9. Make chestnut chaps and conker spiderwebs

10. Light the fire (or a candle) and relax with a feel good book (suggestions welcome please!)

11. Bake pepernoten (and here's the very best recipe!)

12. Have weekly film or television evenings with candle light and yummy snacks (here's a list of fun films to watch) -- we do this every Friday night in fall and winter and it's the best!

13. Bake anything with pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove (I love this pumpkin pie recipe and this pumpkin bread from Smitten Kitchen is heavenly!)

14. Create cute leave creatures and make little autumn baskets (remember Casper's 5th birthday party?)

15. Make fall leave lanterns to put in front of the windows

What are your favourite fall activities? Any special traditions you love, recipes you keep coming back to, crafts to know about? Please share!Happy Autumn Equinox everyone, I hope you will find some balance today and in the coming months!

xxx Esther