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Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Fall Nesting Tip:
Create special fall memories
& traditions in the kitchen

{This post was originally published in Fall 2008}

We are entering that season where we start thinking about filling our pantries, baking yummy things for our family and spending those cozy evenings together around the table. Family traditions involving the kitchen are probably some of the most powerful we have, since it is the room in our home where we spend so much of our time.

Kitchens are also the place where we can fully experience all of our senses, and because of that, we have the potential to create vivid and rich memories there for our families. Fortunately, with a tiny dose of creativity, we can do this simply, frugally if we so choose, and quite easily.

Simple Family Memories

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Williams Sonoma

Make memories through seasonal recipes and memorable baking pans. Special Fall cakes made in seasonal shapes will always be remembered. One pan can last through years of baking and cost far less than one dinner at a restaurant.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Use hollowed squash or mini pumpkins to serve dips or meals. Kids will think this is very fun and adults will be amazed at your Martha-ness.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Keep regular weekend traditions but add a new twist in the fall, like pumpkin waffles with maple syrup on a Saturday morning.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Have seasonal towels and table linens you bring out for the season. If you keep your main dishes white, punching up the color with a few accessories can give you the same visual pleasure as a whole set of seasonal dishes without the added expense or need for storage.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Country Living

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Williams Sonoma

Add a seasonal flourish to your best recipes with special tools, cookie cutters or shapes you make by hand.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Sur la Table

Embrace traditions that are unique to the colder weather, like chocolate or cheese fondue. Repeat the tradition regularly so it becomes a vivid memory.

Fall Nesting Tips: #19

Make being in the kitchen creating the meals or baking together part of the experience of memory making. Put on some favorite music and bring your kids in to help prepare a traditional family night feast! Little things and special touches will be long remembered. Simple creativity will bring lasting memories to even the most ordinary of events.

What are your family traditions centered around the kitchen?

For more fall ideas, click here!

photo credits: Kitchens Country Living, Keith Scott Morton, Keller & Keller, Jon Wayne Kishimoto

19 Comments

  1. 31everything

    Your post got me craving Thanksgiving dinner… it’s still so far away! I LOVE fall! My favorite time of year :) Thanks for sharing.
    .-= 31everything´s last blog ..Memo Board Jewelry “Box” =-.

    Reply
  2. Layla

    That’s it. I’m officially starving. No time to type, must EAT!!!!

    Thanks for the mouth watering post. :-)
    Layla
    .-= Layla´s last blog ..Carolyn’s Family Room Redesign =-.

    Reply
  3. Jackie

    Love the picture of the pantry. Oh, how I would love to have something like that in my kitchen.
    .-= Jackie @ Lilolu´s last blog ..My First Completed Scarf =-.

    Reply
  4. Amber T.

    Oh that is just a gorgeous post-so many pretty and yummy things!
    Our traditions definitely involve eating but also game playing. Once it’s too cold to be outside a lot, we pull out the cards, board games and some snacks for entertainment!

    Reply
  5. Kathy

    Everything just looks delicious in this post! We spend so much time in our kitchen and it’s not even to eat or cook! Sitting and talking while some of these things were baking would make it that much better.

    Reply
  6. Debbie

    HI Melissa, I could look at this post every day and not get tired of it. That first picture inspires me to work on my pantry and cupboards….later…anyhow…it is inspiring. I’m ready for something wonderful that smells good to start baking in my oven! Yummy.
    Have a wonderful day!
    Debbie
    .-= Debbie´s last blog ..DIY Beautiful Napkin Rings and Ornaments =-.

    Reply
  7. Adrienne

    What an inspiring read! I love the yellow pantry and just wish I could incorporate it into my kitchen. Until I can I plan to take some of those ideas and use them where I can. Such fun things available. Thanks for the encouragement to ‘reach’ a little higher and add some special bits and pieces of whimsy to our lives.
    ~Adrienne~
    .-= Adrienne´s last blog ..Gifts From God =-.

    Reply
  8. teresa

    Your post makes me what to start baking! I needed this little piece of motivation-
    thanks =)
    Have a great day-
    .-= teresa´s last blog ..Girls Day Out- =-.

    Reply
  9. Eileen

    I am completely crushing on that pantry view! I love the ginderbread trim at the top, and even the non-traditional color it’s all painted. The jars and baskets are so pretty, it makes me want to throw away all those junky grocery store boxes and put everything into vintage containers.

    Blessings ~ Eileen @ Star’s Fault

    Reply
  10. Cara

    Love all the fall baking inspiration! I’ve been lusting after a mini-pumpkin pan to make little pumpkin cakes, and now I think I HAVE to have one. You’re absolutely right…making those seasonal treats creates so many more memories than dinner at a restaurant, and it is definitely cheaper.
    .-= Cara´s last blog ..Weekly Menu Plan, November 9 =-.

    Reply
  11. Lauren

    We always make pumpkin rolls with a family reciepe! But I made some pumpkin spice cupcakes from Martha Stewart that were amazing!
    .-= Lauren´s last blog ..It’s Here!!! =-.

    Reply
  12. Jean

    Love all your picture ideas. It makes me want to cook. I want to buy the acorn baking pan from WS. It would be fun for lots of occasions and last longer than that one dinner! Thanks
    .-= Jean´s last blog ..Happy Birthday Ashley =-.

    Reply
  13. Cheryl

    What a lovely post!! Traditions are so foundational to family life, and it’s fun to introduce new traditions into our homes. Love the pantry picture, and I’m swooning over the Williams Sonoma acorn baking pan!
    .-= Cheryl´s last blog ..Enjoying =-.

    Reply
  14. Sandy

    My husband has continued the tradition of making his grandmothers Italian Christmas cookies. He and my daughter spend the entire day making enough to send to all the extended family. They even use the antique pastry cutter that his mother handed down to my daughter. I’m sure she will be the one to carry on for the next generation.
    .-= Sandy´s last blog ..people in our lives… =-.

    Reply
  15. Sandy

    Oh, yummy, it all looks so good. One family tradition that we have is making a German dish. My sisters come and we spend a couple hours in the kitchen together. My mom and grandma made the same dish!

    Great post, Melissa!
    .-= Sandy´s last blog ..Never Perfect Mary: Chocolate Eclair Dessert =-.

    Reply
  16. Tami

    Our tradition is I cook and my guys hang out in the kitchen. We have a couch in our kitchen. I love it because I am never in the kitchen alone.
    .-= Tami´s last blog ..Party Season Begins =-.

    Reply
  17. Christi from Charm & Grace

    Some really great suggestions here. For years we would fondue every Christmas Eve at my mother-in-law’s house. It was such a festive and memorable time. But as we added small children to our number and there were fewer adult hands to make sure the little ones didn’t turn over the pot or get burned, we decided to forgo this tradition for a while. I hope that we get back to doing that …it is great with the whole family around sharing the pots, the food, and the conversation.

    Blessings,
    Christi
    .-= Christi from Charm & Grace´s last blog ..Tis the season… commissioned artwork =-.

    Reply

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