The summer heat is giving way to cooler temperatures, the leaves have started to change, and you’re in the mood to turn inwards. As late nights out are replaced by earlier and earlier nights in, the fall season provides an ideal opportunity to slow down and focus on your relationship. Below we will explore a range of ways to nurture intimacy in your relationship, all of which are perfect fall activities. So get cozy, snuggle up, and let’s get started.
Romantic Outdoor Escapades
One way to nurture the intimacy in your relationship is through the great outdoors. The picturesque beauty of fall foliage sets the perfect backdrop for romantic adventures. You can take a leisurely walk through a park, the beach, the woods, or whatever you have available to you. After your walk, set up a picnic among the leaves and talk about what you’ve done together so far this year and what you’d like to do before the end of the year. Not convinced? Okay, here are a few more ideas for your romantic outdoor escapades:
- Apple picking at an aesthetic orchard (don’t forget to take cute Insta pics)
- Pumpkin patch visit
- Bonfire and s’mores
- Bike ride on scenic trails or paths
Any activity that gets you outside in nature is a great way to reconnect and have some quality together time.
Cozy Up with a Warm Beverage
One of the simplest yet most intimate pleasures of the fall season is sipping warm beverages together. Whether it’s enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, apple cider, or pumpkin spice latte, the act of slowing down and taking time out of your busy schedules to share a warm drink evokes a sense of comfort and togetherness. Cozy up on the couch with blankets while you sip your drinks to create a comfy atmosphere that’s ripe for meaningful conversations. Here are some fun, cozy beverages for you to try with your boo:
- Pumpkin spice latte
- Apple cider
- Hot chocolate with cinnamon
- Chai tea latte
- Maple pecan coffee
- Caramel apple spice
- Spiked hot cider (try adding a splash of bourbon, rum, or brandy)
- Gingerbread latte
- Cranberry orange punch
- Mulled wine
Get Active
In the infamous words of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” Despite the simplistic explanation, this is true–and exercising together means that you’re connecting while under the influence of the mood-enhancing effects of endorphins. Fall is the perfect time to take advantage of this kind of relationship boost; the crisp air and mild temperatures provide an ideal climate for getting active together outdoors. Mountain bike through the foliage of your local greenbelt paths, go trail running, or row through a tree-lined creek. All this fosters intimacy in part due to the positive effect of exercise on mood and in part through the experience of engaging in shared appreciation of nature while you’re at it.
Bond Over Comfort Foods
Fall is synonymous with an array of delicious comfort foods. Take the opportunity to cook and bake together; it can be a highly bonding experience. Whether it’s preparing a hearty stew or baking apple pies, the process of creating a meal together is at least as rewarding as savoring it afterward. Here are just a few ideas of some cozy, fall foods to whip up:
- Pumpkin pie
- Apple Crisp
- Butternut squash soup
- Roast turkey
- Cranberry sauce
- Pecan pie
- Sweet potato casserole
- Caramel apples
- Hot cocoa
- Stuffing
- Cornbread
- Chili
- Acorn squash
- Cinnamon rolls
- Pumpkin bread
- Roasted chestnuts
- Pumpkin spice latte
- Maple glazed ham
- Baked macaroni and cheese
- Apple pie
Create Memorable Halloween Traditions
Halloween means shared creativity and fun. Pick out costumes together–or opt for a couple’s costume. Carve your pumpkins as your best imitations of each other’s faces. Make up a silly Halloween-themed game or scavenger hunt to do together–and keep adding new rules every year. Create a tradition involving a particular type of candy or homemade sweet treat you give out to the neighborhood kids. Creating your traditions injects some extra intimacy into your relationship while fostering a sense of playfulness at the same time.
Watch a Fall Themed Movie
What’s better than a Friday night in, cozy blankets, candles lit, a hearty dinner on the stove, some red wine, and a fall-themed movie? Not much at all! So, plan your next Friday night in with your boo and pick out a movie marathon full of fall-themed movies. Here are some of the HelloPrenup team’s favorite fall movie picks:
- Dead Poets Society
- Hocus Pocus
- When Harry Met Sally
- You’ve Got Mail
- Harry Potter
- Good Will Hunting
- October Sky
- Autumn in New York
Dress Up in a Couple’s Halloween Costume
What’s more memorable than dressing up together in a joint costume? The peanut butter to your jelly, the bread to your butter. It’s fun, you have to admit! Whether you dress up and stay home to hand out candy or you have an extravagant party to attend, dressing up can be for any Halloween occasion. Here are some of our couple’s Halloween costume ideas for you to try out:
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Netflix and Chill (one is a TV with the Netflix logo and the other is a blank/pillow/anything cozy)
- Circus Ringmaster and Lion
- Farmer and his corn
- Sushi Chef and Sushi Roll
- Emoji duo (for example, the dancing twin girls)
Harness the Power of Scent
Scents have a powerful impact on our emotions and memories. Fall is perhaps the season that is connected more to scent than any other season; strong, evocative fragrances like cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice all scream ‘fall’. This fall, harness the power of smell and use it to create a cozy atmosphere at home that lends itself well to intimacy. You can do so by lighting fall-scented candles or diffusing essential oils. This small act creates a warm and cozy ambiance as the anchor of smell grounds you in the present moment, enhancing the overall sense of intimacy in your home.
Blanket Time
There’s nothing quite like snuggling under soft blankets with someone special, warming each other up to counteract the chilly temperatures. Blanket time means doing activities like watching a movie, reading a book, scrolling on your phone, or doing a crossword puzzle, but under a blanket, of course! You can do activities together, like reading out loud or watching a movie. Or you can do things separately, like scrolling on your phone or reading to yourself. The point is to snuggle up while you’re doing it. This very simple act of physical closeness enhances feelings of intimacy and security.
Reflect on the Year So Far
Traditionally, the fall equinox marked a time for reflection and introspection. It was a time to ‘honor the harvest’–whether that meant a physical harvest planted in one’s garden or farm, or a metaphorical harvest, meaning the fruits of whatever seeds were sowed earlier in the year in various aspects of one’s life. In other words, take this opportunity to discuss each of your personal growth, your goals and dreams as a couple, and your shared and personal accomplishments throughout the year. For example, maybe you make a date night out of it–blankets, a cozy fall dinner, some mulled wine, and you discuss your past year and future visions together.
Set Goals for the Future
The reflectiveness that can come with the fall season catalyzes setting new goals together. What do you want to do as a couple in the future? Which (metaphorical, or literal) mountains remain un-summited? Do you want to plan any particular trips, learn a new hobby or skill, or work towards shared financial or lifestyle-centric goals? Setting joint goals enhances intimacy by way of boosting your unity, alignment, and direction in the relationship. To get the brain juices flowing, here are some ideas on some themes of goals you might set for yourselves:
- Communication
- Quality time
- Financial planning
- Health and Fitness
- Travel adventures
- Learning together
- Relationship milestones
- Family planning
- Household responsibilities
- Support career goals
- Volunteer together
- Adventure bucket list
- Mindfulness and self-care
- Relationship growth
- Technology-free time
- Cultural experiences
- Gratitude practice
Utilize Fire
Fall = cozy weather (in most states). Cozy weather = sitting by a fire. Whether this means lighting the fireplace or wood stove in your home or sitting by a bonfire outside as you roast meat on skewers and indulge in S’mores, cozy activities done together or in each other’s presence by firelight are a surefire way to inject a sense of intimacy into your evening. Sitting by a fire, is not your thing? Try getting some fall-scented candles and creating a fiery ambiance with tons of candlelight.
Fall Festivals
Do a fall-themed festival in your area, such as a fair, market, Oktoberfest, or harvest event? Fall festivals are vibrant celebrations of community and culture. Attend local harvest festivals, Oktoberfests, or apple-picking events with your loved ones. Even something as simple as going to a local farmer’s market is a great way to spend your morning with your partner and indulge in seasonal fruits and veggies. Maybe pick up a local Kombucha or matcha latte while you’re at it. Participating in these festivities strengthens your bonds and gives you shared experiences to cherish.
Surprise Acts of Kindness
Small gestures have a profound impact on nurturing intimacy. Surprise your partner with fall-themed gestures or gifts. Write them a heartfelt card that includes a printed-out picture of one of your favorite fall memories together. Leave them their favorite fall treat under their pillow. Make them homemade mulled wine. Craft something using autumn leaves, acorns, and other things you find outside. Make them a fall-inspired dinner, with seasonal veggies (think: soup or anything hearty). These simple acts of kindness show that you care and act as kindling for intimacy.
Create a Vision Board
Create a vision board and populate it with pictures of what you’d like to do in the fall and upcoming winter, both individually and together. Put it somewhere where you’ll see it every day. Use it not only as a reminder of your shared dreams but also as a reminder to check in with your partner about how their progress towards their own dreams and goals is going. This boost in attentiveness to one another’s inner and outer processes is also a boost to emotional intimacy in the relationship. Not only that, but you can make it into a fun date-night activity. Sit down with some hot cocoa, and a cozy movie, and get to work on your vision boards!
Have a Tech-Free Day or Evening
This is one thing we all need, regardless of what season it is! Designate one day or evening on which you’ll turn off your phones and devices and refrain from turning on the TV. Instead, fill that time with some of the cozy fall activities described above, such as watching a fall-themed movie or discussing your goals together. The benefits of resting your eyes on technology and only focusing on your partner are sure to get the intimacy going.
Nicole Sheehey is the Head of Legal Content at HelloPrenup, and an Illinois licensed attorney. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to prenuptial agreements. Nicole has Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School. She has a deep understanding of the legal and financial implications of prenuptial agreements, and enjoys writing and collaborating with other attorneys on the nuances of the law. Nicole is passionate about helping couples locate the information they need when it comes to prenuptial agreements. You can reach Nicole here: [email protected]
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