Now is the time of year when the air is getting crisp, leaves are turning orange, and people are putting together their Halloween costumes. Here is a list of activities to fully embrace the fall spirit and celebrate Halloween.

1. Go shopping at Trader Joe’s and taste all of the fall flavors- sample the endless array of pumpkin themed products from pumpkin flavored ice cream to pumpkin flavored tortilla chips and salsa
2. Visit a local pumpkin patch and pick the perfect pumpkin to decorate your front door step. Local pumpkin patches include Wayne’s World Pumpkin Patch on Manchester Ave and Del Mar Pumpkin Station near the Del Mar fairgrounds. Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center also hosts a renowned pumpkin patch. Grab a wheelbarrow and pick from a variety of pumpkins and other fresh fall crops while enjoying the tractor hayrides, straw maze, petting corral, and pony rides.
3. Carve out your pumpkin and create a spooky Jack-o’-lantern. Then roast the leftover pumpkin seeds using your favorite flavors to spice or sweeten it up
4. Explode a pumpkin! Drop a pumpkin off of a high building, slingshot it, or hit it with a baseball bat and witness it smash everywhere.
5. Buy dry ice and drop it in boiling water to create an eerie effect of clouds of white fog
6. Go to the beach! All of the summer crowds are gone and the ocean is still warm.
7. Cozy up and drink a pumpkin spiced latte or flavored hot beverage
8. Watch a horror movie or watch the live performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight every Friday night at the La Paloma Theatre in downtown Encinitas.
9. Drive down Elfin Forest Road and watch out for spooky sightings such as the rumored spirits which haunt the surrounding area.
10. Visit a haunted house or make your own. Set up your own haunted house to scare the neighborhood kids. Visit the 16th Annual Haunted Hotel that the Olivenhain Boy scout Troop 2000 puts on at Olivenhain Meeting Hall on Rancho Santa Fe Rd. Visit the Scream Zone at the Del Mar Fairgrounds which is San Diego County’s largest haunted experience. This year’s features include the Paintball Apocalypse, House of Horror, Haunted Hayride, and the newest attraction KarnEvil. Stroll through the mile long Haunted Trail in Balboa Park which is San Diego’s only all outdoor haunted attraction. Dare to enter the Haunted Hotel, located in the Gaslamp District, which is longest running haunted house in San Diego and named one of the top 13 haunted houses in America.