Simple and soothing family crafts and rituals. We decorate our home and hearth year round with handmade garlands. Personally, I like to make intricate and elaborate seasonal paper garlands. But, as a mother, I also love a garland project that can truly include my young children, without leaving us all feeling frustrated because it is over their skill level. The following garland ideas I share with you are simple, beautiful, family friendly garlands to make WITH your children.

The deepest dark of the year on earth, shines the brightest of heavenly lights in the night sky.

The Winter Spiral Garden is a ritual to honor winter time when, traditionally, light, warmth and food would be scarce.

The story of mistletoe begins with a superstitious kiss. Legend says, kissing under the bough brings good luck, wards off evil and blesses those kissing with love. The ancient Druids from the Celtic people were the keepers of the sacred mistletoe. They saw the plant as a gateway between the worlds because of the mysterious way it grows on a host tree, never touching the ground nor growing exactly towards the sky.

Brewing a broth from bones and food scrapes is a wellness practice as old as time. Ancient cultures, across the world, have their vernacular version of broth and the benefits and remedies it bestows. Traditionally, the Chinese make broth to support digestive health, as a blood builder, and to strengthen the kidneys. In Egypt, the time tested chicken soup was used as a medicinal remedy for colds and asthma. There is an endless variety of broths but all draw out the deep rich marrow, fats, collagen and proteins from the bones that otherwise wouldn’t be utilized. Start saving your bones, carrot tops, onion skins and other kitchen scrapes. Once you start brewing broth, you will be reaping the all health benefits humans have been enjoying for centuries.

Homemade cough drops to soothe a sore throat and cough.

This bird is brined in apple cider over night and slowly roasted the day of the feast. It is tender, juicy and bursting with unique flavors.

The Autumn Lantern walk is an old, potent tradition of making paper lanterns and venturing into the dark, cold night. The ritual symbolize kindling our inner light as we cross over into the long nights of winter. Facing the unknown and the unseen, trusting our inner guides. We celebrate the loss of something we long for and trust in the lesson we have to learn in its’ absence. What does darkness have to teach us? How does longing work on us in the unknown or unseen realms? Perhaps like the plant world, we grow the more we root and like the spirit world, we shine the more we embrace the dark. As we venture into the dark and cold we find that we are not depleted by the lost of light and warmth but fortified by our connection to the cycles of nature.

An autumn ritual for winter wellness.

This is an old traditional way of using wild yeasts that eat sugar, begin to proliferate and bubble making them fizzy like soda. Unlike our store bought sodas, these have lots of health benefits. The herbs and roots are packed with healing properties, the ginger is an excellent digestive and the fermentation has wild strains of lactobacillus bacteria that also aid the gut in its digestive work. The bacteria eat up most of the sugar as they convert it to delightful bubbly fizz.

This soup is simple, elegant and just the right thing to nourish us as we enter the cooler seasons. We love to serve it inside of scooped out little pumpkins.

Old world tonic with a twist

Pumpkin is super healthy but how we often eat it isn’t. It is rich in nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that give extra benefits to the eyes, heart and skin,

Here is a recipe that uses pumpkin from scratch to make a savory and lightly, honey sweetened galette. My brother grows pumpkins for us every year and he love to mix it up. I’m always game to try the different varieties he has grown each autumn. This year we roasted a Candy Roaster Squash but also love to use Hubbard.

Also known as… empanadas, pasties, samoas… delicious, simple and versatile!

On the honorable harvest.

Feeling overwhelmed? Got chronic pain or digestive issues? Of course we all want a magic pill to immediately cure our ailments. And more so… we want that relief yesterday or sooner.

Yet our quick fix, symptom-chasing mindset perpetuates our wellness dilemma. We frantically chase our own tail hoping to get the finish so we may finally rest or finally grasp a taste of nourishment.

An autumn tradition and celebration.

The fullness, warmth and body of the growing season culminates with the Autumn Harvest. We gather, stock and store the high-density, nutrient-packed foods. The grains, corn, wheat, rice and rye, symbolize sustenance and a longevity of food security for the long winter ahead.

Some days, I’m not excited about cooking an elaborate meal. Or, I just can’t find the time before everyone in my family is hangry. One of my favorite solutions for this, is to have a variety of delicious, homemade sauces on hand. They can be dipped with bread or crackers, spread over simple steamed veggies or baked with a chicken breast. They are easy and add a bright, fresh pop to our meals on the fly.

Making sweet medicine using with the holy plant of the mountains.