Summer is nowhere near over yet – so what do you do if you’re desperate for the Halloween season to begin? There are plenty of ways to maximise your autumnal vibes while the sun is still shining, and you can find them here!

‘Holiday creep’ is a real thing. It feels like every year, supermarkets and stores get more and more eager to show off their seasonal wares, whether it’s the correct season for them or not. The moment the clock strikes midnight on the 31st of July, shades of burnt orange, berry and brown claim the shelves, and the air of every candle shop goes from light and fresh to heady and smoky.

For people who adore the summer, I can see how this would be frustrating. If you love nothing more than sizzling BBQs, endless beach days and swimming pools, then it must suck to be reminded that a return to school or work is on its way, not to mention the wind, rain and yellowing leaves that are sure to follow.

However, if you’re the kind of person who eagerly awaits the season of skeletons and pumpkins all year round, then the encroaching of Halloween on the summer months means asking yourself just one question: what’s the best way to utilise it?

With that in mind, here are a few ways to embrace your fall spirit, even if autumn is technically a long way off, and Halloween is more distant still.

Switch up your playlists

Music is a powerful tool, and swapping out your summer tunes for something spookier is an effortless and instant way to get into the Halloween spirit.

Finding a fall playlist that suits your tastes might take some time, but there are a thousand directions you could go in if you wanted to build a tracklist that’s right for you.

Whether it’s blasting out songs and scores from your favourite spooky movies or musicals, or just replacing your usual indie-rock or pop with its autumnal equivalent, this playlist swap-out might be the single easiest change you can make to embrace the fall season.

As for some genres that you can count on for spooky or cozy fall vibes, try dark folk, dark cabaret, witch house or industrial goth music. Any playlists curated around these genres are guaranteed to make your summer stroll feel like a witchy wander through the woods.

And if you’re still stuck for ideas, there are always these excellent Halloween covers that you’ve never heard before.

Go berry picking

Outdoor activities like picnics, long walks through the park or berry picking are often associated with summer. However, making the most of the warm weather and the abundance of flowers, fruits and veggies can help you get into an autumn mindset.

Long walks can be used to identify different flowers, trees and plants, some of which can be dried or pressed to decorate your house through the colder and darker months, which will cheer you up when real blooms are scarce.

If there are no wild spaces near you where it is safe, responsible and sustainable to pick plants for preservation, then why not try sketching them, making pencil rubbings of bark and leaves, or even just taking photographs. All of these creations can be framed or used to decorate your home, which will make you feel closer to nature even when the fall weather is less than hospitable.

Another excellent activity for late summer is to identify plants and animals with an app such as Seek, which will use your phone camera to identify whatever you take a picture of, and offer you facts about it. Charting how the plants you encounter change in appearance as autumn approaches, and which new plants and animals you begin to see as the weather turns colder, can be a great way to appreciate the passing of time.

Picking berries or dandelions is a quintessential late summer activity, but it is one that you reap the rewards of in autumn. Picking berries and blooms isn’t just a way to embrace those cottagecore vibes, but also ensures you have delicious dandelion wine, blackberry cordial, or other delights to give as gifts or cherish throughout the colder months.

Outdoor movie nights

Camping is another activity that might seem super summery, given how few people are willing to brave tent living once autumn rolls around. With that said: setting up a tent in a back garden, taking a stash of midnight snacks and a thermos of tea and hot chocolate for when the chill arrives, and booting up either a cozy or spooky movie to watch can be the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit.

If you’re the kind of person who loves a good scare, then you probably know already how many horror movies revolve around a terrifying killer stalking poor, unsuspecting campers. Even if you’ve only set up a tent in your living room using a few old bedsheets and a broom, you’ll soon feel transported into Sleepaway Camp or Camp Crystal Lake – and what could be spookier than that?

If you’re like me and prefer things with a spooky aesthetic but fewer all-out scares, then there are plenty of nostalgic Halloween movies that will instantly make you feel the excitement of a kid at their first autumn sleepover, complete with the sugar high!

Make a care package

If you’ve tried all the above tips and activities but are still desperate to up the autumn quota in your life, then it might be time to start putting together a Halloween care package, either for yourself or for someone else.

Witch up your wardrobe

If music is the number one way to change your perception instantly, then wardrobe is the second. Though it’s pretty inadvisable to start wearing chunky knit turtlenecks and scarves in the blazing sun, you can start to orient your wardrobe towards the colder months.

Maybe for you that means adopting a dark academia aesthetic, incorporating accessories and pieces that make you feel scholarly and mysterious, such as shiny black patent shoes, blazers, pencil skirts or plaid.

Maybe instead it means incorporating witchy insignia such as prints, broaches or badges featuring cats, brooms, cauldrons or stacks of books. Alternately, a cropped vintage top featuring your favourite horror villain or nostalgic spooky children’s property could help you get into the autumn mindset.

For me, dressing weather-appropriately while still keeping up my autumnal vibes means a lot of layered lace dresses in monotone colours, chunky black boots or trainers with almost everything, and a lot of moon insignia.