You’ll find classic pie recipes, like apple, pumpkin, and pecan, often with a twist — an unlikely spice, a miniaturized version, or a unique fruit or nut pairing.  In addition, you’ll find plenty of unconventional holiday pie ideas to keep things interesting, as well as a number of delectable gluten-free pie recipes sure to satisfy guests with or without wheat sensitivities.

And if pie crust makes you nervous, you’ll find tips and tricks for working with pastry dough, including ideas for embellishing pies for showstopping presentation.

Get ready to sweeten the season with these…

Perfect Holiday Pie Recipes

APPLE PIES

PUMPKIN PIES

PECAN PIES

NUTTY PIES

CITRUS PIES

CHOCOLATE PIES

PEAR PIES

GLUTEN-FREE PIES

UNCONVENTIONAL HOLIDAY PIES

PIE TRICKS & TIPS

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Here are some of our FAVORITE pie accessories from Amazon (Click to buy now using our affiliate links. No extra charge to you and a little perk for us.):

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There is no shortage of fall awesomeness on the internet right now. Everywhere you look, someone is doing something absolutely amazing with mason jars. If only there were enough surfaces in my house to encompass all the beautiful things I want to make.

Here you’ll find a list of some of my most favorite fall mason jar DIY projects. There’s something for everyone here from delicious things to eat to rustic decor to sweet treats. I feel like we use mason jars like crazy around here but some of these ideas are totally new to me. I’m loving it.

Fall Mason Jar Vases – Anything & Everything

Pick of the Patch Mason Jar Gift – Shaken Together

Paper Bag & Mason Jar Decoration – My Country Blog

DIY Pumpkin Jars – The Scrap Shoppe

Mason Jar Mini Cakes – Maurine Dashney

Canning Jar Ring Pumpkin – Yellow Bliss Road ***FEATURED CRAFT***

Fall Table Centerpiece – Chanty 2 Chic

Burlap & Feather Wrapped Mason Jars – The Happy Housie

Mason Jar Pumpkin Payday – I Gotta Create

Washi Tape & Mason Jar Rings Wreath – Made from Pinterest

Orange and Aqua Fall Mantle – Cherished Bliss

Upcycled Owl Candy Jars – Club Chica Circle

Rustic Fall Centerpieces – Love of Family & Home

Fall Scented Simmering Pot – The Happier Homemaker

Thankful Jars – Positively Splendid

Chili & Cornbread in a Jar – Nest of Posies

No Bake Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake in a Jar – Cincy Shopper

Corn Husk Wrapped Mason Jar Vase – Garden Therapy

Thanksgiving Hostess Gift {Spice Mixes} – Family Bites

Thanksgiving Fall Table – AKA Design + Life

Have a fantastic fall mason jar craft of your own? We’d love for you to share it with us in the comments.

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Even so, it was another year or two – maybe three – before actual friendships began to develop and I didn’t need my “neighborhood cheat sheet” anymore. Somehow waving hello evolved into friending on Facebook, and then one mom thought to suggest a Tuesday lunch/playdate for those of us home with littles. Those playdates, rotating between our homes, were the catalyst for stronger connections to develop. 

When I shared suggestions for letting kids roam the neighborhood recently, the first tip was get to know your neighbors. But many moms asked, “What if I don’t know my neighbors? How do I make that happen?” It is a great question! Getting to know our neighbors is easier said than done, and it often takes work to cultivate those connections. So we took to our BonBon Break community to ask for YOUR advice and ideas. Here is what you had to say.  ~Ellie

1.  GET OUTSIDE AND SAY HELLO

“I met one of my best friends while out walking with my son when he was a few months old and strapped into the baby Bjorn. We passed each other a few times and then one of us pulled together the nerve to say hi and start talking, and we exchanged numbers. We have been friends for over 4 years now!” ~ Kristin Shaw of Two Cannoli, Austin, TX

“We like to take walks after dinner – seems like a lot of people are out that time of the day. We also have some cute kids so that helps.” ~ Amelia Mayer of Tales of a Mountain Mama & BonBon Break Backyard Editor, Yellowstone National Park

“I’ve found the easiest way to get to know other moms on my block is to be outside with my children a lot – playing with them in the front yard and also taking short walks. When a neighbor is outside, I stop and say hi. Another tip: Once I knew one other mother fairly well, we took it upon ourselves to plan a block party!” ~ Jessica of True STORIES

2.  SHARE CONTACT INFORMATION

“We have a neighborhood contact list and an email group that keeps everyone informed of anything that goes on around here. One of the families does a yearly pumpkin carving/party every year. (Halloween is about the time when it starts to be nice outside again, after the hot/humid summer!) I confess there are still several neighbors I do not know, but the contact list has helped me at least know who lives where, etc. One of the ladies in the neighborhood updates it and sends it out periodically. We also started a group on Group Me for texting each other.”  ~ Elaine from The Miss Elaine-ous Life, Louisiana

3.  DO SOMETHING FUN

“Set up a lemonade stand with your kids. Send your kids around the neighborhood with flowers from your garden on May Day – or in my case send them around with zucchini, zucchini, and more zucchini.” ~ Val Curtis, Editor-in-Chief at BonBon Break, Washington State

“Two of my favorite neighborhood gatherings were a neighborhood race for the kids and a ‘Noon-Year’s-Eve’ sledding party. Both were planned very last minute – proving it doesn’t have to take a ton of work to get people together!” ~ Ellie of Musing Momma & Family Room Editor at BonBon Break, Pennsylvania

4.  HOST AN EVENT

“A couple of the moms in my subdivision that I DO know (well) organized an ice cream social last year for our neighborhood. From that we created a Facebook group. Before Easter, we did an egg hunt. We are going to do the ice cream social again this year, and are talking about a cookie exchange or ‘elfing’ each other this holiday season.”  ~ Katie from Sluiter Nation, Michigan

“One of our neighbors hosted a lovely dinner for 8 couples on our end of the street. We didn’t all know each other and she truly just did it for all of us to meet. It was great! Our family hosts an annual Halloween potluck. The kids dress up and play games while the adults socialize.” ~ Lindsay, Carlisle, PA

5.  FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED

“Not only did we move several hours away but we moved from a big city to out in the country (5 miles from a small town). It has been a fantastic move for us. I found that volunteering at the school and getting involved in a church like we like both did wonders for expanding our social circle. And I am not even an outgoing person!”  ~ Tracy, Wisconsin

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This is an easy enough recipe that you can make with your kids, plus we love that we only need six ingredients.

To make these pumpkin waffles, Alice starts with a prepackaged baking mix and then adds canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.

While perfect for breakfast, Alice likes to make these pumpkin waffles and freeze them for school lunches and serve them with a side of apple sauce for dipping.

We love that we can check off both breakfast and lunch with this easy recipe!

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or our Pinterest Board for Homemade Halloween Costumes.

If you are looking for easy DIY Halloween masks, then you have come to the right place! I love felt and masks & they are a huge hit with kids and adults. If you like woodland animals or My Little Pony (or if you have a 5-year-old girl in your house) then these are sure to be a hit for you too! I have included free printable templates for all the masks. (for personal use only, for resale information please contact April {at} illstyle.com)

All you need to throw together these easy masks is felt in a variety of colors, a good pair of scissors, your favorite fabric glue (we like this one), one of the printable templates linked below and about 20 minutes. Cut out the pieces, fit them together according to the photos and let the mask dry. And that’s it! You’re ready to rock your brand new mask!

DOWNLOAD WOODLAND MASKS HERE

April from illistyle.com is sharing her no-sew, DIY Halloween masks – including free printables. These are totally fun!

You know where else these masks look fabulous? On pumpkins. Felt masks are a great way to dress up your pumpkins without having to cut into them and risk them rotting before the big day!

DOWNLOAD MY LITTLE PONY MASKS HERE

Can you tell I like Halloween a little bit? Dressing up is so fun! What are you going as this year? Bonus points for tagging Bonbon Break and illistyle in your Halloween Instagram photos!

More from illistyle

Tissue Paper Tassel Banner

No Sew Fabric Pumpkins

Cross Stitch Sunglasses

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First, we decided what sort of look we wanted and I sketched a rough shape with a pen.  I cut out the pieces and we all scooped the pumpkin seeds. The chickens and ducks at my house were delighted to get all the pumpkin guts and pieces of the shell.

My husband used pushpins to attach tiny LED lights on a string around the inside of the rim. This was the hardest part because they kept falling back out! My son poked guide holes into each window with a toothpick. He then used twigs to make window frames, pushing them into the guide holes.

I cut a sheer mesh bag I had in half and we used pushpins to attach them as “curtains” in the lower windows. my son hot glued the lid of the pumpkin and pushed dried moss all over it for a roof.

The boys found a milkweed pod and split in half, then they glued the halves under the lower windows as garden boxes.

After we hot glued some moss on, we glued in some tiny fake flowers. We worked together to make a popsicle stick door, then my son hot glued moss on and glued the door in place.

We tried to leave some small gaps in the door for the lights to shine through.

The last couple of days, the pumpkin fairy house keeps moving mysteriously to different locations around our property. My sons are having a great time locating it each time and reporting back with glee. We may just have to make this an annual tradition!

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All throughout summer, I had these crazy nostalgic cravings for soup. I literally hated the beautiful weather (SO ungrateful, I know) because all I wanted was comfort food in a bowl. And now…my wish has been granted. Ugly days bring beautiful food.

The day I made this Coconut Pumpkin Thai Soup, I was so excited that I inhaled half of it before I remembered a) I’m not a monster and b) I should probably save some for the hubby.

The soup is thick and creamy, which happens to be THE BEST texture ever. I really love the flavors here – pumpkin, coconut and curry mix in a way that’s cohesive and complex. Plus…cilantro. If you’re a normal human, you might just add some cilantro for garnish. If you’re like me, you’ll pile it on by the handful, adding more as you go until it turns into a cilantro salad. Probably don’t do that.

Recipe adapted from Food Babe. 

PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
SERVES: 4

YOU’LL NEED: 

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitos)
• 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

In a pot with a lid, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper; cook 5-7 minutes or until onions are softened.

Add stock, coconut milk, pumpkin, bay leaf, curry paste, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaf, take off heat and blend soup in a blender.

To serve, spoon into bowls and top with cilantro and pepitas.

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I quickly realized that the world outside of our home would be harder to take on because most of the world out there revolves around food in some way. Thankfully, I like a good challenge.

I do not expect the world to bend to accommodate my daughter’s life-threatening multiple food allergies, but I do hope that she finds more compassion. We opt out of a lot of birthday parties, family gatherings and play dates, or we bring our own allergy-safe foods and figure out how to politely excuse ourselves. I host most sleepovers, play dates and gatherings because it’s just easier to do it all, rather than put the pressure on anyone to make it work. My kids don’t complain because it’s not the end of the world if we can’t participate in everything.

That’s how we roll. That is how it has been. Halloween is no exception.

Halloween is our favorite holiday even if it’s all about the candy that, at one point, my daughter could have none of and for which my son had few options. Dressing up in costumes is a fun time. We like to act silly. We love an excuse to hang out with friends. If my kids didn’t have food allergies, the candy still wouldn’t be the main focus.

We trick-or-treat even if 90% of the candy we get is not allergy-friendly. We can trick-or-treat for HOURS! A friend asked me once why we even bother and I said, “Uh… because it’s a really fun time to run around dressed up??”

We introduced the “Halloween Fairy” into our homes many years ago. I found out last year that some call this the “Switch Witch.” We trade out candy the kids can’t have or the surplus of what the kids shouldn’t eat and the Halloween Fairy brings better goodies instead.

Last year the kids left out a little bit to the Halloween Fairy and donated the rest to a local women’s shelter. They initiated that suggestion and I was proud.

We are always super safe when we trick-or-treat. My daughter carriers her “emergency bag” filled with all medications she needs including her epi-pen and I have extras on hand. I sort out the candy first making sure nothing is open that contains her contact allergies. It’s a process but it’s so routine that no one feels weird about it.

I’ve been asked before if my kids ever get upset that they can’t eat all the candy they collect. It has honestly never been an issue. It simply is what it is and I try to not focus on the CAN’T and focus on the FUN.

When they were younger I would see the enthusiasm on their faces when they went to a house that had a non-candy treat or a piece of candy they could have. My son still does a little dance and yells “Yes!” when this happens. Yes, it would be nice if this could happen more often, but we would never expect or want a fully “allergy-friendly” Halloween.

Why wouldn’t I want a fully “allergy-friendly” Halloween? Because A) it would never happen, B) it doesn’t mean our fun times would be better because we do just fine as is, and C) the Halloween Fairy does like the chocolate bonus, hehehe. But, in all reality you can’t have perfection, so why would I expect that for my kids? Nah, perfection is boring. I’d rather learn from the small bumps in the road and imperfections and have fun anyway.

Every year I’ve seen a few more non-candy treats when the kids unload their Halloween loot. The kids, allergies or not, love these. The increase of non-candy goodies may have to do with food allergies or other dietary restrictions or maybe being over the amount of junk food the kids get. No matter what the reason we really do dig it.

But, just because Halloween won’t be completely allergy-friendly doesn’t mean we all can’t try a little. For those of you who want to try, check out the Teal Pumpkin Project by F.A.R.E. (Food Allergy Research & Education). Teal is the color for allergy awareness AND it’s my daughter’s favorite color.

The concept is simple… Paint a pumpkin teal, print a flyer to raise awareness and have food allergy-friendly treats available for Halloween. Kids who have food allergies will be able to see what houses have allergy-friendly treats with no tricks for them. When you are out shopping for Halloween goodies why not look at those stickers, glow sticks, plastic rings, pencils or non-food items too? Don’t want to replace all your candy? That’s cool… why not have candy and a bowl for kids who can’t have candy?

DOWNLOAD A FREE PRINTABLE SIGN

The Teal Pumpkin Project is something that gives people the idea of offering non-food treats only or having a separate bowl for those with food allergies. It isn’t about replacing all candy but creating more awareness and inclusion. No, food allergy parents across the world are not expecting EVERYONE to do this and eliminate candy and the new Halloween color to be teal instead of orange. But, it may make a handful of kids feel special and included. Where is the harm in that?

We are going to paint some mini pumpkins teal, give them to neighbors, teachers, family and friends with information on the Teal Pumpkin Project. If people choose to offer up some stickers, glow sticks or bookmarks in addition to (or instead of) their candy, then RAD!

If not… then we are still gonna have fun.

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Looking for a simple but fun idea for DIY Halloween teacher gifts, classroom treats or even sports team snacks? Pauline Molinari of Club Chica Circle shows us just how easy it is to transform and upcycle round water bottles into super cute candy pumpkins! The combination of simple instructions and supplies you either already have or can easily find make this a great last minute project that’s sure to impress!

ABOUT PAULINE:

Follow Pauline on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest |Google+ | Instagram

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The post DIY Halloween Candy Pumpkin Craft first appeared on BonBon Break.

Halloween is coming so bring on the Halloween activities for kids!

We are going pumpkin and bat and ghost crazy at our house lately! We love holiday themed kids activities and crafts–especially when they are easy to set up.  I’ve found more than 20 super fun ideas for you to try with your kids this month including Halloween books, crafts, busy bags, food and more.

ABOUT Megan Sheakoski:

Megan is the creator of Coffee Cups and Crayons, a blog that shares fun and useful ideas for modern parents. She is a coffee lover who loves playing, learning, and crafting with her kids. She believes that acts of kindness {and really good coffee!} can change the world.

Follow Megan on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest |Google+ | Instagram

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Evenings are getting cooler, mums in reds, oranges, and yellows are making their appearance and leaves are beginning to fall. It is time – time for all things pumpkin. Pumpkin French Toast Roll-ups are the ideal treat, breakfast or dessert to satisfy your cinnamon and pumpkin cravings – at least for a while. Just to be safe, buy enough ingredients to make a second batch. Enjoy!

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A FEW MORE TASTY FALL TREATS FROM THE KITCHEN:

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