It’s Autumn, my favorite time of year. I just love the smell of pumpkin pie, the array of rich color as the leaves turn, and one more reason to get close and cuddle. I love all of it! How about you? Do you embrace the change, or resist it? Change is inevitable, so why not learn to leverage it?

Use the natural change in season to inspire a change in the level of connection in your relationship. Here’s how: Get creative. Do things together that you’ve never done. I’ll even make this easy for you. Here are a few fall inspired date ideas I recently shared in a short article. Pick one, or better yet try all three.

1. Get Sizzling, Sensuous and Succulent

Celebrate the fall by visiting a local farmer’s market for some seasonal fare and then spend the evening heating up the kitchen while cooking together. Be sure to include romantic spices and flavors such as nutmeg or vanilla. Highly prized by the Chinese as an aphrodisiac, a little nutmeg in a warm pumpkin soup can be a delicious way to help spice up your evening. And the scent of vanilla is believed to increase lust.

Co-creation is a natural and easy way to bond. Selecting and preparing ingredients together, as well as creating a festive fete, allows for a collaboration that builds connection.

2. 1-on-1 Football

What could be more fun and flirty than frolicking in the park on a brisk fall day. I mean seriously, being chased and tackled onto the grass by your significant other…need I say more?

Physical contact automatically facilitates bonding. After all, tackling includes wrapping your arms around your sweetheart, and rolling around together is a pretty sexy way to “score”.

3. Playing (Haunted) House

Fall is the perfect backdrop for a visit to a super spooky haunted house. It may not sound romantic at first, but it’s hotter than you think and here’s why…fear and excitement illicit a similar physical response. Think butterflies in your stomach, intensified breathing and wild body quivers.

Due to the release of endorphins, fright creates an instant bond. That’s why “love” reality shows like, The Bachelor, include thrilling bungee jumping dates. In fact, some studies suggest that being afraid may deliver a shot of epinephrine similar to what you might experience during an orgasm.

Any time we spend together can be great, but keep in mind that predictability can breed complacency. Mixing it up allows you to design your time together on purpose, not by default.