It’s Fall!!! My favorite season! The air begins to get crisp and the leaves turn into a hundred shades of beautiful! While the kids are back to school and all the extra curricular activities have ensued, I look forward to the cooler weather and fall time activities every year!
In the past, I found myself stuck when it comes to ideas for family activities during this time of year, so I wanted to share some of our favorite “Autumn things to do” to help inspire you to get out and enjoy this beautiful season!
Visit an Apple Orchard or Pumpkin Patch
I’ve taken my kids to an Apple Orchard a couple of times, but last year was a tremendous amount of fun! We went with a fellow homeschool family and picked an apple orchard that not only had “U-Pick Apples”, but also had an entire fall festival - corn maze and all! It was a long day and it was a pretty good drive, but my kids had a blast and we came home with a TON of apples!
The memory of my three kids carrying this ladder and climbing the trees to get apples is one that will stick with me a lifetime!
We usually go to a local Pumpkin Patch every year as well. We try to make this a big, fun event and invite my in-laws to join us. Again, there are usually lots of fall activities to do and then each kid gets to go pick their own pumpkin and I loved how cute they were in their toddler years carrying their pumpkins so proud!
Make Candy Apples
With all those apples you brought home from the apple orchard, you need something to do with them! You can do the typical fall thing and bake a lovely apple pie (another fun activity to do with the kids), or you can make some candy apples! Depending on the age of your kids, there are lots of different options on how to make these, so you can find which one will work best for your family! This would be super fun to do one afternoon in preparation for a family movie night!!!
Make Pumpkin Art
After a visit to the pumpkin patch (or a trip to your local farmers market or grocery store), you may want to decorate your pumpkin. There are so many ways you can decorate your pumpkins, many of which don’t require carving! One of our favorites only requires some old crayons (those old, broken ones are perfect for this!) and a hair dryer. I have learned that it’s also a good idea to place the pumpkin inside a large cardboard box to keep the mess contained. Trust me on this one - you want to use the cardboard box!!! You can find a list of different ideas on our Pinterest page!
Bonfire on the Beach
If the weather isn’t too cold where you are and you happen to live near the beach like we do, go in the late afternoon/early evening and build a fire. You can walk the beach and look for shells, then watch the sun set (well…we get beautiful sunrises here, sunsets are a bit more difficult on our coast), then roast marshmallows and make some s’mores! Just because summer is over doesn’t mean the beach trips have to be!
Make S’mores at Home
Don’t have a beach near you? Build a fire in your backyard! Invite the neighbors over or maybe some family and enjoy the cool weather while you snuggle up with your kiddos by a warm fire. Wanna try something a little different? Use chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers! This Campfire Sugar Cone S’mores recipe also sounds amazing (and we’re gonna try it soon!!!) You could also try one of these S’mores Upgrades!
Picnic in the Park
Another one of our favorite fall activities is to pack a picnic and take it to a local park/trail. We love to pack some hot chocolate and/or apple cider along with some apple cider donuts or pumpkin donuts! (This is also a great “day date” if you’re looking for something different and easy!) I personally love the Entenmann’s pumpkin donuts with a cup of salted caramel apple cider, but my kids are more hot chocolate fans and all have different donut preferences. There’s a local park we like to visit that has some great trails for hiking, so we can make an afternoon of it!
Read a Book
Our family has enjoyed many nights whether around a campfire, snuggled up on the couch, or laying in bed reading a book together. A favorite series my kids have all really enjoyed is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The great thing about choosing a series is that it gives you several books so you don’t have to keep choosing a new book every few weeks, but you can choose any book your family will enjoy! You also don’t have to read together at night. You could choose to do this in the morning or even on a rainy day! There’s so many ways to make it work for your family!
Rent a Cabin/Go Camping
With the beauty that Autumn brings, this is the perfect time of year to rent a cabin or set up a tent and go camping. Short on funds? Borrow a tent from a friend and camp in the backyard! My kids always love this and we usually do all the outdoor things (fire pit and s’mores, reading a book) together. If you have the ability to find a campground, you may find one that offers some fall activities while you’re there!
Join a 5K Run/Walk
I see so many 5K’s this time of year! I’ve personally done a few by myself, but one year, I did a “color run” with my oldest (he was in Kindergarten at the time) and it was a blast! You don’t have to compete and run the whole thing - or run any of it at all! Many of them support a good cause, so find one you want to support, grab your family and/or some friends and get some steps in!
Bake Some Fall Cookies
It’s tradition in my house to bake my favorite fall cookies - Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles! I love to get the kids to help (as my boys get older, they aren’t always so eager to help in the kitchen) and it’s a tradition we look forward to every year! They know it’s officially fall when I bake those!
I hope this list gives you some inspiration on things to do with your family and kids this coming fall. Have you tried any of these? What does your family love to do?
Terri - General Manager at Milk + Honey Jewelry