Fun family activities for fall.
Ahhhh fall! My favorite time of year. A fresh start as school begins again, the crisp fall air, and a bountiful garden harvest. There are so many fall activities making the season perfect in every way! With fall just around the corner, we decided to make a fall bucket list for families of everything we want to do this season. Here is what we came up with! As always, everything is either free or frugal (that’s just how I roll)!
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1. Have a Bonfire
Fall is the perfect time for a bonfire. Invite some friends over, or head up to the mountains and enjoy a large fire together. Make sure to bring some marshmallows to roast! Enjoy snuggling under a blanket and the fresh crisp air.
2. Go Apple Picking
Fall is a great time to buy apples for a low price. Check out your local farmers market for cheap apples…or better yet go pick them yourself at a u pick apple orchard! This is a great activity to get your whole family involved in.
3. Carve Pumpkins
What’s Halloween (or fall) without a carved pumpkin??? Buy a few pumpkins from the store (or grow your own) and spend time together being creative as you carve pumpkins. You don’t even need to buy the carving kits in the store. Just print out a few free templates from the internet and use your kitchen knives for carving.
4. Fall Scavenger Hunt
Take your kids on a fall scavenger hunt through your neighborhood and in the forest. Use a brown paper bag (or whatever you have at home) to collect different colored leaves, acorns, pine cones, etc.
5. Fall Crafting
Fall is the perfect time for crafting! As the weather cool, spend some time inside working on a craft together as a family.
Check out this super easy Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin. It’s the best project for both crafters and non-crafters.
6. Attend a High School Football Game
Enjoy some community spirit at your local high school football game. There is just something special about the cool fall air, bright Friday night lights, and energy of a crowd.
Tickets are usually only a few dollars and a great way to spend a weekend!
7. Make Applesauce
Have you ever had homemade applesauce? It is so much better than store bought! My kids look forward to it every year!
Making applesauce is a big of a process, but a fun way to spend an afternoon together as a family. Plus, there is just nothing better than the smell of sweet apples and cinnamon in the house. It just makes me happy!
Be sure to grab this applesauce maker and apple corer/peeler/spiralizer. They both make the applesauce process much easier, promise!
8. Go to the Pumpkin Patch
Spend a fun family day at the pumpkin patch. It’s can be so fun walking around and looking at all of the different colors, shapes, and sizes of each pumpkin.
To make the experience a little cheaper you could choose one pumpkin as a family to share together.
9. Go On a Hike
Fall is the perfect time of year to get up in the mountains and enjoy nature with a hike. You could even make a day out of it by packing a picnic! I love seeing the beauty in the forest as the leaves are changing color.
10. Bake Something
Is there anything better than fall baking??? I think not! Spend some time together in the kitchen baking some fun fall treats.
Here are a few of my fave recipes to try: Grandmas Famous Banana Bread Recipe or Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe.
11. Play in the Leaves
Rake up a big pile of leaves and then have some fun jumping into them! This is the perfect way to get your kids to help with the work…and then celebrate with some fun!
12. Drink Apple Cider
On the first day of fall each year I buy a box of Apple Cider for our family to enjoy. My kids love this simple tradition!
13. Go to The Corn Maze
Go to your local corn maze and get lost! Try it both during day time and night time for different experiences.
Most corn mazes will offer daily deals, so be sure to look out for “buy one get one free” or “family discount” days.
14. Paint a Pumpkin
Don’t like carving pumpkins? Consider painting one instead. Paint a funny face on it or even a pretty design, the sky’s the limit!
15. Dip Apples in Caramel
Making caramel apples is a fun fall activity, but can get a little messy! So, I love to buy apples and caramel for dipping instead. It’s much less work and you can control how much caramel goes on each apple (the more the better in my opinion!).
16. Make a Fall Treat
We always have treats on our fall bucket list for families. There are so many delicious goodies you can make during fall. Pumpkin cookies or apple pie to just name a few! My kids personal favorite though are these Monster Rice Krispie Treats. They are perfect for Halloween time.
17. Go On a Hay Ride
Hay rides are so much fun and perfect for fall! Look at your community events and find a place where they might be offering hay rides. They are usually only a few dollars!
18. Roast Pumpkin Seeds
After carving pumpkins, be sure to save the seeds for roasting. It’s super easy to do too!
Just wash them and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Easy and so so tasty!
19. Go To The Farmers Market
Does your community have a farmers market? Spend a day as a family browsing the different booths. Farmers markets are a fun place to taste a few samples, listen to some good music and maybe buy a treat or two. It makes for a lovely morning out.
20. Plant Fall Bulbs
Plant a few flower bulbs in your yard. When you plant them in the fall you will be rewarded with beautiful flowers in the spring. My favorite bulbs to plant each fall are tulips and daffodils.
21. Watch Football at Home
What’s fall without some football??? Invite a few friends over to watch the football game together. Ask everyone to bring an appetizer or dessert so you can eat while enjoying the game.
22. Watch a Halloween Movie
Watch a fun Halloween movie together as a family. A few good family friendly Halloween movies are: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, The Haunted Mansion, Casper, and Hocus Pocus.
In Conclusion
Fall is such a magical time of year, but it doesn’t have to be expensive! I hope a few of these cheap bucket list ideas helps you to have a wonderful fall with your family!
Pin for Later:
What are a few things on your fall bucket list for families?
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