The air is cooler, everything smells like pumpkin spice, and there are mums on every doorstep– hello, fall! 🍂
Autumn is the perfect time of year to do activities as a family. Your child associates smells, tastes, sights, and activities with each season. Family activities like these help create lasting memories for your children.
Our Top 10 Fall Activities can become an annual tradition or just a time to try something new as a family. Either way, you're getting to bask in that well-deserved family time.
1. Play in the leaves 🍂
Nothing beats the crisp fall air on your face when working in the yard as a family. While it's important for kids to absorb the wonders of the great outdoors, it's also valuable to reinforce that household chores are not limited to the indoors. Raking leaves is a great way to introduce the importance of yard maintenance and care to your littles while adding a fun ending...jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves!
2. Visit a local orchard
Apple orchards have proven to be one of autumn's most treasured outings. It's fun to explore an orchard and witness all the delicious things that can be made from one kind of fruit. Showing your children the various types of apples and letting them taste the differences makes for an awesome day out. Not to mention, apple picking can result in one of the best fall desserts --Caramel Apples! 🍎 Mmm!
3. Make a scarecrow
Scarecrowsare one of the most common icons for the Autumn season. Think of it as building a snowman, but for fall. Less snow, more hay and leaves!Here are some ideas.
4. Carve it up 🎃
Pumpkin decorating is one of the most popular Fall activities. The best part can be visiting the pumpkin patch as a family and picking out the perfect pumpkin for showing off your carving skills and Halloween spirit.
5. Take a hike
Cooler temperatures and gorgeous fall foliage make autumn the best time of year for hiking. And the higher you hike, the better the view! Not sure where to go? Jump on Google and search for family-friendly local hikes in your area.
6. Plan a fall-themed scavenger hunt
Create a list of things you can find outside in the fall like pinecones, yellow leaves, acorns, and crabapples, and race to see who can find them all first. If this is too easy, make riddles for each item so participants have to figure out what the item is before they can begin to search for it.
7. Get lost in a corn maze 🌽
How could you forget the corn maze? Whether it's at a local farm or town festival, finding your way through a corn maze is a family-friendly activity you can't miss. An added plus? Many farms also offer hayrides and apple or pumpkin picking!
8. Let's all go to the movies 🍿
Grab some popcorn and do a family movie night!Hereare some great kid-friendly Halloween movies for the whole family to enjoy!
9. Check off the reading list 📚
Stock your shelves with the best Halloween books for kids (you can find the best sellers here). Read books right after dinner while everyone is still gathered at the table, during bath time, before bed, or build a fort and read underneath! It's fun to do a book-a-day or 3-4 books per week!
10. Build a backyard camp fire
Gather round the fire to warm up and tell ghost stories. And don’t forget the cozy blankets and s’mores (my favorite part)! If you don't have a fire pit, you can make your own (there's a simple tutorial
here).
Bonus activity!
11. Yummy in my tummy
Make a pot of chili for a cool fall day. Chili is a great meal for the family because it yields so much, which is great because of – leftovers. One of the most scrumptious, kid-approved chili recipes can be found here.
