Fall is the favorite season for so many people. Everything about this time of year is warm, cozy, and rich. No matter your age or your interests, autumn months have so much to offer people in regard to activities.
Fall Activities for the Outdoorsy Crew
The cooler temperatures and beautiful leaf colors force everyone outdoors during the fall months. These fall family activities are perfect for any crew who loves autumn and loves the outdoors.
Walk a Corn Maze
Bundle your gang up and see if you can get through the local corn maze. Everyone in your family can work on their team-building skills to see if they have what it takes to beat the maze while filling their lungs with fresh fall air.
Hike Among the Colorful Foliage
Many parts of the country put a true color show on during the fall months. If you live in a part of the country that goes from green to reds, oranges, yellows, and browns during the autumn months, get outside and get hiking. Collect various leaf samples and explore the shapes and colors that nature gifts you with during the fall months.
Go on a Hay Ride
Happy will be the kids when they spend part of their fall day bouncing along the dirt roads while enjoying a hayride. There is no better way to take in the sights of fall than cozying up with loved ones on a tractor packed full of hay bales.
Take the Gang Apple Picking
Fall is the perfect time of year to spend an afternoon in the apple orchard. Take time to learn about apple picking techniques and the various types of apples grown in the orchard you tour. Choose perfect apples to take home with you so that you can make apple pies, apple sauce, and apple butter.
Pick Pretty Pumpkins
Pick the perfect pumpkin during the fall months. Take the family out and see who can find the roundest pumpkin, the tallest pumpkin, the smallest pumpkin, or the fattest pumpkin. Carry them all home and display them on your porch or carve them up for Halloween.
Camp in the Cooler Temps
Camping is often thought of as a summer activity, but fall is truly prime camping time. Sleep under a blanket of colorful leaves and stars and snuggle up deep under piles of sleeping bags and blankets as the temperatures drop in the evening. Make warm, savory meals over an open fire and finish the night off with toasty marshmallows. A bonus to fall time camping is there are far fewer bugs buzzing around during this time of year.
Picnic in a Sunflower Field
A fall picnic is a wonderful way to spend a weekend afternoon. Pack up rustic bread, apples, freshly baked cookies, a plaid blanket, a thermos of apple cider, and seek out a field of sunflowers. What a party for the senses to dine on favorite fall foods in a field of bright yellow florals.
Head to the Farmer's Market
The Farmer's Market is a commonplace to hit up during the summer months, but in the fall, the entire experience transforms. Gone are tomatoes, cucumbers, and berries, and in their place are loaves of warm bread, fall vegetables, and baked goods. See what you can find locally, take everything home and create a meal from what you buy with your family.
Run a 5K
Running in July and August is a tall task because of the hot and muggy weather. A brisk gallop in cooler fall temperatures is absolutely invigorating by comparison. If you enjoy getting outside and stretching your legs, and you happen to have sporty kids and an athletic partner, sign the gang up for a local 5K. Run or walk it as a group and then do something fun afterward to celebrate.
Tour a Graveyard
One particular month in the fall is all about the spooky. During October, get into the Halloween spirit with a graveyard tour. This doesn't have to be scary. In fact, it can serve as an excellent history lesson. Check out the gravestones in your local graveyard. Which one is the oldest stone? Do any of the deceased share your birthdays? Are there any last names you recognize? Write them down and do some local research later!
Have Fun With Haunted Houses
If your kids are older and won't scare too easily, take the family through a haunted house. Hold hands and face your fears with this timeless, fun fall activity.
Host a Tailgate Party
Tailgates are fun fall family events to partake in on Saturdays. If your family loves football, then gather with friends and family and pre-party outside. Grill hotdogs, sip pop in lawn chairs, wear your team colors and play corn hole before game time. Go team and go fall!
Participate in a Family Fantasy Football League
Fantasy football leagues are easy and fun ideas for families to do as a group. Set up your own league, choose the best team name possible, and see who ends up taking the first place spot.
Spend the Day on a College Campus
Fall is a great time to tour college campuses as a family, especially if you have teenagers headed off to higher learning institutions soon. Walk past the beautiful buildings and catch the spirit that college campuses give off when the new academic year is finally in full swing. Stop by the campus store and buy a few items to commemorate the day.
Find a Fall Festival
Fall festivals are everywhere, and you need to know where to find them. These events will vary from festival to festival but expect to see fun games, yummy treats, and maybe a chili cookoff or pie baking contest.
Have a Bonfire
Fall brings cooler evening temperatures, which are ideal for late bonfires. Cuddle up in blankets and sip warm apple cider while you relax by a fire. Tell your favorite spooky story or share your favorite fall activity with your family. The name of the game here is staying warm and staying connected with those you love.
Visit a Working Farm
Everyone will get something out of a trip to a working farm. Make this family day one where everyone learns something about a job that is so important to so many lives. What takes place on a working farm? Check out hives, coops, gardens, and livestock.
Tour the Local Zoo
Lots of people make the trek to the area zoo once the weather breaks and summer hits. Fall is a great time to experience the zoo animals because crowds are minimal, and cooler temperatures result in fewer whiny children and longer hours to take in the sights.
Love Those Leaf Piles
Rake up a bunch of leaves, take a running start and fling yourself into them. Nothing is more simple and more fun for a family to do together in the fall.
Fun Fall Activities That Will Leave No One Hungry
Fall and food go together like peanut butter and jelly. Have fun with your family while feeding them. These activities all end up with happy smiles and full bellies, so there is no way they aren't going to end up a win.
Host a Chili Cook-Off
Chili is a crowd-pleasing dish, and there are so many unique variations to try. Host a chili cookoff and see who brings the best batch of deliciousness. Consider making a fall-inspired chili or a vegetarian chili.
Bake So Many Apple Pies
Can you even have a fall season without baking at least one apple pie? Probably not. Don't stop at just one pie; make lots! There are so many unique and creative twists on this classic treat; it seems impossible to hit them all. Make your fair share of pretty pies and give them to friends and family as seasonal gifts.
Get Inspired By Festive Fall Mocktails and Cocktails
Ciders and pumpkin spice rule the autumn season, and there are dozens of drink recipes that will inspire any fall get-together. Make fall-infused mocktails for those who don't partake in libations and fancy fall cocktails for those who can handle a bit of alcohol.
Learn How to Bake Bread
On the more chilly, blustery fall days, take to the kitchen with your kids and learn how to bake bread. Try a few recipes out and see which ones prove the easiest and most delicious.
Serve Up So Many Soups
What is the perfect complement to freshly baked bread? Homemade soup! Fall-inspired homemade soups are generally simple, hearty, and healthy. Try a few new recipes out and let your kids help with the chopping and the stirring.
Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden
If you love to garden, don't stop planting just because the seasons turn! You can definitely plant veggies in the fall months. Know which veggies thrive in fall temperatures and which ones do best in the climate that you live in.
Have a Donuts and Cider Day
Celebrate fall with cider and donuts. This classic combination has served as a fall treat forever! No one will be sad about a yummy day at the local cider mill. Just make sure you buy enough to eat on-site and indulge in the next day.
Fall Family Activities For Crafty Minds
If you and your family love getting crafty, these fall crafts will keep everyone busy and happy while making your home festive for the season.
Host a Fall Photoshoot
Have your gang dress in seasonal shades and get some pictures snapped of your good-looking brood. You can do a photoshoot in a field of fall flowers, a pumpkin patch, an apple orchard, or among the color-changing trees.
Create Pumpkin Art
Pretty pumpkins have a place in any home or on any porch during the fall months. Paint them, cover them in glitter or attach fabric to them to create interesting and colorful pumpkins. Let each person in the family come up with their own decoration concept and see how they all turn out.
Paint Pretty Acorns
Gather and clean petite acorns that you find outside. You won't have to look very far for many of these as this is the time of year that they are seen scattered around the earth. Have your family paint a handful of them in any color or design they choose. Let them all dry and fill vases with your creations.
Make a Fall Inspired Wreath
Make a wreath for your front door using items that scream fall. Leaves, acorns, twigs, and twine are perfect materials to consider for this family project. Get inspired by the nature of the season and make something beautiful.
Create Rustic Garland
Using twine, burlap, faux leaves, and acorns, make a pretty garland to string across your fireplace mantle. Have kids help choose materials at a local craft store and ask them to assist in arranging the items on the garland. An adult should operate the hot glue gun, but everyone can participate in this fun craft.
Make a Pumpkin Vase
Hollow out a small to medium-sized pumpkin and arrange pretty fall flowers inside of it. Your family can lend a hand with the hollowing-out part or paint the pumpkins in preparation for flower arrangements. Make sure you save all of those pumpkin seeds for yummy snacks later on.
Create Pumpkin Spice Soap
If you know how to make soap, infuse the craft with scents of the season. Making soap is something that the entire family can help out with. Pumpkin pie soap smells so insanely good; you'll have to hold yourself back from eating it in the shower.
Get Into Candle Making
Candle making is a timeless hobby perfect for the fall season. Create fall scented candles or pillar candles in red, brown, and orange tones.
Design a Sign
Think of catchy phrases like "Fallin' for Fall" or "Hello, Fall" and turn your thoughts into a sign for your home.
Build a Scarecrow
Why not build your own scarecrow and pop him in your yard. He will prove useful for families trying to grow fall veggies while serving the purpose of decoration.
Fall Activities for Senior Family Members
Fall months are welcome months for older family members who struggle with the summer heat. It's time to get out and enjoy the season with grandma and grandpa. These senior-inspired fall activities are ones that older generations can set out and do on their own or do with their beloved grandkids.
Teach Your Kin How to Knit
If you know how to knit, use the fall to pass the tradition on to younger generations. Teach them how to make a scarf or a blanket. It might take patience and time, but the art of knitting will be something that the grandkids will keep with them always.
Assemble Your Troops and Decorate the Front Porch
As you age, dragging out fall decorations and transforming spaces like front porches for different seasons might become more difficult as the years progress. If you have family that lives nearby, ask them to help you do your fall decorating. Kids of all ages and grown-ups alike can lend a helping hand in this. Worst-case scenario, you bribe them to come with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and apple cider.
Help Your Grandkids With Halloween Costumes
Back in the day, there was no Party City at every corner, packed full of trendy Halloween costumes. People made them with their own two hands. Help your grandkids have the most unique costumes on the block. If you know a thing or two about making Halloween costumes, then use this time to be crafty, creative, and helpful.
Read Your Way Through Colder Days
Get cozy near a cracking fire and open up a good book. The colder months are made for snuggly days of relaxing and reading. Consider starting a family book club with your older grandkids, focusing on some classic reads that everyone can enjoy.
Do Some Wine Tasting
Wineries totally transform during the fall season. Visit a few local ones, sip some vino and bring a couple of bottles home to pop open over the upcoming holiday season.
Take a Color Drive
If hiking is too much exertion for you, take a scenic color drive through the forests. Check out the vibrant and rich colors that fall blankets the world with. Toss the grandkids in the back of the car and bring along baked treats for a daytime drive that they will never forget.
Movies on the Patio
The summer season is hot and buggy, forcing many older folks indoors once the sun goes down. Fall is prime time for movies on the patio. Set up a screen and a video, gather blankets, popcorn, and other yummy treats. Watch classics with your loved ones on the back patio.
Plants Fall Flowers
Fail gardens are lovely and lush IF you know what to plant in them. When it comes to adding flowers to gardens to create pops of color after the summer months, know what to plant and when to plant them. Have your grown children and grandkids come and pitch in with the more strenuous aspects of gardening.
Tuck Yourself Into a Bed and Breakfast
A relaxing weekend away at a Bed and Breakfast in a quaint little town is magic during the fall months. Stoll the streets and sip warm coffee. Do some holiday shopping (you know Christmas is right around the corner), relax and read in bed and enjoy hearty, home-cooked breakfasts right at the Bed and Breakfast.
Pull Out the Puzzles
Colder days call for complex puzzles. Call up the grandkids and have them help you master a 100, 500, or 1,000 piece puzzle! Choose a pretty puzzle with an autumn theme of background to stay in the swing of the season.
Fall Family Activities to Express Gratitude
Fall is a season to give thanks in. Use the spirit of gratefulness and work themes of gratitude into all that your family does with their free time.
Volunteer at a Food Pantry
During the fall, many families find themselves in need as they head into the holiday season. Food pantries stock up like crazy so that the less fortunate will be able to create a meal for their families on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Take your family to a local food pantry and help them recognize how fortunate they are to always have food on their table.
Spend Time at the Soup Kitchen
Not everyone has a warm meal waiting for them at home, and volunteering at a soup kitchen will help drive this point home. Spend the day feeding those in need. Chances are, after this experience, no one will complain about what gets served for dinner for once.
Clean Out Your Home and Organize Donations
A family clean-out session will make room in your closets and drawers right before the holidays. Have everyone pitch in and get rid of things that they no longer wear, use or need. Encourage kids to think about what they can live without and what items might mean to those less fortunate than them. Pack everything up and donate it to a center that will make sure your former belongings find a good home.
Make a Gratitude Jar
Giving thanks is something many people do around the fall holiday of Thanksgiving. Before his holiday, have everyone help to create a Gratitude Jar. Write down everything that you are thankful for in your life on slips of paper. Fold up the slips and put them in the jar. After your Thanksgiving dinner, read the slips one by one.
Create a Thankful Tree
Create a tree out of large rolled paper. Kids can help cut the tree trunk and branches out and color them in if you are using white paper. Cut out leaves in fall colors. Everyone in the family gets a certain number of leaves and writes what they are thankful for onto the leaves. Leaves get taped to the tree branches so that everyone in the home was a visual reminder of all that they should be thankful for during the season.
Do Yardwork for the Elderly
If you have a neighbor or relative nearby who is getting up there in years, volunteer your family to do some fall yard cleanup. Trim back branches, rake leaves, and plant fall flowers for those you love.
Make the Most of the Season
Use all that fall offers to make the most of this special season. The colors, climate, and scents of autumn evoke warm, cozy feelings that any family will be inspired by. There are countless fall activities for families to have fun with. Choose something that will make wonderful memories for everyone.
