Summer and all its fun activities is winding down. The days are growing shorter and the nights are cooler. Fall is quickly approaching! That means its time to be thinking about fall activities you can do with your kids.

Not sure what activities to try? Here are some fun suggestions to get you started.

Outings

There is nothing like fresh autumn air to put life back into perspective. These fun family outings all take place outside and are a perfect way to celebrate the wonder of fall.

Go to a Fall Festival-If your town doesn’t have a fall festival, there is probably another town close by that does. Look online to see where the nearest one is and spend a day with your family there. From face painting to apple bobbing to pumpkin rolling, there is something for everyone.

Go for a Drive-Nature puts on quite a show in the fall. Pick a weekend in the middle of the season and go for a drive with your family. Take pictures and videos of your adventure to remember for years to come.

Pick Apples at an Apple Orchard-Find the nearest apple orchard and find out if you can visit to pick apples. To make it even more memorable, wear pots on your heads like Johnny Appleseed. Use the pots to put the apples in when you pick them. Later you can use the pot to cook applesauce.

Pick Pumpkins at a Pumpkin Patch-There is more than likely at least one pumpkin patch near you. Make plans to visit and pick pumpkins and gourds if they have them. Make sure you take home plenty of pumpkins. You will want to use them to decorate for fall and Halloween. You will also want to make pies and roast pumpkin seeds.

Get Lost In a Corn Maze-Many pumpkin patches also have corn mazes. If the patch you visit doesn’t, look to see if there is a corn maze somewhere else locally. It is a fun and memorable experience to find your way out of the tall green puzzle.

Visit a Fire Station-October is fire prevention month. Call your local fire department and see if there is a station you can visit. More than likely the firefighters have a program that teaches kids about fire prevention, safety and what to do in case of a fire. It is a good refresher for adults as well! 

Get Spooked at a Haunted House-If you aren’t too frightened and your kids are old enough, consider attending a haunted house or other spooky venue. Talk about an unforgettable outing!!

Go Trick or Treating-Make your own costumes if you dare! Then show them off on Halloween night as you go on a door to door candy hunt!

Outdoor Activities

Revel in the crisp outdoors with these fun and engaging activities!

Rake and Jump in Leaves-Have some fun while raking the leaves in your yard. Run and jump in the piles of brown, yellow, red and orange foliage. Then bag the leaves in orange trash bags, use black construction paper to cut out facial features and turn the bags into jack-o-lanterns to decorate with.

Hunt for Leaves-Make categories of leaves for each leaf hunter. Red, yellow, orange, brown, green, biggest, smallest, most colorful, strangest and so on. Use the leaves to make leaf people or leaf prints.

Take a Hike-Find a park or trail that you can hike on. Grab your binoculars and camera and use them to observe and document what nature is doing and saying. What are the squirrels doing? How can you describe the trees and leaves? What else do you see that tells you it is fall?

Go on a Hayride-You may have had a hayride at the pumpkin patch when you visited. If not, look online to see if there is a local farm or other venue that offers this fun experience. Take some quilts and hot chocolate along if it is a cold autumn day or evening!

Have a Bonfire-Whether it is a small bonfire in your backyard or a larger one out in the country, make sure you make this activity happen! Roasting hot dogs, marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate on a cool fall evening lifts your spirits immensely!

Plant Tulip Bulbs-Buy some tulip bulbs and plant them with your kids in late fall. You will reap the benefits of this fun activity when spring comes.

Decorate for Fall and Halloween-Use hay bales, pumpkins, gourds, corn, leaves and pine cones to decorate your porch and yard to reflect the season. Add a scarecrow, witch, ghost or other spooky elements if you want to celebrate the scarier holiday of the season.

Make your own Haunted House-Do your kids want to make a little money? Why not use your creative juices to make your own haunted house, basement, garage, shed or yard? Charge a cheap admission and scare your friends, family and neighbors.

Fall Crafts

Use the items you find in nature this fall to make fun crafts with your kids. Then use the crafts to decorate your home for fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Carve a Pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern-This activity is a must at Halloween time. Use the pumpkins you got when you visited the pumpkin patch to create spooky faces for a haunted holiday!

Melt Crayons over Pumpkins-Another fun way to decorate your pumpkins is to melt candles over them. Check out this site for directions and ideas.

Stamp an Apple Print Collage-Cut apples in half and dip the flat white part in paint to make a “stamp.” Make a collage by stamping the entire paper with different colors of paint covered apples.

Make Leaf Prints-Use the leaves you gathered on your leaf hunt to make leaf prints. Click here for step by step instructions on this activity.

Make Fall Wind Chimes-Go on a fall nature hunt and find acorns, pine cones and leaves. Use them to make a fall wind chime. Check out this site for a tutorial.

Feed the Birds with Homemade Pine Cone Feeder-Cover a pine cone with peanut butter. Then cover the peanut butter with bird seed. Attach yarn or string to the pine cone and hang it on a tree. Now sit back and watch the birds have lunch!

Paint With Corn Cobs-Paint different fall colors all over the ears of corn. Then roll the cobs on several pieces of white paper. Laminate the dried pictures to make place mats for Thanksgiving dinner. Click here for visual instructions.

Make your Own Halloween Costumes-Think outside the box this year and create your own amazing costumes with your kids! See if there is a local costume contest your kids can enter. They might just take home first prize!

Yummy Activities

You’ve picked apples and pumpkins. You’ve made crafts and decorations with them. Now it’s time to eat them! Check out these delicious ideas full of the flavors of fall!

Bob for Apples-Attend a fall festival or Halloween party and you will probably get to bob for apples there. If not, grab some apples, a big bowl and some water and make your own apple bobbing game. Don’t forget to eat the apple you get.

Make Applesauce or Apple Cider-Peel the apples you picked from the apple orchard. Heat them up in a pot. Mash them, add some cinnamon and sugar and you have just made your own applesauce, Johnny Appleseed! Craving apple cider? Make it following this yummy recipe!

Make Homemade Caramel Apples-You can make your own caramel with this recipe or just buy some. Then cover apples in the gooey goodness for a fabulous fall treat!

Bake a Pie-You have apples and pumpkins. Have the kids help make apple pie, pumpkin pie, or both! These are perfect desserts for Thanksgiving dinner

Roast Pumpkin Seeds-Don’t waste all those seeds you scooped out when you carved the Jack-O-Lanterns. Toss the seeds in a bowl with melted butter and salt. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 300 degrees until they are golden brown. Delicious! 

Cook Pumpkin Soup-Our son cannot wait to make soup out of the pumpkins we are growing in our own patch. Like it spicy? Check out this recipe for Chipotle Pumpkin Soup! Ole!

Whip up Some Hot Chocolate-Warm up on a cool autumn evening with a mug full of sweet, chocolaty goodness. Don’t forget the marshmallows. Make your own hot cocoa mix to last you through fall and winter.

Fall Into Fun

Go ahead! You have permission to try as many of these fall activities you can do with kids. I promise you that they are all fun and you and your kids will remember them for years to come.

Whether you are looking for an outing to go on, an activity to do outside, some crafts to create or a yummy snack, the list in this article should keep you occupied all season.

What are you waiting for? Time to embrace the crisp autumn weather and fall into fun!

What’s your favorite fall activity? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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