40 Fun Family Fall Activities When You Have Kids
Fall is the perfect time to get the whole family together and expereince the fall season together. It can be hard to find time to slow down and expereince everything around us, so here are 40 family fall activities that you can do with your kids! Many of these are your classic fall activities, but I have some unique and creative ones that both you and your kids will love! We are excited to try out many of these fall activities with our twin toddlers this autumn. Let’s dive in!
Cozy Indoor Activities
When I think of fun family fall activities, I think of cozy moments in my home with all the fall scents. Here is a list of things you can do at home with your children. Fun family activities don’t have to be expensive or extravagant. This is a great time of year to settle into your home and create a fun and cozy atmosphere for the entire family.
Make a Simmer Pot
A simmer pot is an effortless way to add a touch of fall to your home. Fill a large pot with water and add some fruit and spices. I like to add oranges, apples, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and pumpkin pie spice. You can add whatever you want. This is a perfect activity for a toddler to help with becuase things can be cut up in any way and added to the pot. Just let it simmer on the stove and fill your home with the lovely aroma of fall.
Bake a Seasonal Dessert
Apple pie, pumpkin bread, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, and carrot cake are all reminiscent of the harvest season. Children love to help in the kitchen on their learning tower. We can get them involved by baking a delicious seasonal dessert. Baking up these desserts will fill your home with incredible fall scents.
Sit by a Bonfire
The cooler fall weather makes for a great time of year to sit around an outdoor fire pit and roast marshmallows. Enjoy the crackling of the fire, the sounds of nature, and the colors of fall. When we are doing these activities with our family, we can take these special moments to pause and savor the moment. This is a great time to tell stories to your children and enjoy time as a family.
Dip Caramel Apples
Carmel apples are a yummy fall treat. This is a great activitiy with kids becasue they can help put the sticks into the apples, dip the apples, and maybe even decorate them with chopped nuts or sprinkles. Try with fresh apples from the apple orchard to make it extra special.
Listen to an Audio Book with a Warm Beverage
For me, fall is a time when I want to slow down and enjoy the season. Our lives can be so fast-paced and always reaching for the next thing to do. We can enjoy the fall season by slowing down, cozying up, and listening to an audiobook with a warm beverage like apple cider or hot chocolate.
Bake Apple Pie
After our trip to the apple orchard, we love to make homemade apple pie. This is always a labor of love becuase I like to make my pie crust from scratch, it is just that much better that way I think. Peeling the apples by hand, cutting them, and preparing them to bake can be an activity for the whole family. Small children love to contribute and baking an apple pie is a great way to do this. You could add beautiful fall touches to your pie by doing a lattice crust or cutting out small leaf shapes out of pie dough for the top.
Drink Apple Cider and Watch a Movie
There are many seasonal movies that we can enjoy this time of the year. Our children will remember the times when we gathered together as a family for a movie night with homemade popcorn and apple cider. Make this a family tradition in your home.
Watch Football
For many families, the fall is a time when they get together to watch football. You could cozy up with some apple cider and do this at home. Another great family activity is to go out to a football game at your local high school or college to support them! There is something about a crisp evening football game where you get to wear warm clothes and be under the bright lights in the stadium that is so fun.
Make Soup
Soups make a great meal during the fall months. Try your hand at some new soups. Our favorites are this homemade tomato soup, chicken wild rice, and my favorite easy crock pot meal, buffalo chicken chili!
Fall-Shaped Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are a great idea for getting children involved in the kitchen. They can roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out beautiful fall shapes like leaves, pumpkins, acorns, and turkeys.
Make Popcorn Balls
Popcorn balls are a special fall sweet treat that is easy to make. They would be a great addition to your bonfire or indoor cozy movie night.
Pasta Making Night
Try fun things like making pasta together. Older kids would definately enjoy this process and the challenge of making a meal from scratch.
Make a Special Hot Drink
There are so many seasonal hot drinks like apple cider, a pumpkin spice latte, an apple chai latte, and an Earl Gray hot toddy that looks so yummy.
Burn a Fall-Scented Candle or Diffuse Seasonal Essential Oils
Sometimes all it takes to create that special cozy feel in your home is to light a candle or diffuse a seasonal essential oil. Some of our favorite scents to diffuse in the fall are bergamot, cinnamon bark, and a mix of different essential oil blends you can put together. I found these simple fall oil blends that I can’t wait to try this season!
Eat Soup in a Bread Bowl
A bread bowl seems like a fun exciting touch to a simple soup dinner. A local bakery usually sells these, but you could also try your hand at making your own, something your children will never forget!
Get Crafty at Home
There are so many intentional ways we can bring the fall season into our homes through small projects and crafts. Try out one of these fall crafts with your children.
Make Fall Scented Playdough
Young children love to explore with their senses. This fall-scented playdough uses fall colors and scents. It takes just a little time to make but is a great chance for your child to develop fine motor skills and creativity.
Roll your Own Beeswax Candles
Add a touch of beauty with some hand-rolled beeswax candles. These beeswax sheets allow you to roll your candles. It comes with the wick and is an easy and great fall activity for you or your children!
Decorate your Home for Fall
Decorating your home for the fall season can be a great family activity. This is a beautiful time of year and we can bring that beauty into our homes and outdoor spaces by adding pumpkins and other natural items like hay stocks, fall flowers, and dried flowers.
Leaf Rubbings
Leaf rubbings are a cheap fall craft. Collect different shapes and sizes of leaves. Place them under some paper. With wax crayons or a colored pencil, color on the paper over the leaf. You will get the impression of the leaf with all the veins. You can do bark rubbings as well. To do this, just bring paper to the bark on different trees and color on the paper, getting the impression of the bark.
Look what I did with a Leaf Book
This book Look What I Did with a Leaf! is perfect for children to do a creative craft with all of the fall leaves around them. In the book, it gives you ideas of how you can make something beautiful out of leaves like animals or whole scenes.
Build a Scarecrow
If you love a good DIY project and are crafty, you could make a scarecrow as some fall decor for your front step.
Make Spiced Orange Pomanders
A simple and practical life activity is to make spiced orange pomanders. All you need for this are oranges and whole cloves. Poke the cloves throughout the orange. You can create beautiful designs or place them anywhere. Set them in a bowl or basket and enjoy their aroma. These are also great around Christmas time.
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Active At-Home Activities
Autumn is full of active fun activities to do with our family. Here are some cheap yet fun active home activities for those autumn months.
Rake Leaves and Jump Into Them
Raking leaves accomplishes both work and play! Get the whole family involved in raking the leaves and then jump into the leaf pile! If you have young children, even toddlers, consider getting a child-size rake to allow them to contribute more appropriately.
Carve a Pumpkin
Carving pumpkins is a classic family fall activity. Removing the pumpkin guts can be a great sensory expereince for children. You can bake your pumpkin seeds as well!
Play Football as a Family
The crisp fall air is perfect for a family football game. Get out and be active as a family!
Camp in the Backyard
Take a weekend to camp in the backyard! Have the convenience of your home being right there but the special expereince of camping and falling asleep to the crickets.
Bob for Apples
Bobbing for apples is a great outdoor activity to set up at a fall get-together. Fill a large bucket with water and add some apples. Without using your hands, bob for those apples and enjoy watching your friends and family members struggle.
Outdoor Fall Adventure Ideas
The fall is usually full of fun adventures within the community. If you are hoping to get out of the house and make memories, try one or all of these adventure ideas.
Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Visit a local pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin to carve. You may even find a hay ride and some other fall activities while you are there. Pumpkin picking is so fun for children, especially when they find those giant pumpkins and try to pick them up.
Go on a Hayride
Hayrides are popular during this time of the year. I love to go on a day when it is sweater weather and I can bring a warm drink with me while we bounce along on tractor-pulled hayrides. Often we have found hayrides at local pumpkin patches.
Go Apple Picking
There is so much beauty in an apple orchard. I love walking down the rows of apple trees, trying different varieties of apples, and enjoying the special treats in the gift shop. After our yearly trip to the apple orchard, we like to make homemade apple pie with our freshly picked apples.
Go on a Fall Hike
The beautiful changing leaves are one of my favorite parts of fall. Go to a state park or local park near your home for a family hike.
Go on a Fall Leaf Color Drive
Take a Sunday drive to enjoy the beautiful foliage of the season. Look up some great places to stop along the way. Enjoy the beautiful scenery while it is there!
Go to a Drive-in Movie
Drive-in movies are perfect for those crisp fall evenings. The cooler temperatures give you a chance to wear cozy sweaters and cuddle with a warm blanket with the people you love.
Take Family Photos
Fall is a great time to get family photos done. There is so much beauty in nature this time of year and you can have some great seasonal outfits for your family to wear.
Go to a Farmer’s Market
During early fall there are still typically farmers markets going on. Go support your local farmers and get some yummy food to make meals for your family.
Go to a Corn Maze
A corn or hay maze are one of the favorite fall activities for kids I would presume. They get to explore and run around looking to find their way out of the maze.
Go on a Nature Walk
Take things slow and go on a child-led nature walk. Allow your child to lead the way, stop by what interests them, and explore the world around them.
Go to the Library to Get Fall Books
If you have a rainy day, that is the perfect time to visit your local library and pick up some seasonal books. Bring them home, get cozy, and enjoy a rainy fall day.
Attend a Fall Festival
There are usually many different fall festivals with live music, carnival rides, food vendors, and maybe even a haunted house. If attending a festival is on your fall bucket list, check out the ones around you.
Go on a Bike Ride
Biking is a great family outing in the fall. Take a bike ride around your neighborhood or bike to a local ice cream shop. If you have young children, attaching a burley or bike seat to the back of your bike is a great way to still bring them along for the ride.
