The Ultimate Fall Bucket List for Families will keep your family engaged all season long with traditional ideas and fun new and unique options.
Fall is a great time to get out and enjoy the cooler weather with your family. There are so many fun things to do, both outdoors and indoors. From traditional activities like pumpkin picking and hayrides to creative activities like arts and crafts projects inspired by the season, there’s something for everyone on this list. So grab a cozy sweater, put on your best pair of boots, and get ready to have some fun! Here’s a list of our favorite things to do in the fall months.
Outdoor Activities
We’ve packed our Fall Bucket List with lots of outdoor activities for you and your family. There’s a little something for everyone. You can enjoy the great outdoors, get our of town or just appreciate your own neighborhood and backyard in a new way.
- Pick pumpkins at a local farm
- Carve or decorate pumpkins
- Roast pumpkin seeds
- Visit a corn maze
- Go on a hayride
- Make s’mores around a bonfire
- Run through the leaves (and then jumping in them!)
- Go apple picking at an orchard
- Take a scenic hike and take in the fall foliage
- Go on a nature walk and collect leaves and other “treasures” – this is particularly fun with younger kids. We usually take these items home to make crafts.
- Have a picnic in your backyard or at a local park. Be sure to pack some cozy blankets in case it gets chilly.
- Go on a hayride and tour a farm. Many farms also have corn mazes, petting zoos, and other attractions that the whole family will enjoy.
- Roast marshmallows over a bonfire and make s’mores. If you don’t have access to a bonfire, you can also roast them in the oven or microwave.
- Take a trip to a nearby city or town that is known for its Fall foliage and go on a scenic drive or hike through the woods/mountains.
- Attend a local high school football game
- Try apple bobbing
- Bust a pinata with your friends!
- Take Fall family photos
- Have a backyard camp out
- Enjoy an outdoor movie night with a home projector, cozy blankets and plenty of popcorn. We just check out free DVDs from our local library for an easy movie night.
- Visit a Farmer’s Market
- Attend a Fall Festival or parade
- Have a Fall scavenger hunt with friends
- Make an outdoor fort from fallen branches and leaves
- Make a pine cone bird feeder. The steps are easy! First, wrap string around your pinecone for easy hanging afterwards. Then coat a pinecone in peanut butter and dip it in birdseed. After that hang it up outside (preferably by a window) for the birds to enjoy, sit back and watch!
Indoor Activities
For those rainy Autumn days when you can’t get outside, we’ve also added some indoor activities to our Fall Bucket List. We hope your family enjoys these traditional and new unique ideas. Many of them are inspired by real moms whose families are already doing them year after year to create special memories.
- Make pumpkin bread
- Make a homemade pie using apples from a nearby apple Orchard. Bonus points if you make your own crust!
- Make homemade apple sauce – it’s easier than you think! I just put peeled and cored apples in a crockpot on low for a few hours, then open it up and mash mash mash!
- Cuddle up on the couch with some hot cocoa (or apple cider) and watch all of your favorite Halloween movies!
- Carve or paint pumpkins
- Make homemade Halloween costumes
- Decorate the house or porch for Halloween or Fall
- Host a Halloween party for friends and neighborhood kids
- Tell spooky stories around the campfire
- Start working on holiday gifts (knitted scarves, anyone?)
- Read your favorite Halloween books (or discover some new ones)
- Look at adorable babies in Halloween costumes
- Make cards, pictures or decorations for your home with items from nature such as a pinecone wreath, or Fall centerpiece.
- Make crayon imprints with leaves
- Make caramel apples at home. All you need is some apples, caramel sauce, and toppings of your choice (chocolate chips, sprinkles, chopped nuts, etc.)
- Get creative and make your own Halloween costumes! You can also host a costume party and have prizes for the best costume, funniest costume, etc.
- Gather all of the pinecones in your neighborhood and use them to make wreaths, centerpieces, or other decorations for your home.
- Make squash soup
- Have a cook-off with friends – chili, soups, comfort food…all of it.
- Make your own candles, then try them out!
- Take up the fun and relaxing art of pyrography
- Color together! Take a break – curl up with a cozy blanket, hot drink, some colored pencils (our favorite is Twistables) and a Fall Coloring Book.
- Organize all of your photos – put them into albums or make a scrapbook together.
- Start a puzzle with your family and work on it together throughout the Fall.
- Play games that have a seasonal theme such as Apples to Apples, Halloween Bingo for all ages. Or try the Sneaky Sneaky Squirrel Game or Hi-Ho Cherry-O for younger kids.
No matter what your family enjoys, there’s sure to be something on this list that will appeal to everyone. So get out there and enjoy all that Fall has to offer!
Download and print a beautiful clean copy of this Fall Bucket list for Families, then laminate it and use it for years to come! I store my Fall printable in the bin with my Fall decorations. That way it’s right there when I bring out the bin to decorate each year!
