Do you plan family field trips with your kids? With the change of season comes a new set of activities! Even though the kids are back to school, there are still lots of fun family activities that you can do together this fall.
Since the weather gets cooler (or even cold, here in Michigan), some of these activities are indoor – perfect for cold, rainy fall days. Others are great to do in the crisp, cool, “nice” fall weather.
Many of these can be done in a day or even a couple hours after school or on the weekend. Bonus: some of these activities can be done at one location, like an apple orchard. See how many you can cross off in one day!
Make your fall bucket list (get the free printable at the bottom of this post) and start checking these off!
30+ Fun Family Activities To Do This Fall
Go apple picking
Visit a local apple orchard and pick your own apples! Many orchards have hayrides or tractor-pulled wagon rides to the orchard. Bring a blanket and have a picnic while you’re there!
Go on a hayride
If you live in a rural area, hayrides are probably common in the fall. If you live in a city, though, you might need to do some research.
Many apple orchards and farms offer hayrides. Also, hayrides may be offered at some events, like church functions, town parades and festivals, etc.
You may be able to find out about upcoming events at your local library.
Visit a farm
As a farm owner, we get a lot of random requests to ride in our combine and go for tractor rides. If you know a farmer, you may be able to easily cross this off your fall bucket list, but if not, many local farms, especially ones that have a “stand” or pumpkin patch, offer fun family activities, like hayrides, tractor rides, etc.
Tractor dealerships may also have fall festivals with activities for kids.
Find your way out of a corn maze
Going through a corn maze, depending on the size of the maze and age of your kids, can be a fun, unique family activity.
Visit a haunted house
Traditional haunted houses might be best for older kids.
With younger kids, make your own haunted house. Let them dress up and build a “haunted” fort. They can jump out and scare everyone who walks past. 😉
Make cider
Some friends recently made homemade cider. You can buy “dropped” or “sauce” apples from an orchard. These are imperfect apples that orchards sell at a discount, but they’re perfect for pressing into cider or using in recipes.
Make homemade applesauce
Homemade applesauce isn’t difficult to make. This is an easy slow cooker recipe for applesauce.
You can also buy some red hot candies or cinnamon and sugar and let your kids help season the applesauce.
Pick pumpkins
Visit a pumpkin patch and choose your own pumpkins.
Pumpkin patches often have a lot of kid-friendly activities, like hayrides or crafts for little kids. They also sell different varieties of pumpkins and gourds, so have your kids choose smaller pumpkins to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece to decorate your dining room table.
Build a scarecrow
Whether you make a small scarecrow to decorate a bookshelf or a large scarecrow to place outside, have your kids help you. Scarecrows are fall’s version of a snowman, so have fun and get creative finding old shirts, hats, and accessories to put on your scarecrow.
Paint pumpkins
If you’re scared to let your kids near a knife or don’t want the mess of pumpkin carving, paint your pumpkins.
There are so many cute ways to paint a pumpkin. Whether you paint faces or patterns or let your kids have free reign of the finger paints, pumpkin painting is a fun alternative to carving.
Carve a jack-o-lantern
Let your kids design a jack-o-lantern! Start by drawing (or tracing) a design on the pumpkin with a pencil.
To save yourself some cleanup, set the pumpkin on newspaper before you start carving. Then, cut the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds.
Once the inside is clean, use a carving knife to follow your pencil lines and carve your pumpkin.
Bake and decorate pumpkin cookies
Break out your favorite sugar cookie recipe early. Instead of decorating Christmas cookies, bake pumpkin cookies and decorate them!
This list has some great cookie cutters. If your kids are younger, use the plastic stamper sets (and then let them use them on Play-Doh afterward). Otherwise, there are a ton of metal sets, including decorating kits complete with Halloween sprinkles.
Make apple butter
This apple butter recipe is really easy and it cooks all day in the slow cooker. Make it overnight to enjoy the day after going to the apple orchard.
If you’re looking for a recipe that everyone can enjoy shortly after getting apples, this apple butter oven recipe is delicious or this Instant Pot recipe for apple butter is easy!
Bake pumpkin muffins
My favorite pumpkin muffin is so easy to make! With only two main ingredients, it’s easy enough for kids to make but tasty (and healthy) for the whole family to enjoy.
Just add pumpkin puree to spice cake mix (I like this spice cake mix because it doesn’t contain milk). Blend the mixture together, place in muffin cups, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Rake leaves and then jump in them
Have the whole family help rake leaves into a big pile and then jump in them!
Go on a nature walk
Take your kids to a park and see how many different pieces of “nature” they can collect. Challenge them to find all the parts of a tree, from the seeds to the bark to the leaves. Talk about the different types of seeds, too, like acorns, pinecones, and little “whistles.”
See the fall colors
Depending on where you live, this might require a drive. However, if you live “up north,” go for a Sunday drive and check out the changing leaves. It’s beautiful!
Watch a football game
Visit a local high school game on a Friday night or a college game on Saturday.
Have fun tailgating before the game! Bring a small grill and make hotdogs, pack thermoses of cider or hot cocoa, and bring some outdoor games like cornhole.
Eat a homemade donut
Whether you make donuts as a family or get it at a local apple orchard or bakery, ’tis the season for cinnamon and sugar donuts!
Can vegetables
Did you have a garden over the summer? Can your extra tomatoes or vegetables as a family. If not, stock up on end-of-season vegetables at the end of summer and can your own. It’s a healthier way to eat vegetables, and you can do it in a day on a weekend.
Bake zucchini bread
Since canning is not my specialty, I tend to bake – a lot! Make some homemade zucchini bread with your kids and enjoy a warm slice as soon as it’s done.
Have a bonfire
Bonfires are such a fun fall activity. Host a backyard party and warm up on a cool night in front of the fire. Roast marshmallows, make s’mores, and even make camper’s pies. Be as creative with your pies as you want, but my favorites are pizza, followed by cherry for dessert.
Host a Halloween party
This activity takes a little more planning and effort, but host a Halloween party. You can have a bonfire and keep it outside, invite friends over to press cider, or create your own haunted house and plan some fun spooky activities.
Go trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating has some negatives nowadays, and as a food allergy mama, I totally understand. However, it’s one of those things that every kid, with or without food allergies, needs to experience at least once.
Dress up in your favorite costume, load up the wagon, and go trick-or-treating.
If you live in the country like I do, this may require you to drive from house to house, so you may need to call ahead and let people know you’ll be stopping by, but Halloween is a great chance to visit people you wouldn’t normally see and let your kids show off their costumes.
Go to a trunk-or-treat
Especially if you live in a rural area like I do, a trunk-or-treat is a fun way to let your kids experience Halloween without having to drive from house to house.
Make a costume
This list of costumes are all super easy costumes that can be found on Amazon. Use it for inspiration if you want to get creative and make your own costume. If you’re not feeling the creativity, just buy a costume (no judgment here)!
Play dress up after Halloween
A day or two after Halloween, head to Target and buy costumes on clearance. In addition to stocking up early for next year, your kids can play dress up all year long.
I love buying “career” costumes, like a firefighter, doctor, and construction worker for my kids to wear around the house.
Go to a zoo
Many zoos decorate seasonally. Your local zoo may have trick-or-treating with the animals or may even decorate for Christmas early.
Our local zoo sets up thousands of Christmas lights and small animal decorations. The kids have a blast bundling up and seeing the lights on a cool fall night.
Bob for apples
Bobbing for apples is a fun game to do with kids, especially at a fall or Halloween party.
If you’ve never done it before, add water to a large tub and add apples. Without using your hands, time every person and see how long it takes to get an apple. The person who gets an apple in the shortest amount of time wins!
Make a family pumpkin patch
Making a family pumpkin patch is such a cute fall tradition. Paint ceramic pumpkins with your kids and let them show their creativity.
Add to your collection every year.
Learn about Johnny Appleseed
Is Johnny Appleseed popular in your area? There are lots of kids’ books about the American pioneer, and it’s always fun to read them in the fall, especially before visiting an apple orchard.
Read a scary story
This is a great list of fun Halloween books for kids.
If you have older kids, choose an age-appropriate “scary” story. If your kids are younger, choose books that explain the background of Halloween or teach about fall changes.
What fun fall activities are you doing with your family this year? Get your printable bucket list here and start checking off activities!