Go pumpkin picking- walk through a pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin. Then take it home to carve it or paint it. If you carve them don’t forget to save the seeds so you can roast them.
This is also a great party idea. Invite family and/or friends over to carve or paint pumpkins together. You can do contests for the best pumpkin, serve fall flavored treats, and end the night with a Halloween movie.
Have a bonfire. Fall is the perfect time to sit around a fire. Roast some hot dogs over the fire for dinner and smores for dessert.
If you want to make it extra special set up a smore bar. Try different kinds of marshmallows. Use different brands and/or different shapes. My favorite are the square ones. They are the perfect fit for the graham crackers. Serve different choices for the chocolate. Some ideas are milk and dark chocolate, peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, or chocolate covered caramels. You can even serve different choices for the graham cracker part. Try chocolate graham crackers, Oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookies or vanilla wafers.
Don't forget your gluten free friends. Schar makes a great gluten free graham cracker! I actually like these better than the regular graham crackers. Make it fun and be creative!
As a special treat, we get the magical flames packets to change the campfire different colors!
Rake leaves and jump in them. When I was little my dad would rake big piles of leaves. We would jump in them and then when it was time to take them over the hill he would let us ride in the tarp. We had a blast! We carried on the tradition with our kids and now the dogs love to do it!
Take a walk in the park. Grab a sweater and head out to look at all the leaves changing, acorns falling, and animals getting ready for winter. You might see a chipmunk with his cheeks filled!
To make it fun for the kids create a scavenger hunt for them. Create your own or you can print the one I made. This is a great way to get them outside and to teach them about nature.
Enjoy a hay ride. In the fall look for places that have hay rides. Usually fall festivals have them or sometimes the parks offer them. You can also create your own. When our kids were younger, my dad used to turn the trailer of the tractor into a hayride. All you need to do is add some hay to the trailer and you have an instant hay ride. They loved it!
Go apple picking and make all kinds of apple treats. We love going to pick tons of apples. Then we come home and make all our favorite apple treats, from apple pie to apple dumplings.
Take fall family photos. Fall is a great time to take family photos. The colors are beautiful and you can take some fun ones in the pumpkin patches or in the leaves. My favorite place to take fall photos is in the sunflower patch. This has become pretty popular so if you look online you can probably find a field near you. They range in bloom from August to October depending on when the field was planted.
Visit local farmers markets. Fall is when all the squash are ready. We love to eat spaghetti squash, butternut squash, zucchini, and pattypan squash! It's a great time to pick something new to try!
