The arrival of Fall comes with many wonderful changes in our lives. The cooler weather can offer a refreshing change for many of us. It is also the time of year when leaves begin to change and provide a beautiful array of colors for all of us to enjoy.
However... Fall is also a time when families start preparing for the hustle and bustle of the upcoming Holiday Season. It is a time that can quickly become consumed with decorating the home, shopping for gifts, meal planning, party planning, and lots of extra tasks to prepare for the winter months. It can really put a strain on the family budget too! That's why it's so important to sprinkle some fun (and budget friendly) family activities throughout your Fall season.
To make your holiday experience an organized one, I've made a downloadable planner to help! The table of contents is at the end of this blog if you want to check it out!
Here are 10 Fun Fall Activities for Families that won't bust the budget!!!
1) Take advantage of the falling leaves.
Create fun Fall art by placing a piece of paper over a leaf and rub the side of a crayon on the paper directly over the leaf.
Rake up a huge pile of leaves and take turns jumping into the pile.
Have fun throwing handfuls of leaves at one another.
Create a competition to see who can throw a single leaf the farthest. Whoever has the most creative method wins!
Simply enjoy kicking the leaves around together.
Did you ever make "leaf art" when you were a kid? Let me know in the comments!
2) Go on a nature walk together.
See how many different sizes and different shaped leaves you can find.
Collect all sorts of pine cones and acorns.
See who can spot the most animals, or insects, or birds on your walk.
Search for unique rocks and minerals.
Play a game of "I spy" with all of the nature you see surrounding you.
3) Make things out of the pine cones & acorns you find on your nature walk.
Make bird feeders out of your pine cones!
Tie string or twine around your pine cone. Using a spatula, or the back of a spoon, spread peanut butter generously all around the pine cone. Then roll the peanut buttered cone in a bowl of wild bird seed. Then, all you have to do is hang your pine cone feeder from a tree
branch outside! Try to hang it on a tree branch that you'll be able to see from inside your house. That way, you can watch the birds enjoy the fall treat you made for them!
Make decorations or ornaments out of your acorns!
You can paint funny faces on the bottoms of the acorns. Or, you can dip the bottom of the acorn in glue and then roll it in glitter to create mini ornaments out of them.
4) Roast pumpkin seeds.
If you carved your pumpkins for Halloween, save the seeds to roast for a tasty treat everyone can enjoy! Here's what you do:
Rinse the pumpkin seeds thoroughly using a strainer or colander.
Dry the pumpkin seeds as much as possible.
Place the seeds in a bowl and sprinkle olive oil and salt over the seeds. You can also season them with pepper and/or garlic powder to if you'd like!
Spread the seeds evenly over a cookie sheet treated with non stick spray.
Bake the seeds at 350° for 10-15 minutes (flipping the seeds over 2-3 times during the baking process).
The seeds are done when they have turned a golden brown!
5) Spend family time together "Paying It Forward".
Donate food items to your local food bank. As the holidays approach, many food banks run low on their supplies. In addition to donating food, you can also volunteer your time at the food bank. It's a wonderful opportunity to teach your children how they can give back to their community!
6) Enjoy a Movie or Game night together
For "Movie Night" - Share with your children your favorite Halloween or Holiday movies from when you were a kid. Make lots of popcorn, buy your kids their favorite candy, turn out all the lights (just like your in a theater) and enjoy the show!
For "Game Night" - Let everyone pick their favorite game, and then play each one of them together. Don't be afraid to mix things up a little! Try playing the games in teams for a little friendly competition (like boys against the girls, or the old folks against the young kids).
You can also have some extra fun by changing the rules of the game. For example, in my family, if we played a game with dice included, we'd make up rules like:
if you rolled a 6 or a 12, you had to stand up a sing a song.
If you rolled a 4 or an 8, you had to get up and dance for 15 seconds.
If you rolled a 2 or a 10, you had to talk like Kermit the Frog on your next 2 turns.
It may sound a bit weird, but trust me... it added a lot of laughter to the games we played!
7) Work on a "Fall-themed" puzzle together.
There are so many wonderful benefits gained when kids work on puzzles. They develop better problem solving and memory skills, they improve visual-spatial reasoning, and it will help them increase their attention to detail. Now add to that family bonding time and you've created a WIN-WIN situation! Some of the best conversations and most contagious laughter often happen when people work puzzles together. So grab a colorful Fall puzzle, some snacks, put on some background music, and have fun!
8) Go on a hay rack ride.
Depending on where you live, there is so much to enjoy on a hay rack ride. Aside from the experience of being pulled by a tractor in a hay-filled trailer, hay rack rides offer a variety of other things to experience. Here are some of the things you might experience on a hay rack ride:
Beautiful Scenery
Private Picnic Areas
Campfires/Bonfire Areas
Pumpkin Patches
Petting Zoos
Apple Picking
9) Create a "Fall Activities" photo collage to use for your holiday cards
An inexpensive way to make your holiday cards "POP" with creativity is to take loads of photos while you're enjoying some of the Fall activities listed in this blog. Then, create photo collage of your Fall experiences to include on/in your holiday cards! Again, make sure the whole family is involved. Let each member of your family pick their favorite photo from the fall activities you've enjoyed together. They say a picture is worth a thousand words... There's no better way to show your family and friends all of the fun you've had this Fall!
I created a Holiday Planner that can really help you keep track of all of the holiday cards that you send (and receive). Check it out... HERE
10) Write your holiday cards together.
Holiday card writing can be a very overwhelming and daunting task if it is delegated to only one person. Yes, even younger kids can help get all of those cards ready to mail! There are things you can do that will make it easier for the younger children to help you.
Use a label template on your computer, and print out address labels ahead of time for everyone on your mailing list.
Invest in pre-made return address labels. Services like Vista Print allow you to create a customized design for your return address labels, and get a batch of over 100 labels and it won't bust your budget!
Amazon sells "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holiday" ink stamps at extremely budget friendly prices!
No one likes to lick the envelopes to seal them. Why not invest in a VERY inexpensive pencil style moistener to make the job of sealing the envelope fast, easy, and kid friendly to do?!
So, create an assembly line with the entire family, and have fun getting those holiday cards out on time! You know what they say... many hands make light work!!
You can find even MORE Family Activity ideas to do that are not only for this fall, but for the entire holiday season too! Be sure to get my complete Holiday Season Planner that's filled with 100+ pages of my best organizing tips, activity ideas, budget planners, gift planners, shipping trackers, printable checklists, time tables, storage labels, and much much MORE! It's ready to download and print the minute you purchase it!
Make this holiday season a lot more peaceful and a lot more organized!!! Check out (in the photo below) all that's included in my Holiday Season Planner!
Start enjoying a more organized holiday season TODAY by clicking HERE!
Have fun, and happy organizing!!!