Where we live, fall is the perfect season because things have cooled down enough that we can spend more than half an hour outside without sweating through our shirts, but it’s also still pleasantly warm enough to take the kids out for all kinds of fresh air. We’re always on the lookout for fall activities to do with them before things get to cold but, as you can probably guess if you’ve visited the site before, we’re particularly fond of ideas that have some kind of DIY element to them!
If you’re feeling just as interested as we are in making, choosing, and figuring out as many awesome active and DIY based fall family activities as you can, check out these 15 ideas that we’ve come across so far in this year’s search for inspiration.
1. Explore musical sounds with fall leaves
Are you in the market for something quick and simple that will keep your kids busy for a little while, keep them learning, and maybe even get them involved while you’re cleaning up all the leaves that have fallen in your yard? Then we’d be willing to bet that you’ll get a real kick out of the way Pre-K Pages did this awesome sensory and music activity that involves crushing dried leaves in order to explore sound!
2. Fall apple picking
Apple picking might not necessarily be an actual DIY process in itself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it a whole bonding afternoon filled with cool elements that keep your kids having fun and staying active even as the weather cools down! When we took our own family last week, we really appreciated this resource from To and Fro that gives you all kinds of simple tips and tricks for having the best possible time going apple picking with young kids.
3. Make your own Halloween costumes
As any DIY enthusiast will probably already know, Halloween season is basically a crafters heaven! Not only are there all kinds of fun themed crafts out there for you to try your hand at, but it’s the season for making actual outfits as well. One of our very favourite things to do with our kids in the fall is making Halloween costumes together. Luckily for all of us, there are countless awesome ideas and online tutorials to choose from. Here’s a list we had some success with to help you narrow down your search thanks to Today’s Parent.
4. Visit the pumpkin patch
Do you love the idea of getting your kids outside and in nature for a whole afternoon before the snow starts to fall, but you already know there’s no orchard for apple picking anywhere close to where you live? Then perhaps you’d have a little more luck taking them to a pumpkin patch instead! Once again, here’s a resource from Premeditated Leftovers that’s full of all kinds of tips and tricks we found really helpful before we planned our own day at the pumpkin patch with our young kids.
5. Decorate a pumpkin without carving
Have you actually already carved your jack-o-lanterns for the year but you can’t help feeling like your house could use a few more pumpkins as decor? Maybe your kids are still young enough that you’re trying to find alternatives to carving until they’re a little more prepared for handling sharp things. Then we’d suggest getting creative on your pumpkin’s surface using your craft supplies instead! Our favourite kind of non-carving pumpkin craft is so paint the pumpkins, and this list from Today’s Parent has all kinds of ideas we think you’ll enjoy perusing.
6. Plant bulbs for spring
Have we actually really caught your attention with this whole idea of getting your kids as involved in nature as you can before the winter snow arrives but you’re looking to do so a little more directly related to your home, or in a way that will last longer than one afternoon? Then we think you might have a better time planting things, rather than just picking them! This fantastic page from Almanac has a whole guide dedicated to ways you can easily get young children involved in planting bulbs for spring.
7. Make hot chocolate pudding ghosts
Are you the kind of DIY heavy family who actually prefers to spend most of your time bonding in the kitchen specifically? In that case, maybe you’d prefer to make some kind of Halloween treat together! We tried these hilarious hot chocolate pudding ghosts with our own kids last week and they were a huge hit. Get the full details for trying them yourself on Today’s Parent.
8. Make Halloween decor crafts
Do you actually come from a place where the fall season tends to involve a lot of rain, so you know you’ll be spending a lot of time inside? In that case, maybe you’d prefer to start stockpiling a list of crafts that you can make at home on a lazy crafternoon! We’d suggest starting here with this list from Woman’s Day in order to familiarize yourself with just how many awesome DIY fall and Halloween decor projects there really are out there to try making with your kids.
9. Turn your home into a haunted house
Have we actually caught your attention quite well with this whole concept of making some Halloween decor, but your kids are a little older so you can’t help wanting to take that idea even further? Then maybe you’d prefer to actually turn the place into a full on haunted house! Here’s an awesome guide and suggestion list from Today’s Parent for using your crafting and DIY skills to do just that.
10. Put together and host a harvest dinner party
Whenever we have friends and family over for a night of food and socializing, we like to do our best to get our kids involved in the preparation process because we find it makes them happy to help and it usually means we get certain things done a little faster as well. That’s why, when we decided that we wanted to have a nice dinner party with seasonal decor that wasn’t just more Halloween stuff, we appreciated these family-friendly, DIY harvest decor tips and tricks outlined in detail on Woman’s Day!
11. Learn how to knit together
In our family, knitting is the number one fall time activity that at least one of us can be found doing at any given time! Of course, we love knitting the rest of the year as well but this fall we think our youngest kids are old enough to join in the yarn loving fun and learn how to knit as well, which is great since the season is perfect for it. We were happy to discover that Tuts Pluts has all kinds of tips and tricks for teaching kids how to knit for the first time.
12. Bake pumpkin hand pies
Are you actually still thinking about how much you loved the idea of bonding with your kids in the kitchen this fall, but you think they have what it takes to make something a little more complicated than the ghost hot chocolates we showed you previously? Then perhaps you’d have a blast trying your hand at these adorable pumpkin shaped hand pies outlined step by surprisingly simple step on Woman’s Day!
13. Make and fly a kite
In the area we’re from, the first thing that tends to happen when the weather changes is that the wind picks up a little. That makes fall where we’re from the perfect time to fly a kite, which lots of people go out and make an afternoon of! Rather than simply buying a kit and taking it to the park, however, we always prefer to make a new one ourselves each year. You can find one of our favourite tutorials for doing so on Instructables.
14. Collect pinecones and make them into crafts
While you’re out raking the leaves together in the fall, why not collect a few other things from the natural scenery of your backyard and use them for crafting as well? We love the way Felt Magnet not only suggests gathering pinecones for crafting, but also outlines a few different ways that you can get creative with them on a fall day. Our kids recently had a blast painting theirs all different colours and adding a dash of glitter!
15. Create a fall treasures scavenger hunt
Have we really caught your attention well with this whole idea of getting creative with nature and things that can be found in your backyard but you’d still prefer to do something that will actually keep the kids out there in the fresh air a little longer? Then we think you might be the perfect group to give this awesome fall scavenger hunt idea from Today’s Parent a try!
Do you know another DIY enthusiast who can always use seasonal suggestions for keeping their little ones busy and learning about the changes in the year too? Share this post with them so they have all kinds of awesome suggestions to try!
