Fall has always been one of my favorite times of year for many different reasons. It means there are three of my favorite holidays right around the corner which is always fun to anticipate and plan for with my kids. Even though I love summer, I look forward to switching out my flip flops and shorts for booties, jeans and hoodies. And, what’s not to love about the outdoor scenery? The leaves are so beautiful and the crispness in the air has always been refreshing to me. I always try to come up with different and fun activities for my kids throughout the year to coordinate with each season. I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite things to do in the fall with my family. The best part is everything we enjoy doing is either free or very budget friendly. I hope you can find some inspiration with these ideas and create lasting memories with your loved ones this season!

Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt

Pinterest is loaded with awesome lists and ideas on putting together a fun scavenger hunt for the kids. You can print out lists they provide or make your own. Check out my Pinterest page to see some of our favorite scavenger hunt lists!

Kylee’s Korner Pinterest

Make Leaf Rub Drawings

Use the leaves from your scavenger hunt to make artwork! You can use what you probably already have at home- crayons, colored pencils or wax paper. My kids love to use tracing paper that I buy on Amazon. You can find it here:

Tracing Paper

Head to the Local Farmer’s Market

Check to see if there’s a farmer’s market in your area. It’s a good way to get the kids out of the house and to limit their screen time for the morning. It is also an awesome way to get them to try new fruits and veggies that may be in season!

Go to the Public Library

The local library is a great place to go spend an afternoon, especially on a chilly or rainy day. Every library is different, but ours has story time, cooking classes, puppet shows and so much more. My kids always enjoy getting to pick out a few books to take home at the end of our trip.

Build a Blanket Fort and Have Reading Time

After you get back from the library with your new books, build a blanket fort in the family room and have some quiet time. My kids love going into the fort to read and it gives me a chance to get some things done around the house. I don’t know what it is about blanket forts, but they seem to work like magic in our home!

Make Smores

It doesn’t feel fall official to me unless we make smores at least once! Of course, I prefer to make them around a campfire, but sometimes inside must do. There are so many tools you can get that help the smores making easier and less messy. Here are some of my favorites that we have used outside and inside:

Roasting Sticks

Smores Maker

Nostalgia Smores

Go Apple Picking

Apple picking is one of my favorite things to do with the kiddos in the fall on a beautiful day. It gets us outside and moving around which I love. The kids have a lot of fun walking around and looking for the perfect apple to add to our basket!

Bake Something with Your Apples

While we are at the orchard picking apples, we love to talk about all the different things we can make with them once we get home. There are so many yummy possibilities. I’ve saved some of our favorite go to recipes with apples on my Pinterest page here:

Apple Recipes

Make a Pinecone Bird Feeder

My kids love making pinecone bird feeders for all of our feathery outdoor friends. They are so simple to make and the birds really seem to love the yummy treat! All you need is peanut butter, birdseed, pinecones and twine! Since I order everything off Amazon because I love their prices and the convenience of online shopping, I get most of the supplies through them. You can find some of them here:

Natural Jute Twine

Bird Seed

Go to A Local Football Game

Is it just me or does football seem to go hand in hand with fall? NFL games can get costly for a family to attend. However, you can go to a local high school game for much less money! Most of the time you can bring in snacks or purchase them for a low cost at the snack stand. My kids love to cheer on the local team and sit with all the other fans in the bleachers. It’s a lot of fun for us to show our hometown pride!

Make a Hot Chocolate Bar and Have Movie Night

Fall nights start to get chilly! One of our favorite things to do on a weekend is make a hot chocolate bar and have a movie night. The kids get so excited picking out the different ingredients they want for their hot chocolate. Pinterest comes to the win again with some awesome ideas and tips. Here are some of our favorite go to ideas:

Hot Chocolate Bar

Make Personalized Thanksgiving Placemats

My kids are always down for a fun arts and crafts project. They also love to have their completed artwork proudly displayed when they are done. One of our new favorite things to do is making personalized placemats for all our family to use at Thanksgiving dinner. The kids love to see everyone using them and the guests are always excited to see what they made for them. I’ve ordered these placemats in the past and have loved them. They are durable, pretty and easy to color on!

Paper Placemats