65 Fun Fall Family Activities (with Check List!)

Crisp autumn days, colorful foliage and ripening pumpkins means it's time for fun fall family activities. Fall means classic activities like hay rides, sipping apple cider, jumping in leaf piles and attending fall festivals, but we've got a huge list of fall activities that are worth putting on your family's bucket list.

To help you plan your fall fun, this list is organized into several categories. On a blustery, rainy day choose an cozy indoor fall activity or craft; when the weather is fine head outdoors to the backyard or journey further afield. Finally, don't forget how delicious it is to get cooking with all the fresh fall produce!

We even have a printable check list so you can keep track of all the fall fun you are having. As a bonus, the check list includes a fall fun bingo card to gamify your fall fun.

Indoor Fall Activities

When the weather is cold and stormy, or if you're stuck inside on a fall evening with the kids, cozy up and enjoy one of these indoor fall activities.

Watch a silent movie

Family movie nights are a fail-proof way to spend time together, provided you pick the right movie. Have you ever tried watching a silent movie together? You'll be surprised how enjoyable they are. An added bonus is that no one misses the dialogue when one of the kids starts talking through the movie!

See our favorite silent movies for families.

Have a read aloud marathon

Gather together a big stack of fall themed books and indulge your kids' requests for "just one more!" Here are some book lists to get you started:

• September read aloud books
• Fall read alouds the whole family will love
• October read aloud books

Write an ode to fall

What is an ode? It's a short, lyric poem of praise. Although formal odes follow specific poetic structures, you have no obligation to stick to the rules! Write a poem in praise of fall as a family, or individually, and then recite them around the dinner table.

Memorize a fall-themed poem

Impress the grandparents by reciting a poem at Thanksgiving. Choose one of our favorite classic or contemporary fall family poems or Thanksgiving poems.

Fall Crafts

Fall crafts are a great way to celebrate the changing of the season. We've shared our 9 favorite fall crafts, but here are some more!

Paint pumpkins

My kids never wanted to scoop out pumpkin guts, but we still decorated pumpkins with paint. Spread out newspaper, get out the paint and brushes and allow the kids to decorate their pumpkins however they want, whether it's to give them spooky faces or cover them with polka dots.

Make jack-o'-lanterns from turnips

Get in touch with the Irish origins of the jack-o'-lantern by carving faces in large turnips, rutabagas or parsnips. Truthfully, they are a lot creepier than a pumpkin jack-o'-lantern! The smaller tools in a pumpkin carving kit should work just fine when carving root vegetables.

Make a fall leaf wreath

We've made fall leaf wreaths for many years. Have your kids gather a basket of beautiful fall leaves. Cut out a wreath shape from a piece of cardboard or large paper plate. Glue on the leaves, add a ribbon and hang in a sheltered porch or inside.

Make leaf people

First, read Lois Ehlert's book, Leaf Man, for inspiration. Next gather leaves and twigs and other natural materials. Arrange the materials into creatures and glue down to a large piece of construction paper.

Make a fall leaf sun catcher

Take advantage of the beautiful autumnal sunlight. Use our leaf sun catcher template to make fall art to hang in the window. It's such an easy craft that everyone in the family can make one.

Make place cards

Enlist the kids to help with holiday preparations by giving them supplies to craft handmade place cards for family gatherings.

Make milk carton candles

Autumn is the time to start creating a beautiful indoor atmosphere by lighting candles. You can beef up your supply of candles and spend an afternoon crafting with the kids at the same time by making these old-school milk carton candles.

Roll beeswax candles

If melting and pouring wax into a milk carton is still too much work (I hear you!), make simple beeswax candles. A beeswax candle rolling kit makes it even simpler!

Make leaf spinner art

If you have a salad spinner, it's easy to make unique spinner art. Use our easy instructions for making salad spinner art but modify it for autumn by pre-cutting the paper into leaf shapes and using orange, red, yellow, and brown paint colors.

Create fall leaf luminaries

Making luminaries from tissue paper and mason jars is a classic children's craft that will add a subtle glow to any bookshelf. Rhythms of Play shows you how to make luminaries using real leaves.

Hang a diy fall leaf banner

Decorate the house with a fall leaf banner. Gather together fall leaves while they are still soft. Pass a needle and thread through the base of each leaf until you have the length of banner you wish.

Make napkin rings

Along with the aforementioned homemade place cards, kids can make napkin rings. Cut up the cardboard paper towel roll into two inch sections. Set out decorative paper, glue, stickers, ribbon, anything else you can think of and see what fancy napkin rings your kids create!

Make your own Halloween costumes

Halloween costumes don't have to be complicated. Challenge your kids to make their own costumes. If necessary, visit a local thrift store for inexpensive clothing items and costume jewelry.

Craft a Harvest Moon

Learn about the phases of the moon, read Long Night Moon by Cynthia Rylant to learn the names of all the special monthly moons, then spend family time together making a Harvest Moon craft. Don't forget to read more picture books about the moon!

Take leaf rubbings

Leaf rubbings is a fun art project for a nature journal. Place leaves under a sheet of paper or journal page and rub over it with a crayon. Watch the leaf outline magically appear. Be sure to make leaf rubbings from different tree species.

Backyard Fall Fun

Sometimes the most fun can be had in your own backyard, especially if pumpkins are involved!

Rake leaves

Quick! Before kids realize that raking leaves is a chore, give them a pint-sized rake and enjoy some exercise in the crisp fall air.

Jump in a leaf pile

Leaf jumping is a classic fall activity! Just try not to completely undo all your hard work.

Make s'mores

Everyone associates s'mores with summer but it's also a fall fun activity. Take a tray of skewers, chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers outside. You can either fire up the grill, or light a bonfire in a fire pit, if you have one. If you don't have the facilities to make s'mores outside, you can make them in the microwave.

Sleep under the stars

Fewer mosquitos and less humidity means a much more comfortable open-air sleeping environment than a sweltering summer night. Take advantage of the autumnal weather by setting out sleeping bags on a clear night. Even if your kids only want to hang out for a little bit, and decide to spend the rest of the night indoors, that's okay. Laying under the stars even for a little while is a grand experience.

Make bird feeders

As the flora dies back and food becomes scarce, feathered friends will appreciate dining locally in your backyard. Here are four ways to make a bird feeder. My favorite is the halved-out orange.

Build a scarecrow

Gather some old clothes to make a scarecrow. Draw a face on a pillow case to use for the head, and use gloves for hands. Country living has detailed instructions, as well as some creative ideas to make your scarecrow unique. Place your scarecrow on your porch or in your garden when you decorate for fall.

Plant chrysanthemums

Most local nurseries sell seasonal mum plants at reasonable prices. If you purchase them in small containers and then replant them at home in larger pots, it's cheaper and the plants will last longer than if you buy already large specimens. It's a very easy way to decorate and your kids will love choosing the colors.

Plant bulbs for spring color

Since they won't see the results of their efforts until spring, planting bulbs in the fall teaches kids about patience. I recommend daffodils, not just because they are my personal favorite flower, but because they are nearly bulletproof. Unlike tulips, animals won't eat them and they will come back year after year.

Have a picnic

It's not winter yet! There's still time to eat al fresco, especially on an unseasonably warm autumn day. Spend time with your kids planning and prepping the meal. Then let them set up the picnic blanket and cutlery while you bring out the picnic food. As a bonus, read these picnic picture books while you eat!

Decorate the front porch

Did you make a scarecrow? Paint pumpkins? Carve turnips? Plant mums? Gather all those fall crafts you made with your kids and decorate the front of the house.

Press late season flowers

Late season flowers like native asters, goldenrod, hydrangea and rudbeckia are wonderful to preserve through pressing. Your kids can press them in a nature journal for posterity or use pressed flowers to decorate homemade bookmarks or greeting cards.

Play pumpkin bowling

Fall family fun should always include outdoor games. Use liter bottles as bowling pins, and a large pumpkin as a bowling ball and see how many pins you can knock down!

Set up a family photo shoot

Take advantage of fall leaves as a colorful backdrop for a family photo. Be sure to have a camera handy during all of the activities on this list and by December you'll have a photo album of memories.

Set up a mini pumpkin hunt

Think of this fall activity as an Easter Egg Hunt, but with mini pumpkins and gourds. Buy a big bag of mini pumpkins or decorative gourds and hide them around the yard. Be sure to have prizes for who collects the most gourds, who finds the weirdest-looking one, and who finds the biggest one.

When the hunt is over, your kids can use the mini pumpkins for a printing art project.

Out and About

Fall is for field trips. Bundle up the family and go on a fall adventure!