Family Fall Fun
Ten easy ideas for close-to-home activities that celebrate the outdoors and autumn.
You don’t need to go to complicated lengths. Think close-by, casual, enjoyable. Think family fall fun.
Ten To-Dos this Fall
1. Take a hike.
Wherever you live, nature is putting on a seasonal show. Sometimes sensational, sometimes subtle, there are changes afoot in the environment. Get out with binoculars and take the kids for a walk in a nearby park, or just an amble through the woods or open spaces on public property. Concentrate on all your senses and take in the changes that spell fall. If there’s a writer in your group, make a journal of your trip. Consider picking up seeds, pods, leaves, rocks, fossils, and any interesting (and safe) “found” objects for making into art projects later — whether it’s stringing a fall necklace or making a bouquet of fallen leaves.
2. Help with the harvest.
Fall is the season of bountiful harvest. So get your sweatshirt on and get out there and pick produce. Squash, pears, apples — picking whatever’s in season in your area and ready to be off the tree or vine is a blast. Lots of orchards and small farms let the public participate in their harvest. Is there a cider mill nearby? A trip to the apple orchard is a fall favorite. After picking and/or touring the orchard, you can usually sample cider for a true taste of fall. Take your bushel baskets home and get creative. Make a pie or fritters. Have your own fall party and bob for apples, or get out the double boiler and get gooey with caramel apples.
3. Find a fall festival.
Though most pumpkin-patch merriment dies down after Halloween, there are all kinds of festivals going on in November. It’s a big month for outdoor arts-and-crafts shows in anticipation of Christmas, but the fall theme is still alive. Check the Juried Online Arts Festivals site or Festivals.com for lists of festivals. You can also key in “November festivals” on a search engine and see the interesting things — from reggae shows to chowder fests — that pop up around the country. Try narrowing your search to your area for something doable in a day trip.
4. Go fishing.
It’s all about getting out in a boat on a beautiful day. Who cares if the fish are biting? Depending on your weather and what bodies of water you’ve got nearby, you could be paddleboating, canoeing, or just enjoying being water-borne with or without bait and tackle. Always check your state’s licensing and restrictions.
5. Make a scarecrow.
Where there are leaves on the ground, there are scarecrows to be made. Even if you don’t have any crows to scare away, you can have as much fun with raked leaves, old jeans, a flannel shirt, and straw hat as you can with fresh snow, carrot, coals, and stocking cap. Do it in your own back yard or at an accommodating park. If you’re unsure how to make a scarecrow, use your search engine to find information.
6. Go on a hayride.
Even if the pumpkins have been trucked away from farms outside your city limits, you might still find hayrides in those fields. Whether you’re pulled by a tractor or a horse, it’s big autumn fun to sit on a hay bale as you go. When your bale mates are your kids, it’s an unforgettable experience.
7. Go fly a kite.
Spring’s not the only time windy weather says, “Get out the kites.” With some colorful kites in the trunk and a good eye for a field without many trees and power lines to get tangled up in, you’re all set for an invigorating autumn day. Pack the video camera and reel out the string.
8. Hit the horse stables.
Look for a local stable in your Yellow Pages for a place that offers horseback riding. If you and your family members are not trained riders, there’s no time like the present to get on a sweet-natured horse and take a lesson. Or, let an experienced rider lead you on a little jaunt through nature.
9. Take in an airshow.
Watch the papers or call the nearest air base or aviation museum to find out when high-flyers might be in formation in the skies near you. With stunts and crispness in the air and your family in comfy lawn chairs on terra firma, you’ll all be flying high.
10. Pack a picnic.
Who says it has to be summer to open a picnic basket full of fried chicken, potato salad, and iced tea on a quilt in a scenic spot not too far from home? If there’s a chill in the air, trade the lemon- ade for Thermoses of hot chocolate. Throw in something pumpkin — bread or muffins are always a hit — to celebrate the season. Bundle up in sweatshirts and lie on your back watching clouds float across the autumn sky. What pictures do you and the kids see up there?
These are great ideas for family fun. Terrific for weekends or family home evenings!
What heavenly photos! So glad I found your blog today on LDS blogs. I think I’ve been here before but forgotten to return. I’ll be back 🙂
Thank you iZing and Anne. I had fun finding all the photos to go with my blog. I love the fall…so much to do and so many memories to make. April
Beautiful pictures and great ideas. Makes me wish it was still fall. Too bad I didn’t find you sooner.
Really great ideas. Thanks a lot.
Figure I’d give some in return. Cool website i found this weekend for some home decor letter photography stuff. Very pretty:
http://www.letterperspectives.com
Dear sir/madam,
I would like to use the harvest photo on your website showing the baskets of accumulated fruits and vegetables. Do you have the rights to this photo, or know who I can talk to about using it? Please advise at your convenience. I am creating a website called the Kings Storehouse which is a non-profit humanitarian aid effort accumulating the surplus of materials/supplies we have in this country and sending it to less fortunate people around the world.
Thanks
Bob Warren
pretty pictures!!
thnx!
The photos on the site are absolutely BEAUTIFUL, If only that screenery was on the outside of everyone’s front door.