“Everybody! Come to the back door!” I called. My kids and husband appeared a minute later looking slightly confused. I laughed. “Nothing to worry about. I just want you to see the sky. The stars are out!” We all filed outside into the crisp fall air and stood barefoot in the grass. The night sky had finally appeared after what felt like a months-long absence. “Is that the Big Dipper?” my daughter asked, and then my son pointed out Orion’s Belt. For a few minutes, we stared at the stars, and it felt magical and wonderful.
Every season is an opportunity to make new family memories together. If you already have fall traditions in place, good for you! But if you want to incorporate some new ones, we have 7 fall ideas to try. Maybe next year, your kids will remember one of these and ask for it again.
1. Attend a football game.
My friend takes her family to a college football game every fall. They make a weekend of it, and their kids enjoy hanging out on campus before the game. If you can’t make it to a college game, get a hold of the local high school team’s schedule. If this school is where your kids will go some day, they may enjoy cheering on the team. It’s never too early to develop some school spirit. Stick around for the halftime show and maybe you’ll catch the marching band’s performance. Who knows? The trombone player could light a fire in your kid! And if a game isn’t a possibility, grab a football and play with your family in the back yard. Playing with your kids makes them feel loved!
2. Decorate the house and yard.
This shouldn’t be a solitary endeavor. Enlist your kids so they feel some pride in how their home looks this fall. In our family, we have a storage bin filled with ceramic pumpkins and leaves, a Welcome Fall sign for the door, and lots of Halloween decorations. My daughter loves taping plastic spiders inside lamp shades in an attempt to scare someone. And both kids enjoy decorating the yard with scarecrows. But I also like to hand out the the simpler fall items and ask the kids to find a good spot for them, like an apple-scented candle on the stove or a leaf-shaped soap dish for the bathroom. When everyone helps out, I feel like the the excitement of the season is shared.
3. Take fall photos in a pile of leaves.
Raking up a big pile of leaves and taking photos while my kids jump in is a fun fall tradition. This usually requires several takes, but I always come away with some great pictures for holiday cards and Christmas letters. And the kids don’t complain about another jump in the leaves. I also like to have the kids pose with each other on the pile and then throw leaves in the air. Their expressions as the leaves fall back down are always so sweet.
4. Go for a hike or a walk in nature.
When the weather gets cooler, we just have to hike—even if it’s only the nature trail through the park. It gets everyone out of the house for a while and we usually spot some unique birds and the kids love chasing rabbits. The vitamin D and fresh air are good for everyone and we can talk with each other instead of stare at screens for a bit.
Print out our Nature Scavenger Hunt and have the kids check things off as you go.
5. Have a hot chocolate and game night.
The days are shorter in the fall, which makes it a fun time to cozy up with the kids around a fire pit or a fireplace after dinner. We live in the city, but have a small fire pit on our patio. On a chilly evening and right around sunset, we like to make a small fire and toast marshmallows while enjoying some yummy hot cocoa. Once the sun goes down, we bring the blankets and cocoa mugs inside and set up a board game. It’s an easy way to make a regular night a little more special.
6. Pick some pumpkins and put them to use.
It’s easy to pick up pumpkins at the grocery store, but more fun for everyone—and more memorable—to go to a pumpkin patch. When you get home, you can carve jack-o-lanterns. And if you pick up a baking pumpkin or two, you could make a tasty fall treat. Every year, we try to come up with a new pumpkin recipe. But so far, we keep returning to the pumpkin scone recipe I found years ago. Some other favorites from years past include pumpkin muffins, pumpkin salsa, and pumpkin pancakes. My goal this year is to master the pumpkin spice latte for my husband and me.
7. Get crafty with natural objects.
Leaf rubbing is fun. Have you ever done it? Have your kids collect leaves and place one beneath a white sheet of paper. Then, after pealing a crayon, rub the side of it over the paper and the shape of the leaf will appear. My kids love this easy fall project. You could also collect pinecones and make pinecone turkeys with colorful construction paper feathers for the tail. Use these as centerpieces for your Thanksgiving dinner. Or, you can put glue on the pinecone and sprinkle red or gold glitter on it. Attach a ribbon with a dab of glue and you have some colorful Christmas ornaments. If you can find some acorns, you can glue googly eyes on them and use a Sharpie to create faces. What kind of creatures can your kids create?
What is your favorite fall tradition to do with your family?
