Connecting with your family can often be a challenging task. This is especially true when you have more significant age gaps between your children. Having teenagers can add to the challenges. If you include a teenager’s busy schedule in the day-to-day grind of your days, spending time together can be a foreign concept. I have a list of fun fall family activities. Not only will you be enjoying some precious time with your children, but you also create special memories they will treasure and discuss for many years. Who knows? They may even try to recreate these memories with their children.
Some dilemmas
The time to set aside for us is the most difficult when you have so many schedules to consider.
My Eldest
As my eldest child delves into adulthood, she participates in every activity she can. My girl’s plate is full. From every committee at school, working, driving lessons, and her friends, there is very little free time in her day. Remember that she uses some of her free time to sleep. While this is a good teenage life, the stress can get the better of her. She loves these fun fall family activities just to breathe. Fortunately, she is easy to convince. Just offer her anything pumpkin spice, and she is up for anything! This may sound like bribery, but I consider it motivation, and we all know that a bit of motivation goes a long way.
My Middle
My middle child is the easiest to get on board. He is only 13 and is just beginning his road to independence. Fortunately, we organize his days and take him where he needs to go. It is essential that we understand the importance of him having some freedom and engaging with his peers. Encouraging him to do activities he likes also gives us those moments with him as a family. Create a balance and you will find that they are ready and willing if there is good food or enough time for a video game marathon at some point during their day.
My Youngest
As for my youngest (he has autism), planning spur-of-the-moment fun fall family activities can be the most challenging, but since Halloween is his favourite holiday, I stand a chance at finding something that works for him, too. Check out my post on planning tips for parents for ideas on planning a great day with your special needs child.
The following are some of our favourite, simple, and most importantly, cost-effective fun fall family activities. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Outdoor Chores
Preparing the outdoors for the colder weather may sound like something other than fun, but with the right attitude, this is a blast. Hand out some rakes and gloves, divide the yard in half, and see which family member can rake the fastest, make the enormous leaf pile, etc.
Our fun fall family activities list would not be complete if I didn’t include, by far, one of the best activities during the fall. Jumping in a gigantic pile of leaves is enjoyable regardless of age. Working outdoors can be done in as little or as much time as you may have.
Sometimes, twenty minutes of work and play is just what a family needs to enjoy a little quality time together. Remember, three hours of scheduled blocked time isn’t always necessary as long as you make time for each other.
Walks
Going on a walk is another one of our favourite fun fall family activities. It is an activity that can be as long or as short as you want. You can even enjoy a short leisure walk after supper during the week. If my middle has a big project, taking a 15-20 minute walk outside can offer inspiration and energy to complete his work with a clear and energized mind. If my eldest has a late day, the time we head out for a walk can easily change. The fall is a beautiful time of year and a fun opportunity to create special memories as we connect as a family.
Decoration Roadtrip
Grab your family and jump into your car. If you thought checking out Christmas decorations was something to see, Halloween decorations are quite the sight. Drive around your neighbourhood and highlight all the wild decorations people have set up. Some people go all out! We are fortunate that those around us decorate their hearts out. Drives like these have an added bonus. While family drives are great, this one also helps us keep track of all the best places to trick or treat.
Say Cheese
Taking pictures of my family is one of my favourite things, regardless of the season, but fall pictures are so GORGEOUS! While family pictures are the best, capturing a precious moment will remind you of that time you spent together.
With the ease of using a smartphone, the youngest member of any family can snap incredible pictures, too. I would prefer it if our youngest would capture beautiful nature scenes; right now, he’s all about selfies. I can’t blame him, though; he’s pretty beautiful.
Scavenger Hunts
While this one may require a little more work, all the efforts for this fun fall family activity will be well worth it. If you need help, check out our store in the next little bit for our incredible scavenger hunt bundle in English and French.
Scavenger Hunts can be a simple list of items to look for. It can get complicated with clues to different places. Why not combine taking pictures with your scavenger hunt? Take pictures of the funniest-looking pumpkin, or take a picture of you in a pile of leaves. The possibilities are endless, but the result is the same…tons of joy and laughter.
Pumpkin/Apple Picking
This particular activity would only complete this list of fun fall family activities. Enjoy the weather and the outdoors by heading to the nearest apple orchard or pumpkin patch. Both activities may have many additional costs (i.e. food, extra activities, etc.), but keep your eyes open. You can save a few dollars if you look for tickets in advance.
Sharing time going apple or pumpkin picking is as important as celebrating birthdays. Whether heading into a corn maze or taking a tractor ride to the apple orchard, everyone in our family has a blast and counts down until the following year to go again!
Baking
The best part of apple or pumpkin picking is the fun you have baking upon your return home. Oh! The yummy smell waffles through our noses as we bake these treats. From the apple pies to the pumpkin muffins, baking these goodies is a fun fall family activity that bonds everyone together. These times are also fantastic learning opportunities, as baking is a great skill. Your family will strengthen their math and motor skills as they measure and mix these fresh ingredients to create delicacies your family will treasure.
Fall Crafts
Save craft time for one of those fun fall family activities you do on a rainy day. Add some variety for the older children; your family will be busy all day! There are so many ideas for some fun activities to do. Check out to see family fun activities from How We Learn. The best ones include those we can build or create together.
Since Halloween is our favourite holiday, we start our fall craft time with our Halloween countdown. Using black and orange construction paper, you can create a simple paper chain in black and orange. Have the older children prepare the strips of construction paper. Your little one can begin, and everyone contributes until the number of links is equal to the days before Halloween. This one is easy, fun, and takes no time to prepare. This checks off all the boxes and is an excellent craft activity for the whole family.
We love creating our own Halloween decorations. Bring out any crafts with witches, ghosts, or vampires, and we are off and ready for a great, fun fall family activity.
In the link, other great crafts will be sure to inspire.
Singing in the Rain
Walks on a beautiful fall day are so enjoyable. There is nothing like bundling up and enjoying some puddle jumping. I may have some convincing for my older child and husband to participate. Once I get them on board, the fun and laughter on their faces are priceless, and all efforts (and some pleading) are successful.
It’s time to get outside; we jump and splash in the puddles. We see who can jump the highest, who can jump in the most puddles or create any other fun jump style we can think of.
Since my daughter is a huge fan of musicals, “Singing in the Rain” is another fun fall family activity we love to do. Into the backyard (privacy is a must for my teenagers), we go to dance and sing. Gene Kelly, watch out! Creating this special memory leads to another. Our family heads indoors to put on warm clothes, sit by our fireplace, and enjoy hot chocolate. Personally, this is one of my favourite fun fall family activities.  Having some wonderful conversations and laughs are times I will always hold near and dear to my heart.
Conclusion
There you have it, 9 of our favourite fun fall family activities. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you do as a family. What matters most is spending time together and creating memories you and your family will treasure.
I would love to hear what your family enjoys doing together during the fall season. Let us know in the comments below. I hope our list is helpful.
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