Fall Bucket List Ideas for the Family

Fall is such a lovely season for so many reasons. It’s a perfect time to plan some special ways to enjoy time together as a family doing some fun things together. Check out these fall bucket list ideas for the family and use them as starting points to create some simple, warm, family memories to hold onto forever.

If you are looking for simple ways to enjoy fall with your family this fall, you should be able to find them here. Put this Fall Bucket List Ideas for the Family printable on your fridge, and have fun planning your next family activity together. Then, check it off and plan another!

I find that when I have a bit of a plan or to-do list, we actually make special times happen more often. Plus I think it’s super cute, if I do say so myself. Find the printable at the end of this post.

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14 Simple Fall Family Activity Ideas with Printable Bucket List

1. Camping

Can you plan a camping trip with your family this fall? Are you an RV family? Or maybe you have a pop-up (like us now!) or like to tent camp… Fall is the perfect time to camp, not too hot, not too cold yet, beautiful fall foliage starting to happen in many places. Maybe you could even plan a little backyard or living room “camp out”.

2. Corn Maze

In most areas in the US, you will probably be in close proximity to some sort of fall farm event like a corn maze. They can be a fun family outing that sometimes includes big jumping pads, kids play areas, pumpkins to buy, and hayrides. It’s a fun way to get into the autumn mode and feel the buzz of the fall season.

3. Leaf Looking Hike

This is a free way to get out and enjoy the fall scenery with your family! Find great fall foliage hikes in your area by doing a web search! Check out some of the beauty around you.

4. Press Flowers

Even though the season is turning cooler, there are still many flowers blooming and wildflowers. Where I am, our gardens produce blooms until the killing frost, usually somewhere in the middle to end of October. Grab some pretty fall leaves and wildflowers and press them! They make lovely memories. Here are 5 different ways to press flowers!

5. Apple Orchard

We happen to live nearby an “apple country”, so we have lots of orchards to choose from. Picking apples together, or going to the orchard and grabbing a bag of fresh apples and some apple donuts and cider slushies is a fall tradition around here. Orchards are always great places to take some pretty fall family pictures together, too.

6. Bake Something

Something warm and spicy baking in the oven is dream this time of year, isn’t it? Yum. Something with cinnamon and nutmeg, maybe something apple-y, or peachy with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on to. Sigh. Here are a few to try out; trusted recipes from a few of my blogger friends!

7. Bonfire

Cozy fall memories are made around a flickering fire. after dark in the fall. Sitting around together, talking, laughing, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows… This is quintessential fall goodness right here. And it doesn’t cost you a thing!

8. Country Drive

Other than paying for the gas, here is another free fall family outing. Grated, the kids might not enjoy it quite as much as the adults, but i guess that depends on where you go! If you are anywhere remotely close the the Blue Ridge Parkway, GO. Do not pass go, do not collect $2. At peak leaf season, there is not many places that can compare to this scenic route. It is mind blowing-ly gorgeous.

9. Football Game

Friday night lights anyone? High school and college football in the south is like… well, it’s got a life of it’s own. It’s such a classic “fall” vibe. You know that fall is here when you sit on the hard bleachers and holler and clap and eat cheese nachos. And if it’s October football, bring a blanket.

10. Jump in Leaves

Hey, the leaves have to be raked up anyway, right? Might as well turn it into something fun! Around here, we make it a family event. I think we rake the same pile of leaves for a couple weeks before actually piling them on a tarp and hauling them out of the yard. Beware though, if you have a kid who has serious allergy tendencies. I think the leaves have mold and mildew sometimes. I had a bad experience as a kid doing this and then having a pretty bad allergy attack. (Thankfully my kids haven’t had any trouble and I outgrew it.)

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11. Thrift a Cozy Sweater

Let’s face it… Anytime of the year is thrifting time for me. But I have certainly found thrift shops to be the best place to find cozy sweaters. One afternoon, take a yummy hot cup of tea with you and go out to a few of your favorite shops and hunt down the perfect, cozy, fall sweater that you can enjoy all season and winter! It’s a two-fer! Some thrift-therepy and a cozy sweater!

12. Picnic

Pick a lovely, quiet spot in a park, meadow or along a scenic drive and take a picnic! There is something so peaceful about an old fashioned picnic. Pack up a basket with bread, cheese, olives, fruit, deli meat and some sparkling cider. Spread a blanket out and kick back like you were a kid. This is good for the soul, I promise you will feel better after a picnic.

13. Thankful List

I probably should put this one at the top of the list. Each and every one of us have so much to be thankful for. This list could go on forever. Take some time and do this as a family. We like to make a thankful list leading up to Thanksgiving. One year I made a Thankful Tree. I brought some branches into the house in a bucket, and put twinkle lights on them. We made little leaf ornaments and wrote things we were thankful on each on all month.

14. Pot of Soup

When fall come around, I get a hankering for a pot of soup. There are so many yummy choices. You could do a creamy bisque, a stew, a veggie soup or chicken and dumplings. Anything bubbling away on the stove will be so comforting when supper time comes around.

Bonus Ideas:

Diffuse some cozy fall oils instead of burning toxic, headache inducing candles. Thieves, orange, cinnamon bark, nutmeg, vanilla (yes, we have vanilla now and it’s amazing…), Stress Away, peppermint, pine or other evergreen oils are all yummy ones to experiment with.
Take up a new hobby! Try painting, sketching, or knitting!
Plant something for next year! Flower bulbs like daffodil, garlic cloves, or a shrubbery are all good things to plant in the cool of the fall. I was able to snag another hydrangea plant for 50% off at the end of the season!
Create an autumn playlist! Pick out the music that makes you feel cozy, warm and autumnal, and curate your own playlist on Prime music, Spotify or a even YouTube!
Dry some hydrangeas to save all winter! Go see my post where I show you how to dry hydrangeas (there is a simple secret for your hydrangeas to not get droopy), and make a beautiful hydrangea wreath!

Get Your Fall Bucket List Ideas for the Family Printable Here!

In Closing…

Thank you for being here and reading this blog post and all my fall ideas! I hope you got a few good ideas for your family this fall and if you have any special traditions for the fall, please share them in the comment section below for us all to enjoy.

As always, Dig the Good Life!

Fall Bucket List Ideas for the Family

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