Fall is here! With the pandemic, it’s been a little trickier to think of fun activities to celebrate the season. As a family, we take covid precautions very seriously and stick to outdoor and socially distanced activities. We won’t be attending any crowded fall festivals or taking our daughter trick-or-treating like usual this year. But there are still plenty of fun things we can do as a family to enjoy the fall!

I asked for your suggestions on Instagram and I’m sharing my own ideas from our Autumn Bucket List. You can grab this free printable I made last year right here!

Things to Do

Go on a fall foliage hike - the trails here in Pennsylvania are beautiful this time of year!

Head to the pumpkin patch or go apple picking - call ahead to see if there’s an option to walk to the field instead of a crowded hayride and take your own wagon.

Take your kids on a “Pumpkin Walk” - I got this idea from Lindsay of The White Buffalo Styling Co. Every year they take their kiddos to a neighborhood that goes big on fall decorations and take a leisurely stroll to admire all of the pumpkins!

Rake leaves together and jump in the piles - one of the simple joys of childhood!

Wear matching plaid shirts, just for fun - don’t forget to snap a family photo!

Set up a fall scavenger hunt - take your kids to a park and give them a visual list of things to find: leaves in different colors, a pinecone, a cool rock, a bird feather, a nut from a tree, etc.

Go on a “street clean up” walk - Take a walk through your neighborhood and pick up any trash alongside the road. I used to do this with my Gram! Take a large trash bag and plastic gloves for the whole family.

Have a spooky movie night - I am not a fan of acutal scary movies, but I’m looking forward to watching some fun, classic favorites, like Hocus Pocus, Casper and Halloweentown!

Roast marshmallows over a bonfire - This is a summer and fall favorite activity for us! It’s hard to think of anything I love more than sitting around a campfire with friends.

Things To Make

Craft an autumn wreath for your front door - If you need any inspiration, check out my craft book, Modern Faux Flower Projects. This modern gold hoop dahlia wreath is one of the project tutorials I share!

Printable fall coloring sheets - a quick google search will provide lots of free downloads. There are also some adorable and very affordable coloring page printables on Etsy - plus, you’ll be supporting a small business!

Carve jack-o’-lanterns - we got a bit of an early start and carved one with Sage this weekend. We plan to do this again in October!

Make your own candles - you can find super easy beeswax candle rolling kits on Etsy or you could try this great DIY hand-dipped candle tutorial from Ashley at Woodlark. There’s nothing more hygge than candles!

Craft a fall leaf garland - collect a rainbow of autumn leaves then press into a heavy book or preserve in beeswax using this waxed leaf garland tutorial from Sarah at Clover Lane.

Make cinnamon play dough - DIY play dough has been on my list to try for a while, and this cinnamon scented version from The Art Kit Blog sounds amazing!

Make a thankfulness tree - an meaningful activity and fall decoration all in one! Find a branch and use floral foam to secure it into a terracotta pot. Then write things you are thankful for on little strips of paper you can tie to the branch with twine. This would be so pretty with some waxed leaves hanging off the branches too!

Try a new fall recipe - On my list is pumpkin chili, sweet and salty roasted brown sugar pumpkin seeds, Elsie Larson’s Autumn Chex Mix and Ina Garten’s apple crisp. What are your favorite fall recipes? Share in the comments below!

Days to Celebrate

Get outside on September 22nd, the Autumnal Equinox - This is the first official day of fall and one of only two moments each year where the sun is directly over the equator, which means day and night are of equal length. We’ll be celebrating with a family hike!

Learn about Indigenous Peoples on September 25th, Native American Day - Instead of Columbus Day, some states like South Dakota and California observe Native American Day and celebrate Native American history, traditions and culture and we are ON BOARD. In the future, I hope to take our family to a local pow-wow but this year, I will be reading our copy of Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story and adding a few more children’s books with indigenous main characters to our library!

Shop my favorite books on Bookshop.org & support independent bookstores, here!

Celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving on October 12th - I think our neighbors to the north are smart for having Thanksgiving earlier in the season. American Thanksgiving is so close to Christmas! We are going to give double the thanks and make a yummy family dinner in October too.

Get creative for Halloween on October 31st - We don’t feel comfortable taking Sage door-to-door for trick or treating, so instead we are planning a costumed scavenger hunt for her and her cousins. They’ll dress up and basically have an easter egg hunt in the backyard but with Halloween candy.

Observe Dia de los Meurtos on November 2nd - We want to raise our daughter with an understanding and reverence for other cultures, and this Latin and South American tradition is such a beautiful way to remember our loved ones who have passed on and teach our children about their ancestors. Learn more about the history and meaning of Dia de los Meurtos/Day of the Dead here. This year we plan to print out black and white photos of our loved ones to frame and display. On the backs of the frames, we are going to write memories we can share with Sage about her ancestors, like their favorite foods and hobbies, funny stories and what we remember and miss most about them. I am excited to learn more and celebrate this day every year with our family.

Show gratitude on Veterans Day on November 11th - Writing letters to Veterans is a simple but meaningful way to say thank you. Sage and I will be making some artwork and writing cards to send through Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization with a mission of forging strong bonds between Americans and their military and first responders. For more information on their #virtualvolunteerism campaign, click here.

Celebrate Thanksgiving on November 26th- It’s been a challenging year but we have so much to be grateful for. I am really looking forward to spending this day with our family!

Do you have any ideas to add? Comment below!