Plan Your 2025 Fall Season With This Family Fall Bucket List

The autumn season is quickly approaching, making it a great time of year for your whole family. With the falling leaves and changing colors, there's a lot of beauty to enjoy when fall rolls around. The season also brings cooler temperatures. Perhaps best of all are the various fun and educational activities that the remaining months of the year provide.

From outdoor adventures and holiday-themed activities to community traditions and rainy-day fun, there are plenty of activities for kids of all ages to enjoy. If you're looking for ways to fill fall days with your family, then check out a few of the activities on our fall bucket list.

Outdoor Adventures

No fall bucket list would be complete without a slew of fun outdoor adventures that are fit for the whole family. If you love exercise, time spent in perfectly cool temperatures, and the chance to see the amazing fall colors, then try at least a few of these delightful activities:

1. Take a Scenic Drive – Pile the kids in the car and take a drive through the scenic part of town or the back country, and look at the trees as the leaves change colors. Try to find roads you've never traveled for even more adventure. Better yet, take a vacation to another town.
   
2. Take a Hike – Find a local or national park in the area and get out of the car as you enjoy a family hike. Look for safe but less-traveled paths and enjoy the changing colors and other gorgeous sights of autumn.

3. Pumpkin Patch Visit – It wouldn’t be a fall bucket list without a trip to the local pumpkin patch. Go there to take pictures, play games, hang out with the locals, and find pumpkins for everyone in the family.

4. Corn Maze – While you’re looking for local events, find a corn maze and have a real adventure. Make it a family team-building exercise as you have a blast finding your way to the exit.
   
5. Go Apple Picking – Nothing screams fall like apple picking, so find a local orchard and get a bushel. Many orchards have a variety of trees and flavors, so choose the ones you like best. 

6. Jump in Leaves – No matter what age you are, you're never too old to jump in a big pile of leaves. Rake leaves in your own yard or head to the park and have a great time. Don’t forget to bring your camera!

7. Visit a Harvest Festival – Autumn is a great time for harvest festivals and street fairs, and there is likely to be a fun event in your town. Many festivals offer games, arts and crafts, and hayrides.

Fun At Home

Whether it’s a rainy day or you just feel like spending the day indoors, there are many activities on our fall bucket list that your whole family is likely to enjoy. Mix indoor fun with outdoor adventures and make it an autumn to remember.

1. Fall Movie Festival – Settle in and watch a slew of classic films that fit in with this time of year. Whether it's Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Hocus Pocus, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, or anything in between, there’s a lot to enjoy during the season. Enjoy the movies with popcorn and your favorite pumpkin-spiced beverage.

2. Bake Fall Treats – Whether you’re an experienced baker or you are interested in learning, baking can be a great event in the fall. From pumpkin muffins to pumpkin bread, there’s a lot to enjoy. Plus, you’ll fill the house with the tasty smells of good cooking.

3. Caramel Apple Bar – If baking isn't your thing, then how about setting up your own caramel apple bar? Provide a variety of toppings such as nuts, sprinkles, and mini chocolate chips. Dip your caramel-covered apple in each for a tasty treat.

4. Game Night – Bring over some friends and set up a memorable game night. You can try to match the event to the season by putting out autumn-related games, from fall Pictionary to more involved games like Agricola and Scythe. If all else fails, find a fall-themed puzzle and put it together as a family.

5. Read Stories by Candlelight – To really get into the season, pull up your favorite novel or autumn-themed book and read stories as a family by candlelight. It can be an incredibly fun and cozy experience!

6. Indoor Scavenger Hunt – Go out and find colorful leaves, mini pumpkins, pinecones, and other fall-related items. Hide them around the house and see who can find the most of them first. 

7. Autumn-Themed Family Photo Shoot – Since you have all of the leaves, gourds, and pinecones in the house, set them up strategically and have a photoshoot. These images will provide great memories as your children get older.

8. Build a Blanket Fort – When the weather turns chilly or it’s raining outside, stay inside and create a blanket fort. Once complete, go underneath with flashlights, stuffed animals, and your favorite book, and enjoy a story together.

Holiday-Themed Activities

Many people enjoy fall more than other seasons because of the fun holidays. While the holidays are amazing on their own, you can kick things up a notch by adding a few of these activities to your bucket list:

1. Halloween Costume Fashion Show – If you’ve celebrated a few Halloweens in the past, then there’s a good chance that you have a few costumes lying around. If so, have everyone put them on and have a fashion show through the living room.

2. Paint and Carve Pumpkins – This is a given on any fall bucket list, but it’s worth a mention. Safely carve a spooky face into a pumpkin or use a stencil and bring the artwork to the next level. Or you can simply paint the pumpkins. No matter what you do, it will be fun for the whole family.

3. Trick-or-Treating – Another dependable fall activity is going trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for candy. Do so safely. If you don’t live in a traditional neighborhood, then there may be a trunk-or-treat event nearby that is just as fun.

4. Ghost Stories Around the Fire – Start a fire in the backyard or go on a camping trip. While there, roast s’mores and tell spooky ghost stories around the fire. Try to keep the stories age-appropriate, and just try to have fun with your family.
   
5. DIY Haunted House – If your kids are too young to go to a real haunted house, then make a cute one in your own home. Your kids will have a blast as you hang fake ghosts, spider-webs, and black lights while you play spooky sounds and songs.

Explore Nature

There are few times as beautiful during the year as the fall season. The leaves change colors, animals play, and there’s tons of fun to be had outdoors. After you’re done with your nature hikes, try some of these other fun ideas:

1. Leaf Collecting – While you’re taking your nature hikes or raking the backyard, look for the most impressive and beautiful leaves and press them onto wax paper or books to create artwork. You can also keep leftover leaves to use in future art projects.
   
2. Go Bird Watching – Bring your binoculars and head to the local park or forest preserve and watch the ducks, geese, and other migratory birds before they head away for the season. Keep a checklist and mark off the birds as you see them.
   
3. Plant Bulbs for Spring – You can do your part for nature and help to beautify your town by planting trees, plants, and flowers. You’ll have fun planting them and even more fun seeing them rise in the spring.
   
4. Star Gazing – Head out to the backyard, the beach, or wherever you live, then lie down on a blanket and gaze at the stars on crisp nights. Try to identify the constellations and bring some hot chocolate to keep you warm.

Food Fun

When you’re thinking of things to do during autumn, you can find many ideas by considering the food and drink traditions that the season brings. There is a ton of great flavors to enjoy, so start with these flavors and ideas:

1. Homemade Apple Cider – Create a beverage that everyone will love by simmering apple juice with nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. It’s the perfect drink to bring during outdoor adventures.

2. Family Chili Cook-Off – Nothing warms the soul during a cold autumn day like a nice bowl of chili. You can take chili night up a notch by having a chili cook-off at your house. Bring over the in-laws and have everyone cook their best batch, and have a blast trying them all.

3. Make a Pie – Gather your family together and have a good time making a pie. Whether you like cherry, peach, pumpkin, or anything in between, you can try them all! Split up the responsibilities with one person rolling the crust, another adding the filling, etc.

4. Roast Pumpkin Seeds – Once you’re done carving or painting your pumpkin, take out the seeds and roast them. Add a bit of salt. Make it an annual family tradition.

Community Fun

Once you’re ready to get out of the house, head to town and see the family events they have going on there. If you live in a small town, check the website of the closest big city, and see if they have any of these fun gatherings:

1. Volunteer Events – Make one item on your fall bucket list involve giving back to the community in some way. You can donate or work at your local church, food drive, or donation center.

2. Give to Others – You can also provide things for others during the fall season. Some selfless giving ideas include baking treats for the neighbors, donating blankets or coats to the homeless, and decorating a community space like a school or church.

3. Football Game – If you have a team in your town, head to the stadium for an autumn game. You may also decide to have a family game of your own in your backyard.

4. Petting Zoo – Head to the local farm or petting zoo. Find many of the animals that are popular during harvest festivals, including ponies, goats, sheep, and more.

5. Go on a Hay Ride – Another staple of the fall season is the chance to enjoy a hay ride. Whether you take a ride during the day or night, you’re sure to have a lot of fun as a family. 

Learning and Exploration

The fall season provides many opportunities to mix fun with learning via activities that the whole family can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for homeschooling opportunities or cool things to do during the weekend, there’s something for everyone.

1. Visit a Museum – When the weather turns colder, stay warm by going to your favorite local museum. In addition to the typical educational content, many museums also have seasonal exhibits about weather, animals, farming, etc.

2. Weather Tracking – A fun and educational activity that you may never have tried is playing meteorologist and tracking the temperature with your kids. Make a chart and write down the temperature changes and rainfall measurements. Try to do it every year to see how things change.

3. Leaf Identification Challenge – As you walk through your local forest preserve or go hiking, have the kids pick up different leaves and try to identify them to the matching type of tree. Then, create a leaf scrapbook.

4. Harvest History Lesson – Head to a museum or read a book about the early settlers and Native Americans. Learn how they used to live and prepare for winter. Then, read about the first Thanksgiving.

Arts and Crafts

Finally, add a bunch of arts and crafts activities to your fall bucket list. Use your creative talents to try your hand at the following projects:

1. Leaf Collage – Find a variety of leaves from the yard and bring them inside to create a colorful collage. The beauty of your collage is only limited to your imagination, and it’s a treasure you can keep for years to come.

2. DIY Fall Candles – Check out a step-by-step tutorial online for making candles and choose from different scents. There's apple, pumpkin, cinnamon-scented, and more. Try some or make them all!

3. Driveway Chalk Art Masterpiece – When the weather is right, bring the kids out to the driveway or the sidewalk and have them create lovely chalk art. They can make an autumn-themed picture or anything their imagination can conjure.

Thus ends the ultimate family fall bucket list. Get your kids involved in some or all of these activities and make it an autumn to remember!

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Natalia Deriabina/Shutterstock.com