Here are some fun, easy, and simple fall family traditions that help everyone enjoy spending time together, outside and in.
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Fall is a season where family traditions can be made and time can be spent together in full
Coming from the laid back summer vibe, Fall is often ridiculously busy and stressful, particularly with the lead up to the holidays.
Furthermore, as a mother of multiple young children … your days are busy! But, are they full?
Busy VS. Full
Busy (adj.): having a great deal to do
Full (adj.): abundant, well-supplied, filled or rounded out.
Fall = Constant school runs, sports practices, games, events, shopping, holidays, and the list goes on and on…
Have a full fall season, not a busy one.
Think of it this way, having a full life is about purposefully filling your days with things that will have a lasting effect, like family togetherness.
For example, one family weekend might make your life more full than three months of after-school soccer or karate.
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Outdoor Fall activities for the whole family
There’s something special about the smell of dry leaves and the ting of crispy air on your cheeks. It’s the kind of things that make a busy day full!
As a rule, take the family outside and start some Fall traditions the everyone will love!
- Take a hayride
- Visit a corn maze
- Go pumpkin picking
- Visit a local farm
- Create a Fall journal by collecting leaves.
- Shop a farmer’s market
- Go hiking
- Visit state parks or state forests
- Decorate your porch
- Collect leaves in different stages of color change
- Go fishing
- Have a campfire and roast marshmellows
- Go to a football game
- Have a scavenger hunt
- Play catch
- Jump in piles of leaves
Fall indoor activities for toddlers and preschoolers
Family traditions that everyone will love don’t have to be made out traveling or playing outside.
Family memories can be created right in your dining room. Break out the crafts, crayons, glue, and imagination for Fall.
- Build a blanket fort
- Decorate your home for Fall
- Paint a pumpkin
- Give a pumpkin a bath
- Host a cookie decorating party
- Make a pinecone bird feeder
- Make homemade play-dough
- Act out a play using stuffed animals
- Play hide and seek with glow sticks
- Learn a card game
- Use collected leaves to make a Fall tree collage
- Color a scarecrow
- Make a Fall wreath
- Leaf painting
- Finger-paint Fall tree
- Get creative with these Fall coloring printables
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Fall baking recipes even kids can make
Family traditions are often brought together by tasty food. What better way to do this than to include some Fall themed recipes that even the kids can make?
Everyone is sure to love these Fall family traditions!
- Mini Pumpkin Cakes
- Caramel Apples
- Candy Corn Cookies
- Football Cake Pops
- Jack-O’-Lantern Pie
- Acorn Treats
- Mummy Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Pumpkin-Spiced Buns with Spiderweb Glaze
- Pretzel-Chocolate-Pecan Slab Pie
Fall scavenger and foraging games for kids
Whether you want to create your own fun scavenger hunt, or you prefer to shop around for a pre-made game, you’ll be sure to enjoy these Fall scavenger game ideas!
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Be the Artist Scavenger Hunt
- Color Scavenger Hunt
- Five Senses Scavenger Hunt
- Shape Scavenger Hunt
- Flashlight Scavenger Hunt
- Mandala Scavenger Hunt
I can already see the Fall family traditions being made!
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Ways to teach kids gratitude and thankfulness
I love to teach thankfulness during the Fall season. Gratitude is one of the best family traditions that can be made!
- Start a Thankful Tree.
- Write on a Gratitude Pumpkin each day (I suggest using a sharpie). Set the pumpkin in the middle of the table or counter for everyone to see.
- Create a paper chain using construction paper and write something to be thankful for each day,
- Reward outward signs of thankfulness or gratitude with a sticker chart or a colored feather placed in jar on counter.
- Memorize thankful memory verses using coloring pages and printables.
- Create an “I’m Thankful for…” poster as a family and display.
You’ll find that you want to use these year after year…
Fall family photo ideas
Fall time is one of my favorite times to take family photos! It seems like the colors, the vibe, and the look is just what I want to remember.
Hope you find some good ideas for your next family photoshoot below…
- Playing in a pile of leaves
- Strolling together down a path
- Picking pumpkins
- Wearing matching flannel shirts
- Sitting in the back of an antique truck
- Standing on a bridge
- Beside a barn door or wall
- In a corn field
- Under a tree with Fall colored leaves
- On a picnic blanket
- Swinging in the park
- Sitting on an old crate or bail of hay
- Wearing matching boots
- Dressed in matching fall colors
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Making Fall Family Traditions that Everyone will Love…
In my time as a mother, I have never regretted purposefully filling my days with things that bring family togetherness and have a lasting effect.
I am excited about creating some Fall family traditions this year that everyone will love!
FAQs
We live in a time where we have more options to be involved in things than ever before. In each season, determine what you want your priorities to be and where you want to invest your time before saying yes to all of the things. Once you have your family’s vision, then you can fill in extra things into your schedule if you want – the key here is to be proactive and mindful instead of reactive. I truly think there is an art behind creating blocks of time on our calendars that are reserved for connecting as a family, which helps create a full season and keeps busyness at bay.
The beauty of creating fall traditions is that you can choose to continue the ones you love and leave the ones you don’t. Try some different fall activities and continue doing the ones your family loves throughout the years and adapt them as your kids grow. Start small and grow your seasonal traditions over the years.
When you share stories about family members and past fall traditions, you create a sense of continuity and shared history. This strengthens the bond among family members and makes the traditions more meaningful. For example, sharing the story of why a particular recipe is made every year or the origin of a cherished decoration can make these traditions more significant. Add in storytelling (or create new stories together) wherever you can!
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great ideas , I love doing crafts with the little ones, and playing outside and gathering leaves, and going for hayrides :) my favorite season Fall is ,love it and thanks for sharing this with us
Dorothy…. HAY RIDES…. I love them too :) Great memories from my own childhood!
Oh what an awesome collection of ideas. As you know I have grandchildren both here and in America. Thanksgiving is one time i wish we could all be American, and I often include some thanksgiving crafts for my little Aussie grandchildren. what would I do with the prize money? spend it on those I love of course!
Oh I know I get SO SAD at Thanksgiving time when no family is here :( We usually invite people over to have dinner with us and they are like sweet potato casserole with marshmallows? Haha!
Thanks for sharing these great ideas!
Great ideas!
Thanks, Colleen!