Fall Bucket List Printable — A Checklist of Fun Family Activities

A Fall Bucket List for Families With Children, Big and Small.

Autumn is the best time of year for families to bond and have some fun together before hibernating for the winter, which is why we’re coming at ya today with this fun fall bucket list printable.

So come up a list of all the best fall family activities you want to do this year — or just use the ideas I’ve come up with below — and enjoy checking each activity off your list.

Our little family plans on checking off as many of these items as we can this fall (at least before the newest addition, another baby girl, arrives in November!).

 

Scroll to the end to get your free fall bucket list printable! Just hang it on your fridge and check off each item as it’s been completed. 

 

 

1. Visit a pumpkin patch together.

My two-year-old has never been to a pumpkin patch, but I know this will be the perfect year to go for the first time. She will have a blast choosing a pumpkin to bring home!

(And she might even be able to see some of her favorite farm animals.)

 

**UPDATED to add a photo taken at our family pumpkin patch outing:

 

 

2. Carve a pumpkin…or a family of pumpkins.

After visiting the local pumpkin patch (or the nearest supermarket), take your pumpkins home and get busy carving them with a pumpkin carving kit.

Carving pumpkins is just one of many fun fall family activities you can do together, although it might also be one of the messiest!

 

Pro mom tip: Keep it simple by painting your pumpkins instead of carving them.

 

3. Roast pumpkin seeds (and eat them).

Roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious.

You can take them right out of the pumpkin you just finished carving and rinse, dry, and bake them with a little seasoning, like ranch seasoning if you’re a ranch dressing lover.

Otherwise, you can buy shelled pumpkin seeds at the store, then season them a variety of ways before roasting, as you will see in the video below.

 

 

4. Build a bonfire and make s’mores.

One of my absolute favorite fall family activities as a kid was sitting around a bonfire.

The warm glow of the flames and the sound of twigs crackling can be mesmerizing on a cool fall night.

And now you can even avoid some of the biggest pitfalls of a bonfire — smelly clothes, dodging smoke, and half-burnt logs — with this portable, stainless steel fire pit.

 

5. Go on a hayride together.

Hayrides are often offered at pumpkin patches or harvest festivals. They typically consist of a tractor, truck, or horses pulling a cart that is filled with hay.

I’ve only been on one or two in my life, but it’s pretty relaxing to bundle up and snuggle with the little ones (who will love it!) while going for a leisurely ride in the fall countryside.

 

6. Make homemade apple cider.

Sure, you could buy a jug of pre-made apple cider at your local supermarket, but what fun is that?!

Making homemade apple cider from scratch isn’t the most common of fall family activities, but it’s easy-peasy…and yum!

 

 

7. Rake leaves and play in them.

You might find raking leaves to be enjoyable, or maybe it’s a more tedious task when you have kids. After all, it just seems that they want to follow behind and mess up all your hard work.

But playing in leaves is so much fun when you’re little!

However, maybe you can coax them into helping out with the fall raking by promising some play time in (some of) the leaf piles. Who knows, maybe you’ll even want to join in on the fun…

 

8. Visit a corn maze together.

If you live in a farming community, you probably have lots of options for fun fall family activities, including a visit to a corn maze.

This is simply a maze that is cut into a cornfield.

A haunted corn maze might be even more fun if you have older kiddos, although it would probably be a little too frightening for younger ones.

 

You might also enjoy: Fun Winter Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers

 

9. Take fall family photos.

If you live in an area where leaves change color, fall is a great time to take outdoor family photos.

Even more, you can just use any of the listed fall family activities as a photo op! Take pictures at a pumpkin patch, while on a hayride, in the corn maze, and so on.

 

 

10. Bake pumpkin bars together.

Or pumpkin cupcakes… Mmm!

Here are some delicious pumpkin bar recipes you can try out with the family, and here is a scrumptious pumpkin cupcake recipe.

One year, I made a double batch of pumpkin cupcakes and put most of them in the freezer.

That way, they lasted the entire fall, and I could thaw one anytime I wanted something sweet with my coffee (they only take about a half hour to thaw at room temperature).

 

11. Visit a harvest festival together.

You’re likely to find lots of fun games and activities for the kids, and great food for the entire family, at a local harvest festival.

Also, some harvest festivals might even offer beer and wine tasting, art demonstrations, a farmer’s market, and more.

 

12. Go on a fall nature hike.

What better way to get exercise and fresh air while bonding with your family than going on a nature hike?

So look up some local nature trails and set out on an adventure. Make it even more fun for the kids by sending them on a scavenger hunt and seeing what neat things they can find in the great outdoors.

 

 

13. Work on a fall craft together.

Leaf art, fall wreaths, pumpkin spice soap, and homemade Halloween cards are all some of the best fall family activities you can work on together.

Certainly the type of craft you choose will be determined by the ages of your kids, so choose something family-friendly and let everyone in on the fun!

 

14. Create DIY fall decorations.

Use the scavenger hunt items from your nature hike to create unique DIY fall decorations.

I thought the below video had some really cute (and easy!) ideas for DIY fall decor.

But maybe instead of making the leaf garland with crayons and wax paper (which just seems like way too much work), you could try laminating actual leaves that have fallen on the ground.

 

 

Harvest festivals, nature hikes, bonfires…and, most importantly, eating fall treats. These are just a few of my favorite fall family activities to do when the weather starts to cool down.

 

Grab Our Fall Bucket List Printable Here

Get your free fall bucket list printable now (no email address necessary!).

Print it out and hang it up — somewhere you can’t miss it — and check off each item as it’s been completed. You could even laminate it and use a dry erase marker to write on it.