Fun Fall Activities to Try at Home

It’s time to put your flip-flops and sundresses in storage and break out your coziest knits. Autumn is upon us, and we’ve gathered a cornucopia of delightful ideas you and your family can do in the comfort of your own backyard.

Pumpkin carving is a quintessential fall activity enjoyed by the young and the young-at-heart. It’s a great way to show off your creative side and spend quality time with the ones you love. If your kids are too young to carve pumpkins, paint them instead. Get creative with finger-painted pumpkins, glitter glue, or spray paints.

PRO TIPS: 

• Spread a tarp on the ground to make cleanup easy (simply spray it off with the hose when you’re finished).
• If you plan to light your jack-o-lanterns with real candles, sprinkle a little cinnamon on the pumpkins' lids. This adds warm, spicy notes to the roasted pumpkin scent.

Don’t toss out the seeds when you’re finished carving pumpkins. Instead, fire up the grill for a yummy seasonal snack.

PRO TIP:
When the seeds are still hot after cooking, add more flavor by sprinkling on Tajín, parmesan cheese and a light drizzle of truffle oil, cinnamon and sugar, or whatever seasonings you like.

Cool nights call for a warm fire. Gather the family and enjoy an evening of ghost stories and s’mores around the fire pit. If you don’t have one, consider outfitting your backyard with a fire pit table. It offers an adjustable flame and needs minimal maintenance compared to traditional fire pits. Plus, you have ample table space for snacks and drinks (it’s pumpkin spice latte season, after all!).

Fall is an excellent time to go camping. There are fewer bugs compared to summer, and the autumn air is so crisp and refreshing. Why not try camping in your backyard? It’s less stressful and expensive than heading to a campground, and it’s a great way to test the waters with small children who’ve never been camping.

Take the big screen to your backyard and watch a festive fall flick the whole family can enjoy. Don’t have an outdoor home theater? All you need is a projector, speakers, and a screen. Then, pile cozy pillows and blankets on your comfiest outdoor furniture, prepare your family’s favorite snacks, and settle in for a star-studded evening.

Putting together a scarecrow is a popular fall activity for kids. It’s functional because it keeps rodents and pests away from your garden, and it’s fun because it serves as an autumn decoration that adds flair to your yard. Rummage around your house for old clothes and accessories, then let your kids’ imaginations run wild as they customize a scarecrow that perfectly matches their styles and personalities.

Help your kids discover their green thumbs this season by showing them how to create their own container garden. Just about anything can be a container as long as it can hold soil and offer drainage: an old coffee can, a toy wagon, or even a worn-out boot.

Collecting colorful leaves is a classic outdoor fall activity. It gets your kids active outside, and it creates the perfect photo-op for fall family greeting cards. Once the kids have their fun, you can put the leaves in trash bags or use them in your compost bin.

Transform the fall foliage your children collected into a leaf garland. It’s a clever, inexpensive, and kid-friendly craft.

Building a bird feeder is a great weekend project for the family this fall. You don’t have to make your bird feeder from wood either. You and the kiddos can easily make a bird feeder from a toilet paper roll, egg carton, or pine cones.

Astronomers say that fall, winter, and spring are the best seasons to observe the night sky. Bundle up in your coziest clothes, grab your telescope, and head outside for nighttime sights that are out of this world.

If the fruits and veggies you planted in the summer are ripe, have your kids help you pick them. This is a great hands-on way to teach children about where their food comes from. And they can help you turn the harvest into tasty dishes.

Friendsgiving is akin to Thanksgiving but with your chosen family by your side. Adorn your alfresco space with festive decor and tableware, and let your friends come early to help you cook—many hands make light work. If you have kids, let them extend the invitation to their friends as well and give them their own space to decorate and dine.

Fall is the ideal time to sew certain seeds and bulbs if you want lovely blooms now, or later in the spring.

We’re in the thick of football season, and fans are swarming the stadiums to cheer on their favorite teams. Instead of braving the traffic, crowds, and parking lots, why not tailgate in your backyard?

Give your front porch or entryway an autumnal aesthetic that will impress your family, neighbors, and passersby. Use the leaf garland craft mentioned above, gourds, and furniture in fall colors for a cheerful and comfortable look. Or usher in spooky season with jack-o-lanterns, pots of burgundy and purple mums, and a black porch rocking chair set.

Are the leaves changing around your home? Break out your camera or smartphone and capture the colorful moments. Print and frame the photographs to hang around your house or give them away as gifts.

Celebrate sweater weather by crafting your own cozy clothes. Knitting is a soothing pastime that can be enjoyed anywhere, even outdoors. Picture it: You're nestled on a plush patio, needles and yarn in hand, with a steaming mug of tea resting on a nearby table. The view is vibrant leaves rustling in the cool autumn breeze, with sunlight dappling through to dance on the grass below. Sounds heavenly, right?