Do you LOVE fall like I do? The promise of cooler weather always gets me excited to check off items on our Fall Bucket list! This fall bucket list is perfect for families. Great fall activities for kids, for families and all include spending time in nature! (because let’s face it, it’s finally cool enough to go back outside!). Don’t miss out on these super fun fall bucket list items and make some memories with your family today!
In many parts of the country it’s starting to cool off, leaves are starting to change and fall is taking over.
Now I live in south Texas so it’s still as hot as a griddle set to high heat, but we’re seeing some improvements!
The pool water isn’t boiling when we get in, our car thermometers read only 2 digits instead of 3, and if you wake up early enough you can maybe wear pants outside without melting out of them.
The promise is there though. The promise of the cool weather, of the holidays and best of all…cool weather fun!
(looking for some great fall recipes? Be sure to check out this Easy Pecan Pie Bars Recipe or this Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars Recipe. Looking for some warm comfort food? Check out this recipe for Copycat Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni or Chicken with Rice!)
The fall is one of our favorite times of the year as a family. We have a fall bucket list that we try to fulfill every fall!
Here are some of our favorite Fall Bucket List Activities:
1. Pumpkin Patches:
Starting October 1st, you can’t go 2 miles without hitting a pumpkin patch. They are held by churches, local farms, floral shops, I’ve even seen some attached to grocery stores!
We typically buy our pumpkins through the Mothers Day Out (note: now years later…we buy them from HEB – our local grocery store) that I work at/the kids attend because we get really big ones for a really fantastic price. But pumpkin patches can still be a lot of fun.
They usually have really nice settings for great pictures and sometimes they have games.
There is a farm we go to here in Houston every year named Dewberry Farm. The pumpkin picking is almost an afterthought there! There’s an enormous haystack to climb, playground equipment, farm animals, and wildflower fields. There’s also a huge corn maze, it’s really an amazing place.
To find a pumpkin patch in your area you can visit Pumpkin Patches and More.
2. The zoo!
We LOVE the zoo. We buy a season pass every year and use and abuse it all fall and spring long. We pay one time and for the rest of the year we get to have a great family fun activity for free.
Best of all, we don’t have to buy anything when we’re there since they allow us to bring in our own food. To find a zoo or aquarium click here.(I know some people have free zoos, if so…take advantage! What an awesome opportunity!)
Houston Zoo membership is $80 a year for a family of five. When you consider you might spend that amount in one outing if you go someplace where you have to pay for admission AND food…it’s really a fantastic deal, and the money goes to support the zoo!
3. Fairs, Festivals and Picnics…oh my!
Fall is the time for Halloween carnivals, fall festivals, company picnics and so much more! Take advantage of these free outdoor events and bring your own drinks and treats and soak in the sights.
It’s easier to avoid spending money with younger ones that don’t quite understand yet that all you have to do is pay some money to get the yummy junk food or the big toys. But even with the older ones, you can try setting clear expectations about what you are willing to spend and what you aren’t willing to spend.
Walk in with cash and once the cash is gone…it’s gone!
Take your camera too, we are big picture takers and some of our best shots are at events like these because the kids are just having so much fun!
We love Texas Ren Fest, the Ballunar festival and in addition to my husband’s company picnic we also enjoy going to Discovery Green for a family picnic.
4. The beach! Or the lake! Or the creek!
…whatever is closest to you!
When it is too cool to go in the water, beaches are often pretty empty of beach goers. Which is the perfect time to go! Grab your sand toys and go run around and play!
We aren’t big fans of the beach in summer, too crowded, too sandy and I have an incredibly irrational fear of birds. It never fails that some well meaning family next to us will decide to feed the birds and our trip ends up cut short (seriously people…go away from other families when you feed birds on the beach! I have an INTENSE, almost comical, fear of birds)
We’re about 35 minutes away from Galveston, so that’s generally where we head when we want to go play by the ocean!
5. Take a road trip.
Fall is the perfect time of the year to just take a short road trip.
Pick a town a bit out of normal driving distance and head on over to check out the sights. Pack a picnic lunch and some fun books and toys for the kids and listen to some good music.
The time I spend with my family in the car sometimes feels so much more focused and precious than time spent at home when I have 50 other things on my to do list. Play car games, sing songs, and just enjoy time as a family with no interruptions.
We need to start fall traditions. I really want to take my son Apple picking this month and the to the corn maze. I also love the colors and am looking forward to nice fall walks with the family. Coming over from Wednesday Window.
I wish we had fall colors. We don't really. It's all the same all year long. I used to love when we lived in jersey and we got to see the leaves change. gorgeous!
I need to see if we have apple picking available to us here. I kind of doubt it, but I need to look! You know, my school had field trips to go apple picking in 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade and EVERY year my day got rained out. So I've honestly never been apple picking!