Make memories and celebrate fall with these frugal fun family activities! BONUS: There’s even a cute free printable fall activities checklist!
Spring has always, hands down, been my favorite season. But the last couple of years, fall has slowly been enticing me and I’m getting kind of concerned that I’m going to soon have to change favorites!
There is just something about the cool, crisp weather, the wearing of sweaters and scarves, all things pumpkin and apple and sipping on cozy hot drinks that I have to admit is just rather nice.
I love finding ways that we can celebrate each season together as a family and hopefully make great childhood memories for our kids. It’s important to me that the things we do are simple and frugal, too. Because let’s face it, we’re like pretty much any other young family- we don’t have a lot of extra money and if it’s not simple, it’s probably not going to happen! Besides, often the best memories don’t cost a dime, right?
Here’s what I came up with for fall. I hope that it will inspire you to seize a few moments and celebrate the simple pleasures of fall with the ones you love the most!
15 Frugal Fall Fun Family Activities
1. Drink apple cider
2. Have a leaf raking party (and jump in the leaves of course!)
3. Make caramel apples
4. Enjoy a candlelit dinner
5. Make and play with pumpkin pie or apple cider playdough
6. Have a hot dog/smores roast
7. Do some fall-themed crafts
Here are some great fall craft ideas for toddlers. And these gratitude activities are fun and relatively easy too!
8. Decorate a pumpkin
I love this family hand print pumpkin idea and also this thankful list pumpkin.
9. Read a bunch of fall-themed books
For extra fun, snuggle together on the couch with cozy blankets.
10. Enjoy a hike and admire the changing leaves
Use this free leaf identification printable to turn it into a learning experience.
11. Make a scarecrow
12. Visit an orchard and pick some apples
Then if you want, have fun making some homemade applesauce or homemade apple butter.
13. Make a fall dessert
Some of our favorites are Pumpkin Crunch Cake, No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles and Easy Apple Dumplings. And if you want more inspiration? You’ll find a lot of great ideas on my Fall Pinterest board!
14. Explore a corn maze
15. Go on a fall-themed scavenger hunt
This free scavenger hunt printable is awesome!
Love these ideas? Get a free Fall Family Fun Checklist printable!
Just for fun, I’m offering everyone a free printable checklist for these frugal fall family activities!
No need to subscribe via email or follow me on Facebook (although you are more than welcome to do either).
Simply get your free printable here, no strings attached, and then enjoy celebrating fall with your lovely family!
Happy Fall, everyone!
Other articles you’ll enjoy:
- 35 Free Fall Printables to Decorate Your Home
- Easy Vegetable Beef Soup – ready in 30 minutes!
- Apple Dump Cake from Scratch – fresh apples, no cake mix
Tiffany (A Touch of Grace)
Great list! Fall is definitely my favorite season and these last few days have felt very much like fall for us. We made spiced cider the other night and it was so good! Excited for the pumpkin patches too!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Oh, yum! I love spiced cider. So many great things to look forward to over the next couple of months!
Amy
Oh I love Fall-and I love these fun Fall ideas! Thanks so much:)
ThriftyFrugalMom
You are so welcome! Yay for fall!
Ann
You are speaking to this mama’s fall heart – seriously. I can’t wait for the leaves to change and for the temp to drop. This list is just perfection. I remember going to pick apples last year and I think that was just one of the most memorable experiences. Bonfires + s’mores for the ultimate win 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
I’m getting antsy for fall too! And I love that you made such great memories apple picking. Oh and I think our kids would eat hot dogs and S’Mores several times a week if they had any say in the matter. 😉
Yvonne
Love this list. We’re expecting a baby in just under 3 weeks, so hoping to fit in some of these suggestions before he arrives. I love fall, and can’t wait for snuggles and reading under blankets, hot chocolate, the crisp air, and picking wild blackberries.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Fall would be such a fun time to welcome a new little one! Hope he/she arrives here safely and that your next several weeks go smoothly.
I love hot chocolate too, especially the real homemade stuff. So yummy! And picking wild blackberries? I’m jealous. 😉 My kids would be thrilled with that.
Anastasia
Great ideas! Our kids are finally old enough where we think we can do more of the fall festivities outside! We’ve always had little ones in the fall, so we haven’t done much than getting pumpkins! Thanks for the tips!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I know, Anastasia, this is the first year that I’ve really felt like we could do a lot of things too. For the last number of years either our children were too little to enjoy doing stuff, or I was pregnant and exhausted, or we had a small nursing baby and I just didn’t feel like I had the time to do a lot more than the absolute basics. Hope you all have fun celebrating fall!
Jessica
Great list! Can’t wait to do some of these with my toddlers! Thanks for sharing!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks, Jessica…and you’re welcome! 🙂 Toddlers are such a busy stage, but so fun.