5 Fall Family Activities
Apple picking, hay rides, pumpkin patches, and beautiful foliage -looks like Fall has arrived! Mighty Mommy has 5 ways to celebrate this glorious season with your family.
Cheryl Butler
Fall is synonymous with apple picking, hay rides, pumpkin patches, and the beautiful sights of radiant foliage throughout the U.S. Because Mother Nature has created such a feast for the senses, gather your family together and select one of the following 5 activities to celebrate glorious autumn:
- Go on a treasure hunt with Geocaching. As you may have read in this episode from Tech Talker, Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunt where the goal is to find caches (or containers) filled with objects that other people have hidden. Check out www.goecaching.com, the official website, to find cache locations near you. Then use your smartphones to track the treasures, often stashed behind rocks, in the hollows of trees, or under park benches. It’s an exciting scavenger hunt for the whole family.
- Make mini scarecrows for your children’s bedrooms. Scarecrows and autumn go hand and hand, so why not gather up some of your kids’ old pants, shirts, hats, and accessories as well as scarecrow materials such as straw and burlap to build a funny scarecrow that will take up a temporary residence in your child’s bedroom? Scarecrows make great tea party guests and bedtime companions when it’s time to finally crawl into bed and get some rest.
- Bob for apples. You’ve probably seen apple bobbing on TV and probably read about it in fall-themed articles, but have you actually ever tried this with your kids? Go ahead, now is the time to break out a large bucket, get a dozen or so apples, towels, and don’t forget the blindfold because then you’ll have everything you need to entertain your kids with an old-fashioned apple bobbing extravaganza. Check out this fun and informative YouTube video on how to bob for apples.
- Press some leaves.  Capture the beautiful foliage by pressing leaves that you can admire all year long. All you need are some freshly fallen leaves, clear contact paper, and a pair of scissors. Take your kids on a nature walk and gather as many pretty leaves as you can. Then sort the leaves on a table—you can do this on your picnic table in the backyard if you choose a lovely, fall day.  Next, cut your clear contact paper to the size you want. I recommend 12 x 12 because then it can be used a placemat or artwork for your dining room.  Peel the contact paper off the sheet and place it sticky side up onto the table. Arrange the leaves in any pattern you like and then cut another piece of contact paper and stick it , sticky side down, right on top of your leaf arrangement so your leaves are sandwiched between the contact paper. Press firmly around each leaf and across the whole picture. Trim it any way you want it. Hang in a sunny window, use as a placemat, or mail to relatives who live across the country.
Plan a harvest dinner. Fall is truly one of the most breathtaking seasons of the year, so why not savor autumn’s best by creating a special harvest dinner for your family and friends? Gather up seasonal ingredients like butternut squash that can be prepared as a creamy soup, a succulent pork tenderloin served with caramelized onions and roasted red potatoes on the side. And for dessert—a  cinnamon-sugary bread pudding. Yum!
What are you doing to celebrate the fall season? Let me know in comments or on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. I look forward to hearing from you.
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About the Author
Cheryl L. Butler was the host of the Mighty Mommy podcast for nine years from 2012 to 2021. She is the mother of eight children. Her experiences with infertility, adoption, seven pregnancies, and raising children with developmental delays have helped her become a resource on the joys and challenges of parenting. You can reach her by email.