Fun Fall Activities

The fall season is full of fun activities to do as a family. Many visit pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and corn mazes. But there are plenty of interesting things you can do as a family without ever leaving your house. Here is a list of a few things you can do to celebrate fall without having a break the bank:

1.       Raking leaves and then collecting leaves for an art activity- you and your family could spend the morning raking leaves and creating piles to jump in, have contests to see whose is the largest, or pick which pile has the most colorful leaves. Once the majority of your leaves are bagged and ready to be picked up, collect a small pile to create leaf art. You could use them to paint with, glue them onto paper and make your own collage of colors and shapes, or even create pressed leaves to add as decoration to make your own fall place mats or name tags. (cost for supplies: free)

2.       Pumpkin carving- purchase several smaller pumpkins or one/two larger pumpkins and use cookie cutter shapes and a mallet to create designs in your pumpkin. Instead of using a candle, use glow bracelets/sticks or the artificial battery operated candles you can purchase from the dollar store to light up the inside of your masterpiece. If you are looking to make your own design or a pumpkin face, you can purchase a simple carving kit for about $1.00 at the dollar store or your local Walmart. (Cost for supplies: Between $5-15.00)

3.       Homemade edibles out of apples- collect a few baby food jars from the child care center and use them to make homemade apple butter or apple sauce from apples collected at an orchard or your local grocery store. You could also make homemade apple cider or apple juice. (cost for supplies: $5-15) Here are a couple of easy recipes to follow for these activities: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_butter/ and http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/spiced-hot-apple-cider-26711

4.       Fall table centerpiece- have your family go outside and collect various fall items such as pine cones, large acorns, pine needles in bundles, and sticks. Lay the items on paper or wax paper and use glitter spray or regular glitter and paint to decorate your items. Once they dry, place them in a clear bowl to use as décor for your dining room table or coffee table. (cost for supplies: $2-5)

5.       Pumpkin play dough- Have a fun time pretending making pies and let the kids get into the actual pie pans and pie servers or mold them into small pumpkins and add a stem to make the project complete. Here is an easy recipe that requires items you probably already have in your kitchen! ( Cost for supplies: Free- $5) http://spoonful.com/crafts/pumpkin-pie-play-dough