Fall Bucket List of Fun Fall Activities

We hope you enjoy this fall bucket list full of fun fall activities and awesome autumn arts and crafts that kids from toddlers to teens will LOVE!

Try any of these fun fall activities on our fall bucket list with your children this autumn. Autumn is one of the best times of year to get outside to enjoy natures seasonal sights.

The gorgeous array of colors, delicious smells, crisp cool temperatures, all make the fall an enjoyable time of year. Find a few classic autumn activities and maybe a few new ideas to try below.

Remember this is not a must-do list, but a can-do list. If it’s not fun don’t do it. Choose the fall activities that you would like to do this autumn and ditch the rest!

Fall Bucket List: 18 Fun Fall Activities, Arts, and Crafts

Have fun checking off some of these fun fall activities with the kids for the best autumn ever!

Learn more about each of the autumn activities listed by clicking on the blue hyperlinked text within each suggestion.

1. Go On A Scavenger Hunt

We have a few fun ideas for scavenger hunts in the fall. One of our favorites is searching for the signs of autumn appearing all around us as the seasons begin to change. It’s become a game that my daughter and I play as each season turns into the next.

Another fun idea is to go out in search of colors or shapes like hearts. My daughter and I see hearts everywhere we go in nature and have created a beautiful video of them all that you can see in our heart shaped nature scavenger hunt.

Have you ever made a sensory bin with natural materials? Go on nature sensory bin scavenger hunt this autumn with the kids to make your own, or make a nature sensory card!

2. Gather Treasures for Nature Crafts

If you go out on a scavenger or nature hunt this autumn, collect some nature crafting materials too! Collect acorns to make acorn marble necklaces, and leaves to make leaf art, turkey leaf lanterns for Thanksgiving or heart leaf mason jars just for fun!

If you find leaves that are sturdy enough, like magnolia leaves, use them for leaf lacing or sewing practice, or press and preserve autumn leaves to use later.

For even more fall nature craft ideas click on the link!

3. Celebrate the Fall Equinox

The autumnal equinox marks the official beginning of fall in the northern hemisphere. Learn all about the fall equinox and fun ways to celebrate the beginning of this glorious season. Just click the link!

4. Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Going to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins is a classic fall activity for kids and families. We are lucky enough to live in an area where we can visit a new pumpkin patch every year, but of course, we have our favorites.

Click on the link for all of our pumpkin patch field trip ideas including our favorite pumpkin carving ideas!

5. Find Your Way Through a Corn Maze

May pumpkin patches have a corn maze, while some are separate. Find a corn maze near you and get lost with the whole family!

6. Pick Apples and Make Cider

Another fun fall activity to do with the whole family (or class) is to go to the apple orchard to collect apples to use for crafting and baking. Check out our apple orchard field trip ideas for all of our favorite apple activities, apple crafts, and apple recipes to enjoy the fruits of your labors!

7. Carve a Pumpkin

Pumpkin carving is a classic fall activity for the whole family to enjoy! You can find our favorite pumpkin carving tips and ideas in pumpkin patch ideas and fall nature crafts.

8. Enjoy a Bonfire

The fall is a great time of year to have a bonfire. Many people celebrate the autumn equinox and the changing seasons with a bonfire celebration. Find our favorite tips to have a fun and safe night in bonfire ideas for kids and families.

9. Take Your Camera on a Hike

My daughter and I love taking our cameras on hikes and nature walks. The autumn is an especially lovely time of year to get outside with a camera. Get outside and take pictures of all the amazing fall colors and natures seasonal sights!

10. Make a Thankful Tree

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving in the autumn or not, the fall is a great time of year to make a thankful tree.

Our daughter loves decorating trees so much we make one for every season. A Christmas tree in the winter, an Easter Tree in the spring, a butterfly tree in the summer, and a thankful tree in the fall.

We have made both a thankful tree with real autumn leaves and a thankful tree with clay gratitude leaves. Make your favorite this fall!

11. Play in the Falling Leaves

The autumn just wouldn’t be complete without at least one romp in the leaves.

Our family loves to jump in the leaves, count and catch falling leaves and we have a whole slew of other fun ways to play in fall leaves that the whole family, or class, can enjoy.

12. Bake Pumpkin Bread

Who doesn’t love baking with pumpkin in the fall?

Pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread are two of the most classic pumpkin recipes, but you can use homemade pumpkin puree to make all kinds of pumpkin treats.

Have you ever made pumpkin puree from scratch? It’s super easy and adds a fresh taste to your baked goods that you just can’t get out of a can.

My family’s favorite pumpkin recipe is pumpkin cranberry bread. Try it today! I guarantee your family will clamor for its tangy-sweet goodness every autumn just as mine does!

13. Create a Fall Nature Table

A nature table is an area in the home dedicated to nature and the natural world. Items collected in nature or natural items that represent nature are placed on the table to be learned about, played with and enjoyed.

We change our nature table every few months to reflect the season, so the items on it are added and taken away throughout the year. Learn more about our fall nature table by clicking on the link.

Related: Acorn Peg Dolls

14. Paint with Fall Colors

Paint with fall colors as a process art activity, paint a maple, oak, or beech autumn leaf, make a fall tree collage, paint a fall harvest pumpkin, or try any of these amazing fall art projects for kids!

15. Take a Hayride

Going on a hayride is another classic fall activity for the whole family. Many times you can find a pumpkin patch with a hayride to do both fun fall activities in one fell swoop!

Check your local family resource guide or google “hayride near me” to find one in or near your city or town.

16. Read Books About the Fall

Reading books that reflect the season is a great way to help our children learn about the natural rhythms and seasons of our amazing planet. Check out this awesome collection of fall books for kids to see our family favorites!

17. Practice Gratitude

Practice gratitude in your home all year long with these gratitude activities and crafts, or check our collection of Thanksgiving gratitude activities and crafts!

18. Play Outside on a Rainy Day

Rainy day activities don’t have to be inside! If it rains where you live in the fall, try any of these fun ways to play in the rain this autumn.

Best Fall Activities and Crafts for the Fall Season

We hope this awesome collection of autumn activities helps you enjoy this magical season… Or, Make your own Fall Bucket List!!

Make your own Fall Bucket List

Fill your fall bucket list with all of the full fall activities that YOU like the BEST!

Here’s how:

brainstorm some of your favorite things to do in the fall–don’t forget to include a few of the ideas above!
write them down
share them with your family, or classroom, and post them somewhere that everyone can see
MAKE TIME to do each one together this fall