Fall is a great time to reign in your spending and to give your budget a breather before the holiday season gets into full swing. That doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice the fun, though!
Keep the kids busy with fun fall activities, crafts, and outdoor ideas. They’re cheap, easy, and allow kids to enjoy the beauty of autumn.
Here are 50 frugal fall activities for kids to enjoy:
- Send kids on a fall-themed scavenger hunt
- Make leaf impressions with crayons & paper
- Pick out spooky storybooks from the library
- Make tissue ghosts
- Paint mini pumpkins
- Decorate pumpkins with stickers, rhinestones, and glitter
- Paint by rolling corn cobs
- Go “camping” in the backyard
- Check out a local fall festival
- Collect pinecones and acorns
- Make bird feeders with toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and seeds
- Draw pumpkins with sidewalk chalk
- Rent favorite family-friendly Halloween movies and have a weekly movie night
- Take a walk in a park to do some local leaf peeping
- Make s’mores around a fire pit
- DIY a scarecrow with old clothes and newspaper
- Spend an afternoon on a family bike ride
- Lay a blanket in the backyard for an afternoon of outdoor reading
- Have a warm apple cider tea party
- Write a “gratefulness” list or start a gratitude journal
- Make up ghost stories to tell after dark
- Jump in a pile of leaves
- Taste different types of apples
- Use found leaves to make a fall wreath
- Make a ghost footprint
- Make homemade caramel or chocolate covered apples
- Bake a fall treat from scratch
- For older kids-volunteer to rake leaves for neighbors
- Paint rocks & stones as jack-o-lanterns
- Choose ingredients to make a fall-flavored trail mix
- Give kids a camera and have them photograph their favorite fall finds outside
- Set up a blanket fort and have a cozy game night
- Make a suncatcher with autumn colored tissue paper
- Plan Halloween party games
- Have kids help decorate the home for fall
- Explore somewhere new and nearby on foot
- Check out a local football game
- Take the little ones out on a wagon ride around the neighborhood
- Make paper plate pumpkins
- Enjoy the crisp, fresh air at a favorite park
- Use ingredients from the kitchen to create “magic potions”
- Send kids outside with blank paper to draw or write what they see
- Watch the sunset with warm cider or hot chocolate
- Toast pumpkin seeds
- Wander around the local farmer’s market
- Brainstorm ideas for DIY Halloween costumes
- Sign up for a local trunk or treat event
- Have kids help clear out the summer garden
- Plant bulbs for spring blooms
- Bundle up and have a fall-flavored picnic
