15 Simple Fall Traditions to Start With Your Kids
Fall has a fun way of making even the most simple activities feel a little more special. Between the cooler weather, colourful leaves and all the cozy seasonal treats, it’s the perfect time to slow down and make memories together as a family.
Fall traditions don’t have to be elaborate or expensive to be meaningful. From visiting an apple orchard to having a cozy movie night at home, these 15 fall traditions are easy ways to make the season feel memorable year after year.
1. Apple Picking
Spend a crisp fall morning at a local apple orchard and let everyone choose their favourites. When you get home use the apples to bake something together, or simply enjoy them as a tasty fall snack!
2. Visit a Pumpkin Patch
It’s not fall without a visit to the pumpkin patch! Get dressed up in some cute coordinated outfits and take some photos while your there or see who can find the biggest, smallest, or lumpiest pumpkins in the patch!
3. Fall Baking Night
Use your apples and pumpkins to create some delicious fall baked goods! You could have each family member choose a recipe and enjoy trying each one or make several different treats and box them up to surprise friends or neighbors with some fall cheer!
4. Bring Out a Basket of Fall and Halloween Themed Books
This is one of my favourites on this list! I love bringing out themed books at different holidays or seasons like fall/Halloween or Christmas to help get everyone into the spirit. We read to our kids every night so its great to have some fresh books they’re excited about without having to buy all new ones each year, though we do usually add at least one new one each season.
5. Have a Cozy Movie Night
Choose a favourite fall movie, pile up the blankets and make a special snack to enjoy together. You could even build a living room fort or wear matching pajamas to make the night feel a little more memorable!
6. Go on a Leaf Walk
Grab your walking shoes and find a local walking path or trail where you can view the fall foliage. You could even make it a weekly tradition throughout the season to compare how the trees change from starting to change, to peak colours, to bare trees and crunchy leaves underfoot.
7. Collect Colourful Leaves
Go for a walk and see how many different colours and shapes of leaves your kids can find. Bring a few favourites home to preserve, use for a craft, or simple display a small piece of fall nature.
8. Take a Yearly Leaf Pile Photo
Raking up piles of leaves and jumping in them or running through them is such a “core memory” activity! You can take it one step farther by taking a yearly family photo while playing in the leaves! It’s such a fun way to document how they change and grow year to year. And when they think they’re too old for playing in the leaves, challenge them to see if they can make an even bigger pile each year to keep the tradition going a little bit longer!
9. Make a Homemade Fall Decoration Together
Choose a fall decoration each year to DIY together and before you know it you’ll have a meaningful collection that you can never find in stores. The bonus is that each and every piece will be a memory and every time it’s brought out it brings an opportunity to retell favourite stories and memories from that season.
10. Go on a Fall Nature Scavenger Hunt
Make or find a list of fall nature items and head to a local park, trail or even just around your neighborhood and see who can complete the list first! Some fun ideas include: who can find the largest leaf, the smallest leaf, the most colourful leaf, the biggest pinecone, weirdest pinecone etc! Maybe the winner can choose a fall treat to enjoy together or which movie you watch for a cozy fall movie night.
11. Explore a Corn Maze
Find a fall festival or farm with a corn maze and spend some time exploring it! May places have easier mazes that are great for kids. This is a fun way to get everyone enjoying some fresh fall air for a few hours, you could even let the littles have a turn trying to lead you out of the maze!
12. Make Caramel Apples Together
Making caramel apples together can be a messy but nostalgic tradition! Cut up some apples and put them on sticks before dipping them in caramel (or chocolate!) before covering them in your choice of toppings such as sprinkles, peanuts, or sprinkles. It can be fun (and delicious!) to see how creative you can get with toppings and combinations!
13. Have a Fall Campfire
Summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean outdoor activities have to end! Bundle up and grab some marshmallows and hot chocolate and enjoy a cozy fall campfire. Roast marshmallows, make s’mores and share stories under the stars.
14. Have Each Family Member Choose an Activity to Try
Get the whole family involved in building traditions! Have every member choose a new fall activity to try, and after you’ve done it you can decide as a family if its something you want to add to your yearly traditions! For larger families this may get quite busy so maybe you’d want to draw ideas from a hat instead every time you have day or afternoon free to do something together as a family.
15. Paint or Crave Pumpkins Together
Let everyone choose their own pumpkin and spend an afternoon together decorating them. Younger kids can enjoy this activity too, using paint or stickers to make their pumpkin their own, while older kids can enjoy getting messy and covered in pumpkin guts carving their pumpkin master piece. You can even print (or use a cricut if you have one) stencils to make more intricate designs!
You don’t need to fit every fall activity into one season to make it special. Choose a few traditions that work for your family, keep things simple and leave plenty or room for slow cozy days at home.
To help you plan your season, I’ve created a free printable fall bucket list that you can download below. Hang it on your fridge and check off your favourite activities as you complete them together! If you’d like a customizable version that you can change to suit your family, you can also find the editable version in my Etsy Shop.
Over time, even the smallest traditions can become moments your kids look forward to every fall, and the memories they carry with them long after the season ends.
