10 (ish) Ideas for Your Fall Fun List

Fall is just around the corner, and if you’ve checked out our Fall Guide you are probably reeling with all the possibilities! Last year, my family created a fall fun list (I hate the morbid term “bucket list”) and tried to cram maybe a few too many fun activities in during those months. Since we have a new baby on the way this fall we’ve whittled the list down quite a bit so as not to overdo it. Here are some of our favorite things from last year’s list (and a few I came up with as I was brainstorming). I encourage you to pick 2-3 and not 25. Choose activities that will bring your family joy and savor that quality time together!

  • 10 (ish) Ideas for Your Fall Fun List | Kansas City Moms BlogGo apple picking. This has become our #1 fall family tradition after we discovered Cider Hill Family Orchard. The apple picking is so much fun but creating fun things with them in our kitchen afterward is a blast too. I love to make crock pot apple sauce and my husband makes a killer apple pie. Apple butter would be another fun treat you could make and even give as gifts! Other local orchards: Alldredge Orchards, Schweizer OrchardsWagon Wheel Orchard (by appointment only), and Weston Red Barn Farm. Apple picking season actually starts in August and some orchards wrap things up before the month of September is over, so call or check their Facebook pages for the most up-to-date info!
  • Visit Pumpkin Hollow at Deanna Rose. If you have young kids you are probably already familiar with Deanna Rose Farmstead, but if you haven’t visited in the fall you are missing out. Pumpkin Hollow costs a little extra to visit but it includes the wagon ride and a small pumpkin. My daughter loves all the activities they have set up (tall hay bale slide is always a favorite!) and I love that we can get in a nice dose of fall fun without trekking to a pumpkin patch where she will inevitably want to get the largest pumpkin she can find. This is a great place to visit with friends, so make a play date of it!
  • Go to a fall festival. I have great memories of visiting the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City as a kid and last fall we took our daughter for the first time and invited the grandparents and my sister along. Recreating beloved childhood memories is one of the best parts of parenting for me. I am admittedly NOT a fan of crowds and festivals can get kind of crazy, so I gravitate to the less well known festivals in the area.
  • Host a Halloween play date or party. These can be as simple as having friends over and letting the kids run around in their costumes or making it an elaborate Pinterest affair (I usually aim for something in the middle!) Spooky stuff may be too much for the preschool set but if your kids are older and don’t mind being a little scared you could create a little haunted house in your basement and have some real fun with it!
  • Do a simple fall craft. Leaf rubbings (pick some up on your nature hike!) Leaf suncatchers. Paper plate pumpkin. Apple stamping. Pinterest has approximately a billion more ideas.
  • Visit a pumpkin patch. Don’t have a favorite yet? Try a new to you patch this year! Short on cash? Go to one of the area’s FREE pumpkin patches (pumpkins extra, but there’s no cost to get in and they still have fun stuff for the kids to do). Schaake’s and Powell Pumpkin Patch do not have an admission fee.

    10 (ish) Ideas for Your Fall Fun List | Kansas City Moms Blog
    Visit to Schaake’s Pumpkin Patch
  • Bake a pumpkin treat. So many delicious options. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread. Or if you want the smell without the kitchen to clean up after, swing by a local bakery for a pumpkin treat and then light a pumpkin scented candle and pretend you baked it yourself. 😉
  • Create a thankful tree. Ah Thanksgiving, the poor holiday that so often gets overlooked in our rush to get in the Christmas spirit. This is probably my favorite food holiday of all, but it’s about more than the food! Get your kids thinking about what they are thankful for in November by creating a thankful tree. I find the daily thankfulness posts on Facebook each November to be annoying and often braggy, but when kids write out their thankfuls it is totally adorable.
  • Host a mom’s night in. Fall fun lists don’t have to be ALL about fun with the kids! Have some of your favorite mom friends over, make chili, serve apple cider and pumpkin treats, heck, you could even make caramel apples and not tell the kids about it! Sit around a fire pit and catch up with your friends (try NOT to talk about the kids if you can!) You could even do some kind of fall-themed exchange: fall scented candles, a fun fall scarf, cute mugs for hot cider, $10 and under piece of fall decor, get creative!
Julia Willhite
I'm Julia and I live in Olathe with my husband of 16 years, my 10 and 6 year old daughters, and our rescue pug Mabel. I’m a social worker turned SAHM and love Dr. Pepper, thunderstorms, and talking to other adults. I hate coffee, diet culture, and washing dishes. I'll talk your ear off about the best local parks and which restaurants have wronged me by changing their long-standing menu items. I try to walk the line between knowing a lot of stuff and not being a know-it-all. Some days I'm better than others.