40 Fall Bucket List Ideas for Busy Families

Easy Fall Fun for Busy Families

Every fall, -let’s face it, every season, it’s defeating- social media fills with beautiful family bucket lists:
Visit the pumpkin patch.
Bake homemade pies.
Take the perfect family photos.
Decorate the entire house.
Hike and notice the “changing of the leaves.”

And honestly?
Some of those things sound pretty fun.
In reality…a lot of them sound pretty exhausting.

Somewhere along the way, a fall bucket list can start feeling less like “Wouldn’t this be fun?” and more like “Here are 40 more things we need to squeeze in before Thanksgiving.”

This is not another blog meant to exhaust you-I have been you!
This is just to give you ideas to be intentional about the fall season in the midst of your already busy life!

Some of the ideas on this list take ten minutes.
Others might become your Saturday adventure.
Some cost nothing, while others are special outings you’ll want to plan ahead.

So instead of creating one more overwhelming checklist, here are 40 fall bucket list ideas for busy families who want to have a little more fun together this season.
And please don’t try to do all 40!
Pick the ones that make your family say, “Ooh, let’s do that!” and happily ignore the rest.

Outside Adventures

1. Jump in a pile of leaves.
Rake them up, jump in, scatter them everywhere…and rake them up again.
Yes, make a huge mess!
You are so fortunate if you live where you have big piles of fall leaves, so while you are thinking there is a lot of work to them now, remember that for those of us in AZ who do not have those leaves-we are green with envy at this fun fall activity.

2. Go on a fall nature scavenger hunt.
Look for colorful leaves, acorns, pinecones, animal tracks, feathers, or anything else that says fall where you live.

3. Visit a pumpkin patch.
Let everyone choose their favorite pumpkin—some of my fondest memories are everyone choosing a pumpkin and then carving it later.

4. Go apple picking.
Now is a great time to for home made applesauce!
My hint-through in a couple of pears to get sweetness with no sugar.

5. Explore a new trail.
Fall is the perfect excuse to bundle up and explore somewhere your family hasn’t been before.

6. Go horseback riding.
Find a local stable or trail ride and make an afternoon of it.
This has actually “wormed” its way into becoming a tradition for us, we love to go yearly.

7. Collect colorful leaves.
Bring home your favorites to press, craft with, or simply display.

8. Watch a fall sunset.
Grab a blanket, step outside, and watch the sky change together.

9. Go stargazing.
Cooler evenings and earlier sunsets make fall a great time to head outside and look up.
In “today’s” night skies, see how many satellites you can all spot!

10. Roast marshmallows.
Over a backyard fire-pit, while camping, or wherever your family can safely make a gooey s’more.

Cozy at Home

11. Build a blanket fort.
Yes, even with bigger kids.

12. Read by flashlight.
Pile onto the couch, crawl into that blanket fort, or turn off the lights and make reading a little more adventurous.

13. Make caramel apples.
Add chocolate, sprinkles, nuts, crushed cookies, or whatever your family loves.

14. Bake pumpkin muffins.
Or, as my family loves, pumpkin pancakes with real maple syrup-oh yum!

15. Have a family chili cook-off.
Divide into teams, choose your recipes, and see whose chili earns the family championship.
This idea is obviously for those who have lots of family close by-each family household brings their own “pot.”
You can keep it simple and more focused to just your house and let everyone choose one “secret ingredient” to add to a big family batch.

16. Make homemade hot chocolate.
My boys grew up with “hot cocoa” – the homemade and obvs-the real stuff, and hot chocolate-what you drank if you were up before your parents on a Saturday morning, at a hotel, in college, etc-because no one would ever choose the (said with ultimate dread) packets!
Once you make it-you realize it is super easy and really hard to go back, you also control what goes in-alternative milk? less sugar?

17. Make a fall wreath together.
Use leaves, pinecones, ribbon, craft supplies, or treasures you’ve collected outside.
Or make a goofy wreath to celebrate the season, my boys thought fall was football, so we would do one of teams!

18. Have a cozy pajama evening.
Change into pajamas early, grab the blankets, and officially declare that you’re staying in.

19. Put together a puzzle.
Leave it on the table and let everyone add a few pieces whenever they walk by.
Yes, I love puzzles and the benefits are amazing!

20. Have hot cider and story time.
Choose a favorite fall book or let someone make up the story.

21. Have a living room campout.
Bring out the sleeping bags, pile up the pillows, turn off the lights, and camp “in.”

Family Fun

22. Have a family game tournament.
Pick a few favorite games, keep score, and crown a ridiculously official family champion.

23. Play Minute-to-Win-It games.
Choose three or four silly challenges and see who can complete them in 60 seconds.

24. Have a kitchen dance party.
Turn up a favorite song and dance. 
My friend captured her teen kiddos on camera with loud music dancing in the kitchen while doing dishes-still a favorite memory for everyone!

25. Have family karaoke night.
No actual singing ability required.
My oldest son and I used to sing duets on the playstation’s karaoke-we loved it!

26. Have family trivia night.
Use a trivia game, find questions everyone can answer, or make up questions about your own family.
Don’t get intimidated by this-you can find all kinds of trivia games like Disney, Beat the Parents, Harry Potter and more.

27. Cook dinner together.
Give everyone a job—even if someone’s only job is sprinkling cheese.

Simple Acts of Kindness

28. Leave a treat for a neighbor.
Cookies, muffins, or another little fall surprise.

29. Donate coats or warm clothing.
Have everyone look through their closets and choose something they’ve outgrown or no longer use.

30. Hide encouraging notes.
Tuck them into lunchboxes, backpacks, books, or somewhere unexpected.

31. Bake something for a teacher, coach, neighbor, or friend.
A simple “we were thinking about you” can make someone’s day.

32. Send a thinking-of-you card.
Let each family member choose someone who could use a little happy mail.

33. Volunteer together.
Spend a few hours helping at a food bank, animal shelter, community event, church, or another organization your family cares about.

Celebrate the Season

34. Decorate for fall.
It can be as simple as pumpkins on the porch or letting the kids create their own decorations.
You can start a tradition of giving the kids a budget for each holiday or season-whatever you think wise or can afford-and have the kids decorate their own space.

35. Watch a favorite autumn movie.
Bring out the blankets and popcorn and rewatch the movie that somehow feels like fall every year.

36. Visit a local fall festival.
Check your community calendar for festivals, fairs, harvest celebrations, or other seasonal events.

37. Make or pick out Halloween costumes.
DIY, store-bought, handed down, or pieced together from the dress-up bin—the fun is deciding who everyone gets to be.

38. Go to a Trunk or Treat event.
Find one in your community, grab the costumes, and enjoy an evening of Halloween fun.

39. Carve pumpkins together.
Traditional jack-o’-lanterns, crazy faces, elaborate designs—anything goes.

40. Create a gratitude pumpkin.
Use a permanent marker to add one thing your family is thankful for each day and watch your pumpkin fill with gratitude.
I like this more than the gratitude jar simply because it is more interactive and fun.

41. Start planning one new holiday tradition.
You don’t have to wait until December.
Let everyone suggest something they’d love to do together during the holidays this year.

42. Take a fall family photo.
It doesn’t need coordinated outfits or a professional photographer.
Prop up your phone, set the timer, and capture what your family looks like right now.
One of my favorite family photos: I bought everyone a superhero shirt for Christmas (the superhero I thought represented them best) and we all took a group picture in them!

You Don’t Have to Do All 40

A bucket list isn’t a to-do list.
There are no prizes for checking every box before the first snowflake falls.

Maybe your family chooses five things from this list.
Maybe you choose ten.
Maybe everyone picks one favorite and those are the only four things you do.

The point isn’t how much you fit into the season.
It’s enjoying the moments you choose.
And remember those tiny family traditions we talked about?
Sometimes choosing a fun fall activity and having such a great time you want to do it again…and again is how those traditions get started.

You go horseback riding one Saturday.
Everyone creates “what fall feels like to them” wreaths on another weekend.
You carve pumpkins while listening to the same music every year.

Then you do it again next fall.
And before you know it, your kids aren’t asking if you’re going to do it this year.
They’re asking when.

So as you look through these fall bucket list ideas for busy families, don’t think about how many you can check off.
Choose the things that sound fun to your  family.
Skip the things that don’t.

And let a few of those fall moments become the memories—and maybe even the traditions—your children carry with them long after the leaves have fallen.

“I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”
— Edna Mode, The Incredibles