Fall Family Fun ~ A to Z Style!

Hey Friends!

Can I just tell you ~ I love FALL! :)

I love the smells, the beautiful colors, the traditions. And one of the main reasons....my kids have taught me how to enjoy the season! They love jumping in leaves, picking apples, decorating our porch, football games, and more!

I am pleased to share some of our favorite family activities, plus other simple, inexpensive ways for you to make the most of your fall ~ A to Z style!!

(A quick disclaimer....I've tried to think of things that you could participate in regardless of the city you live in. I've included many links to other amazing sites for even more ideas. Be sure to check them out! *** For my Grand Rapids friends, many of the ideas have links that will lead you to more specific local times and information. ***For all of the ideas, I tried to think of inexpensive ideas ~ if it costs more than $5 per person, I did not include it on the list). Enjoy!

*Fall Family Fun ideas from A to Z*....A - Apples!! Apple orchards, apple picking, apple baking (Grand Rapids orchards & times here); OR Artprize

B- Bingo (Autumn bingo w/ autumn color M&M's ~ always a kid favorite); OR Baking (great fall recipes here) OR bike rides enjoying the beautiful fall colors

C - Corn Mazes OR Color Tours OR Caramel popcorn (delicious, easy recipe here) OR Fall Crafts

D - Doughnuts and cider OR Decorate your front porch together (Fun kid decorating ideas here)

E - Events (tons of Fall events in our community ~ GR's Family Fun calendars here & here) OR Eat out (the food court at the mall is always a fun experience for kids)
F- Football Games OR Family Fun Night ~ Invite over another family for food, fun, and fellowship

G - Game Night ~ Have everyone pick a favorite board game to play. (More Game Night ideas here)
H - Hay Rides

I - Ice Cream Sundae Night (info here)

J - Jump in leaves OR Jump rope (complete with your favorite jump rope songs here)

K - Krispy Kreme doughnuts ~ wait until the Krispy Kreme light is on, and then go in for your free, fall doughnut!

L - Fun with Leaves OR Letterboxing (If you haven't tried Letterboxing before, you must! (Get started here or our family's letterboxing fun here)

M - Mazes! Indoor fall mazes here or corn mazes OR Movie Night (Fun Family Movie Night ideas here)

N - Nature Walk ~ Enjoy the beautiful weather with a Nature Walk! Give each of the kids a brown lunch bag with items listed on it to collect and/or discover. (Also, if you live in the Grand Rapids area, click here to join the Connect with Nature Challenge!)
O - Enjoy the great outdoors with Outdoor Games (lots of game ideas here) OR Opposite Day (Do everything backwards! Eat breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast!)

P - Pumpkins! Baking & Carving & Decorating OR Pizza Party ~ Let the kids make their own pizza!

Q - Quiet time ~ Enjoy Fall Reading at home (Great resource list here) OR head to your local library for some quiet reading and/or story time activities. (The link for Kent District Library events ~ here)
R - Rake leaves (be sure to jump in them afterwards!)



S -Scarecrow Making; Scavenger Hunt (ideas here)

T - Treasure Hunt

U - Underwater activities ~ Find a local swimming pool and swim, swim, swim! Another idea...we sometimes go to priceline.com to bid on a hotel for the night. In Grand Rapids, you can stay at a nice 3 star hotel for $40. The kids love it ~ they swim for hours and hours (and I love room service ~ no cooking for mom)!!

V - Volunteer. Rake a neighbor's lawn. Walk a neighbor's dog. Pick up trash. The ideas are endless...

W - Walk! Walk to the nearest park and enjoy the beautiful colors. Or walk around the block backwards.

X - eXercise. Set up a family exercise experience! (Get started here)

Y - YMCA. Go to the YMCA or another local gym. Many will let you try their facility for free for the day.

Z - Head to the Zoo! (Grand Rapids' John Ball Park link here)

Woo Hoo!! I'm so excited for Fall!

What a perfect opportunity to enjoy our children and participate in many of the seasonal outings and activities . Let's make our ordinary fall days "extraordinary"!! :)

What family fun activities do you have planned this fall?? I'd love to hear from you!
May your Fall be filled with much joy, laughter, and fun, family moments!!


P.S. For more Things I Love Thursday ideas, hop on over to visit Jill @ The Diaper Diaries!

P.S.S. A special thanks to Big Binder, GR kids.com, Family Fun, Parents Magazine, Kaboose, & Chocolate Cake Moments for letting me pass along some of your fun family ideas!