For me, there is no greater season of the year than fall or autumn. It’s the perfect combination of weather and activities. To celebrate, I have compiled a list of some of the thing I think of when I get excited about the season:
colder weather, jeans, football, camp fires, the crispness of the air, jackets, Halloween, Hay rides, camping, scary movies, apples, chili (my very favorite food), rainy days, festivals, beards, homecoming, pumpkin spice lattes, horseback riding, cooler mornings and nights, sweat-shirts, sweaters, the smell of smoke in the air, candy, fireplaces, bluegrass music, pumpkins, cinnamon brooms, flannel, harvest time, shorter days and longer nights, barns, corn mazes, pictures and harvest moons.
Autumn is also a perfect time for unique date ideas that may only come once a year. If you are looking to create memorable dates with your kids, here are 20 fall date ideas for you and your child.
Corn mazes
Depending on the age of your child, there can be a lot of different activities available, everything from bobbing for apples to hay rides to haunted trails. Kids and teens of all ages enjoy the various offerings at these fun fall attractions. There are a lot of sites that offer deep discounts on attractions and activities. Here is one article that gives you a lot of options. Corn Mazes America is an excellent website to help you get started. Once there, click on “Narrow by State” to help find the best one for you.
Carve a jack-0-lantern
Not all of your dates have to take place away from home. There is something special about a home night dedicated to making your front porch Halloween pumpkin. Make an evening of it by cooking chili together, carving your pumpkin, making hot apple cider, and top it off with a themed movie (scary or not). You can get some great jack-o-lantern ideas on Pinterest.
Go On A Hay Ride
Child or adult, there are few better fall activities in my opinion that beat a hay ride in autumn. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area where you can do this, make this a special date with your child. Once again, age doesn’t matter because there is something in it for kids of all ages. Most offer these at dusk and dark, so pick one out, bundle up, and take the camera. Maybe stop on the way home for coffee or hot chocolate. Pumpkin Patches and More is a great page resource for helping you find a hay ride in your area. Again, choose by state, and it will help you narrow your search.
Go Camping
Your idea of camping may be a beautiful log cabin in the woods, pulling a trailer to sleep in, or roughing it the old fashioned way in a tent. Whatever you prefer, pick a couple of days and go camp this fall. There are so many great experiences to be had, especially between parent and child, when you just “get away,” and the more you rough it, the more you will probably get from it. Lots of teachable moments, lifetime memories, and just plain fun happen when you leave technology and the comforts of your home behind for a few days and get out into nature.
Other Fall Date Ideas:
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- Trick-or-Treat together
- Make a campfire
- Go horseback riding
- Start your Christmas shopping early
- See a football game (especially one under the Friday night lights)
- Do yard work together (rake leaves!) and make it fun
- Volunteer together at a local food bank
- Make popcorn the old fashioned way
- Pass a football in the backyard
- Fall pictures
- Make s’mores
- Plant bulbs that will bloom in the spring
- Make chili together
- Make fall cookies
- Watch a scary movie!
- Go to a fall festival
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What are your favorite fall activities with your children? Do you have any traditions that are meaningful for you and your family this time of year?