Growing up in Texas, cooler weather and changing leaves usually arrived at the same time as Christmas. Now that we have moved to the Midwest, our girls get to experience a TRUE fall: harvest, apple-picking, pumpkin patches, and jumping in HUGE piles of leaves in the yard. We also have been able to start new fall family traditions!
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8 Simple Fall Family Traditions:
- Visit a pumpkin patch or apple orchard.
- Rake up leaves from the yard and jump in them. (Bonus points for raking a neighbor’s yard, too!)
- Go on a nature hike and gather items for a homemade wreath craft.
- Complete a family puzzle or LEGO set over a few weeks’ time.
- Listen to an audiobook on the couch while doing a project.
- Invite a family over for a meal.
This can be for Thanksgiving (think of someone who doesn’t have extended family nearby) or another meal during the month of November. Have your children help plan the menu, go shopping, set the table, and prepare the meal together. Teach your children about serving others and being hospitable. - Do a family service project.
Gather items for the local food pantry or women’s shelter. Snuggle dogs or cats at the animal shelter. Write letters for veterans. Create small care packages for the homeless (warm socks, toiletry items, snacks). - Bake (or buy) cookies and talk about what each family member is grateful for. You can make a gratitude jar, banner, or start a gratitude journal to add to each year.
Make a Gratitude Journal:
When your children are old enough to understand what “thankful” means, go out and buy a family journal. I would recommend one with unlined pages and a spiral binding.
Decorate the cover together with fabric or scrapbook paper. Trace each child’s hand on a page in the journal and allow them to fill it in with markers, stickers, colored paper, magazine scraps, etc. Write down what they are thankful for (or let them write in the journal) and date the entries. Each year, bring the journal out and reminisce about previous years.
What are your family’s favorite fall traditions? Leave a comment below or join the discussion in our Facebook group!
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I love the idea of a Gratitude Journal! I started one in a binder years ago and would bring it to our family Thanksgiving Dinners, but stopped doing that a while ago. I’m going to re-institute this habit 🙂
It’s funny how my tradition meter always kicks into high gear in the fall!! More so than any other time of year!! I love these and have done many of them over the years!
I love all of these ideas. So many fun family activities. The idea of starting a gratitude journal is something I might need to do.
I love the idea of the wreath. We’re out in the country so a walk takes us past all sorts of stuff we could pick up and include.