Everyone loves the crisp, cooler temperatures of fall. Finding ways to spend the time outdoors with your family without having to leave the comfort of your home can quickly turn a normal day to one filled with laughter and joy. Check out a list of our fun fall family ideas and games below.

Leaf Art

If you look around, finding the perfect fallen leaves shouldn’t be a difficult task. Be sure to select from a few various colors to make your artwork into a vibrant masterpiece. From here, you can break out the glue sticks, construction paper, googly eyes, and markers!

Use the small collection of leaves you’ve gathered to create things like pumpkins, foxes, squirrels, owls or wreathes!

Bobbing for Apples

Get ready to find a pale and a bunch of apples for this fun-filled fall activity! Fill a bucket or pale with water as high as you can get it and drop in as many apples as you’d like. The first person to successfully “bob” an apple gets a prize of your choosing. Make sure you have a couple of towels nearby to dry off with.

Scavenger Hunts

Find a fall scavenger hunt template online or create a custom one of your own! If you choose to make one, grab a few sheets of paper and write out some items your family contenders will need to find in order to win the scavenger hunt. If you aren’t sure how to get started, a few ideas could be a pinecone, an acorn, a pumpkin, a squirrel or a scarecrow. 

The winner gets to pick out the next movie for family night!

Make a Scarecrow

From cardboard cutouts you can find online or in a local arts and crafts store to paper plate scarecrow craft kits with materials that are already at home, there are many ways to create a fun scarecrow for all ages. Grab the glue, scissors and some fall-colored crowns to create the perfect homemade scarecrow. This could also make an excellent gift for your aunt or grandparents who come to visit for Thanksgiving! 

Cornhole

A game of cornhole in the backyard is a family classic. Break out into teams and get ready for the family cornhole competition. If your family’s into football, you may be able to locate a few of your favorite football-themed bean bags to make a game of cornhole even more competitive with friends and family alike.

Glow-in-the-Dark Capture the Flag

A good way to take advantage of it getting darker earlier in the evenings is by playing a game of glow-in-the-dark capture the flag. No different from a normal game of capture the flag, glow-in-the-dark capture the flag has a lot of the same rules—but it’s to be played in the dark!

Redux’s Capture the Flag game comes with 25 light-up pieces and 12 bonus game variations. Learn more here.

Paint a Pumpkin

Just because you may have already carved a pumpkin for Halloween doesn’t mean you can’t paint one for Thanksgiving! Break the paintbrushes out and get ready to paint silly faces, turkeys, pilgrims, handprints or other cool ideas that might come up!

Be sure to grab some newspaper to spread the paint and pumpkins out on so that you don’t make a mess on your patio or deck.

Ring Toss

A game of ring toss doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Grab a few sets of differently colored hoops to distinguish each team from one another and let the games begin! If you want to make it a little more fun, try assigning point values to each of the different posts.

Potato Sack Racing

Potato sack racing isn’t just a thing from movies—you can do this in your own backyard! Grab a set of potato sacks, set a start and finish line and get hopping! Customize your own potato sack with paint or racing numbers.

Record the Phases of the Moon

It gets darker out earlier so it may be a great time to teach your kids about the moon. Sharpen your child’s observation skills as they track the different phases of the moon with a moon journal for a month.